Hot Takes

Episode 81: Quiz

During the eighty-first episode of "Hot Takes", the bois used an ace in the hole and brought on Quiz, a path-finding colleague and friend to the show, spending the evening chatting about a number of things, including the story behind the curation of "Hot Takes Vol. 1" and the difference between listening to metal music and playing it live. Known primarily for his flashy tracksuits and dance moves at live shows, Quiz is also known for being a scene builder, show thrower, and community activist in his personal life. He's a member of Philadelphia-based band Burning Sunrise, de-facto leader of the Artifaqt Collective, and a mod for the "Hot Takes" server as well. Come be privy to the conversation that was had about Bee Fant's iconic art style, and be regaled by Quiz's story about his first experience hearing vaporwave at a Neon Nights-themed IRL party.

 

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Episode 80: Vitesse X

For the eightieth episode of "Hot Takes", we were honored to be graced by the presence of Vitesse X. With a background in cross country skiing, track, and field and having played live in shoegaze and punk rock bands, independent electronic artist and label owner Vitesse X told us her stories and divulged some intensely personal and edifying advice about being sincere with your art. Lots of talk about acts like Fugazi, Paul McCartney, and The Orb, advice on how to sell yourself and get work in New York City performance spaces, and a comical series of takes about cut-and-paste color-by-number breakbeat music were the highlights of our two hours with the incredibly skilled, profoundly personable Vitesse X! You heard it on "Hot Takes"!

 

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Episode 79 REMIX: FrankJavCee x Luxury Elite

We brought back the remix format for "Hot Takes" episode 79, featuring previous guests and friends of the show FrankJavCee and Luxury Elite! When it comes to dear friends, engaged members of the community, and perfectly inspirational conversationalists, Frank and Lux were some of the first two people that came to mind when planning for this episode. The energy of episode 79 was at an all time high, with both bois fully nerding out, Lux ranting away, and Frank frenetically jumping from topic to topic in rapid, rampant fashion. Lux may have divulged some info about a secret Vektroid release and given some much needed advice to vaporwave up-and-comers. Frank told some tales and talked lost media, stolen samples, stalkers, and so much more. So much geeking out, interrupting, collaborating, and laughing transpired during the remix episode with Lux and Frank, so don't sleep on it! Restream "Hot Takes" today!

 

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Episode 78: Miami Nights 1984

Skelly, Shiro, and the "Hot Takes" horde got to spend a night with Miami Nights 1984 on the latest episode of the show! A veritable pathfinder of the outrun synthwave music scene, Michael has been recognized as one of the forefathers of the synthwave resurgence and has been involved with numerous high profile projects such as remixing acts like Gotye and Gunship, being featured in Rolling Stone, and sharing a lineup with John Carpenter on the "Rise of the Synths" documentary soundtrack. Our two hours with Miami Nights 1984 blazed by as we discussed things like his enormous hardware collection, his experiences with Gotye and Rolling Stone, and of course the story behind how he coined the genre name "outrun".

 

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Episode 77: Desert Sand Feels Warm at Night

Desert Sand Feels Warm at Night visited us this week on "Hot Takes"! An astoundingly skilled and popular vaporwave artist, Desert was surely the people's choice for a guest, and he did not disappoint in the slightest as we discussed all manner of subjects like Desert's social habits, hands-on application of music theory with regards to production, and his experience playing ambient music live at Slushwave 2024. Growing up in a musical household and trained in audio engineering with classical music, Desert Sand Feels Warm at Night came on the scene in the late 2010's and has since released countless sample-free slushwave albums. He has collaborated with multiple other ambient and slushwave acts and even runs a label/collective called Hallworth Collective! I don't know if we've ever had so many enthusiastic questions locked and loaded for a guest, chatting about everything from Skelly's thoughts on curating one's own sense of style to Desert's experience discovering Telepath テレパシー能力者 and Private Suite Magazine. Desert Sand Feels Warm at Night spoke to so many topics, such as using Maltese for the titles in his new collaborative album with Days of Blue, cool shirts, and the Slushwave Social Club Discord server. Don't miss his extensive thoughts about Cantopop, his beard care routine, and a very special top three album recommendation session in the intermission by previous guest Drinkyourtears. Follow/subscribe and be sure to be there for the next live episode if you enjoy rewatching this episode!

