Hot Takes

Episode 73: Dreamcastle™

We got Dreamcastle™ on "Hot Takes" this week! A reclusive multimedia dungeon synth and vaporwave artist, Dreamcastle™ agreed to pull the curtain back about their artwork, share his taste with us, and entertain the chat's thirst for knowledge. Coming from a background of religion, classic musical training, and medieval composition, Dreamcastle™ clearly possesses the tools and ingredients needed to create. He's been working on profoundly cool multimedia projects like live shows in a head-to-toe handmade LEGO minifig costume, a point-and-click adventure game, and a fully rendered film dedicated to the classic era of the LEGO Castle theme during the 80's and 90's. During our 73rd episode, we chatted about the Sonic the Hedgehog video game OSTs, contemporary Christian music, and concept albums in general. We got to delve into incredible depth regarding the nuts and bolts behind the Blender renders of classic LEGO dioramas and the Majisto costume. We had a particularly poignant discussion about nostalgia and its rooting in the Latin word for "pain". Tune in for this profoundly moving and exciting episode with our first community choice guest, Dreamcastle™!

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Episode 72: Runners Club 95

We got to host Runners Club 95 this week on "Hot Takes"! The husband in married Swedish vaporwave duo Runners Club 95, Carl joined us on the show to offer advice, compare and contrast pop music in the 90's and 2000's in Sweden vs. America, and of course drop a spicy take or two. Taking the scene by storm in 2017 after earning placement on a highly regarded vaporwave Spotify playlist or two, Runners Club 95 have woven pop songwriting sensibility within and without their vaporwave compositions. They have performed in both London and Los Angeles and have released several well acclaimed albums on esteemed British label My Pet Flamingo. We get to hear Carl's advice about essentialism and the importance of emotions in music, along with the five producers he chose to try to learn from. Carl taught us a lot about Sweden like what the cost of living is vs. the United States, the lack of Halloween there, and the cultural importance of boy bands and pop music in the country. You might hear some teasing regarding the upcoming fourth album in the works if you listen in! Definitely don't miss out on Skelly's rants about the word "vibe" and derivative goth music songwriting on "Hot Takes" episode 72!

 

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Episode 71: Jumper Kimmons

On the most recent "Hot Takes" episode, we spent some time in the mind of Jumper Kimmons! Experimental electronic musician and visual artist Jumper Kimmons gave us two hours of his time and we spent it well, trading strong opinions, sharing tastes, and musing about various topics during the evening. James may not have been in the scene for long, but he has made many friends and connections and quickly amassed an impressive list of accomplishments with his analog glitch visual style. Earning a meteoric rise within the DIY scene, Jumper has created visual accompaniments for countless artists and has worked successful IRL shows such as Flamingofest and i2k. We learned about how Jumper gets his creative juices flowing and discovers content to use for his visual sets in this episode. We get to hear some real rippers by Jumper, including a very controversial take regarding a popular Saint Pepsi album. You'll want to hear the dark story behind the name Jumper Kimmons, and the only way is to hear it on this episode of this particular vaporwave talk show! It's a hot'n!

 

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Episode 70: Van Paugam

On "Hot Takes" latest episode, we brought on world renowned city pop DJ and music critic Van Paugam! Van consented to go a few rounds with us and talk about his unique lived experiences, his opinions about various art and music, and of course to share with us his spiciest takes about future funk and vaporwave. Though he's slowed down as of late, Van Paugam has been DJing and writing about music for quite some time, and he is best known for helping bring attention to city pop music worldwide and for his scathing critique of the vaporwave scene in his article "The Rise & Fall of Vaporwave". In this episode, topics run the gamut from the electroclash movement, the concept of experiencing other people's nostalgia via the internet, and whether or not future funk or vaporwave music is truly marketable on a grand scale. Why do some people pour their heart and soul in to their work and others do not? How do chillwave and vaporwave relate to the 80's revival in pop music? Is the vaporwave scene just about making a buck? You're going to have to play the episode if you want to hear Van Paugam's hottest takes on the latest installment of "Hot Takes"!