 

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Episode 76: Zer0 Rei

Zer0 Rei came on "Hot Takes" this week to chat with us! A well respected musician and visual artist in the vaporwave scene, Zer0 Rei was someone we wanted to amplify and celebrate; and he clued us in about a lot of things during his episode, like his daily work ethic, his work with Desert Sand Feels Warm at Night, and his longtime love of Japanese noise rock band Melt-Banana. Starting with harsh noise music and bringing with him a wealth of experience in the live punk rock and metal scenes, Zer0 now not only runs a vaporwave and experimental music label but also produces his own music and designs hyperreal 3-D rendered graphics as well. He's multifaceted and full of knowledge and experience, so rapping with him for two hours was a delight! During the night, there were discussions about topics like the local art collectives he runs, his unique production method with MIDI files and samples within Ableton, and the differences between future funk and vaporfunk. The temperature went up noticeably as Zer0 Rei regaled us with his experience on HKE and Shima33's new defunct podcast. The trio groaned over shipping and warranty issues with boutique synths, the chat erupted in laughs as Zer0 presented on camera the giant goose plushie he received as a gift from his spouse for Christmas, and Shiro raged about artists' propensity to play unreleased material live but then never release it. If you weren't there live during our visit with Zer0 Rei, check it out!

 

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Episode 75: DV-i

We were visited by the lovely and skilled artist DV-i on "Hot Takes" this week! A mysterious vapor-adjacent audio/visual artist that has been growing meteorically in popularity lately, Valerie's presence on our show meant we were able to share a memorable evening full of anecdotes and quips about topics like escapism, perfectionism, DAWs, VSTs, and more. A consummate multimedia artist that has been creating for over a decade, DV-i has played countless live shows in several countries and has scored a couple of video games as well. We got to hear lore like the concept behind DV-i being a defense contractor and Valerie's decision to use vocals in her recent work during the episode. We also got to discuss the merits of using FM synthesis and splice packs, favorite film directors and types of architecture, and the differences between DJing and production. Valerie's interplay with the audience and her breadth of knowledge of art and media made for a very fun and vibrant session with Skelly and Shiro. Yaoi? Puppy death wave? Special salsa?! DV-i's episode on "Hot Takes" features all this and then some, so check it out!

 

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Episode 74: MiniDisc.wiki

We brought our delightful friend Shortstuf888 from the MiniDisc.wiki project on "Hot Takes" this week! Beloved scene builder and moderator of the MiniDisc.wiki Discord server and "Hot Takes" Discord server, Tiffany excitedly agreed to join us for an evening of exposition and education on the defunct minidisc format, along with some backstory about her journey with the project, and of course a strongly held opinion or two for a treat. Having discovered the format as an adult, Shortstuf and partner Special K built and now manage the wiki page and several social media accounts revolving around the community of minidisc enthusiasts, most notably a nearly 2,000 member strong public Discord server. On top of that, Tiffany is a profoundly active member of the vaporwave community, staffing tables at ElectroniCON tape swap events, decorating for live shows like VaporVA's i2K, and helping moderate our own vibrant community Discord server. While we visited, Shortstuf discussed why she thought we should bring acts like DV-i and HKE on the show, playing and storing other archaic forms of physical media like iPods and thumb drives, and she helped us understand some of the differences between British dubstep, brostep, and riddim music. Tune in for a heartwarming message for Shiro by Quiz at the halfway point of the episode! Perhaps you'll get get to see and hear about some of the more unique devices in her collection, and you might even get the 411 on how to record to minidisc or get affordable players via Japanese proxies. You heard it on "Hot Takes" episode 74 with MiniDisc.wiki!

 

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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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