 

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Episode 69: strip_silence

Hot off the presses for the sixty-ninth episode of iconic internet podcast "Hot Takes", we scheduled a visit with strip_silence! Artist, DJ, "Hot Takes" mod, and Utopia District team member strip joined the bois for a rousing round of riveting history, invigorating geekout sessions, and scalding takes. Coming from a hip-hop background, strip_silence's roots and influence has brought so much well-needed discipline and flavor to the vaporwave community through the classic vapor albums he's released and scratch-heavy DJ sets he's performed. Get the scoop on what it's like to mix on wax vs. Serato or Rekordbox! Hear about strip's experiences digging in the crates while delivering pizza and listening to Boston college radio! Listen in to Skelly's thoughts on the evolution of the virally popular barber beats genre. We might have gone a little overtime, there may or may not have been a teaser promoting an possible upcoming livestream event being put on by Roge Corp, and it is rumored that there was a whole lot of love going around the room. Another one for the books!

 

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Episode 68 REMIX: Chris††† x Limerence

Episode 68 of "Hot Takes" is a very special remix episode featuring prior guests Chris††† and Limerence! We had so much fun having them on the show before that when they reached out about reprising their roles we just couldn't decline. Episode 68 was a rowdy one, featuring a lot of banter between the boys, silliness with Limerence, and grumbles with Chris†††. An asinine conversation about pizza, wings, hot chicken, and quesadillas with Limmy may have taken place. Some admonishment from Chris††† about backing content up and running a successful record label needed to take place. And of course Skelly blows his top countless times throughout the episode, so don't miss out on this very special remix episode of independent art and music podcast "Hot Takes"!

 

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Episode 67: SkyYamaha

For "Hot Takes" episode 67, this independent art and music talk show got to host SkyYamaha! Skilled visualist and mystical electronic musician alike, Sky is known for her surreal, enigmatic 3D rendered visual artwork, her danceable spin on vaporwave music, and her foundational work with the Phoenix, Arizona based Desert Dreams Collective. She has played a series of live shows as SkyYamaha in the desert southwest, has released a number of albums and EPs, and has also done work with other visualists in the scene like All Hell Breaks Loops, Chiefahleaf, Tropical Virtual, and Z.E.R.O. Stream the episode if you want to see hear about Sky's childhood experiences with Bach, Kraftwerk, and a lute-playing father in the household, or just skip to the part where everybody gets to nerd out about Annihilation, Apocalypse Now, and Contact! Is FrankJavCee's guide to making vaportrap really that good of an icebreaker? Did Ishkur really leave out vaporwave in his acclaimed guide to electronic music? Why was Miss Yamaha kicked out of the club!? If you want to find out, you've got to tune in!

 

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Episode 66: 회사Auto

On "Hot Takes" episode sixty-six, Skelly and Shiro spent two hours with 회사Auto, discussing everything from his eight hour long collected Noir release to his many experiences seeing such live acts as My Bloody Valentine and Sigur Rós. Beside his winning smile and playful approach to vaporwave production, 회사Auto is known for collaborating with countless hallmarks acts of the genre such as Nmesh and Saint Pepsi. He has bridged and blended countless flavors of vaporwave and experimental electronic music, and he has released on such prominent vaporwave labels as Business Casual, Dream Catalogue, Fortune 500 Records, and more. Don't miss the part in the episode when 회사Auto tells the story of showing Oneohtrix Point Never and Radiohead to his music history class, and make sure to pay special attention to his poignant commitment to raising awareness and money to treat ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.

 

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Episode 65: Heaven Sample

For episode number sixty-five on independent music podcast "Hot Takes", Heaven Sample brought the party with his extensive experience in the music scene and well cultivated taste in art and music. Known as of late as being an up-and-comer with live performances with i2K and Bass House HMTL and collaborations with the likes of Sevag H, Heaven Sample wowed us with his tales of drumming in various bands and touring worldwide pre-vaporwave scene. Come for the stories about drumming in shoegaze band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and a geekout session with Skelly about South Jersey hardcore and pop punk, and stay for stories about 3AM noise music sessions and a shirtless guy cooking chili at a house show!

 

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Episode 64: Futurefunkrocker

Kicking off "Hot Takes" season four, we brought on an OG from the early days of the vaporwave scene, Futurefunkrocker. Known for releasing an album square in the middle of "Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1" and "Spend the Night With Games", Brent has been to hell and back with the scene and adjacent experimental and hypnagogic projects as well, paving the way for vaporwave's popularity via an early, profoundly popular Tumblr page. Futurefunkrocker rapped with the bois for a couple of hours on Monday night about his love of ambient and drone music, seeing Growing and Slowdive live, incessant self promo in the scene, Chris Gaines listening stations, and a hell of a lot of other cool topics too.

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