Hot Takes

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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Episode 63: Yet Another Retrospective Mega Episode

As is now customary for "Hot Takes", we finished season 3 with another mega episode, but this time we wanted to concentrate on involving the community! Bringing on more guests to the show simultaneously than ever before, episode 63 is more brief than the last two retrospective episodes, but what it lacks in length it makes up for with pure chaos! We've lost count of how many people joined us live that night, but we made sure to make room at the table for not just prior guests but friends of the show, donors, mods, and members of the vaporwave community in the Discord server as well. Keeping conversation flowing was not a difficult task at all, and nearly every guest got a chance to share their best arguments, debate a little, geek out some, and drop some great questions and spicy takes! Despite some imperfections in audio levels, multitasking difficulties, and some people losing their train of thought a time or two, the third official "Hot Takes" retrospective episode and conclusion to our third year as a talk show was a rousing success and was enjoyed by many. If you missed it, be sure to block out time to restream it, but prepare yourself for some fun conversations and wild moments!

 

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Episode 62: Crystal Eternal

Right on time, we we came forth with episode number sixty-two of "Hot Takes", and our special guest on the show was graphic designer, producer, and show organizer Crystal Eternal! We spent two hours on Monday night talking taste, technique, and opinion with Reina, and it was a delight. Known for their phenomenal graphic art as Chameleon Crafts and future funk/vaporwave production, Crystal Eternal appeared on the show right after releasing "Keygen" on Business Casual and immediately prior to putting on their second Nostalgia Lounge show in Columbus, Ohio, featuring Imcopav, King Quartz, VCR Headaches, and Frankjavcee. We timed our episode with her perfectly! Rewatch the episode to get the 411 on the lore behind DJ John Cena. Get into the details of Crystal Eternal and Skelly's vocal production techniques! Hear about the birth of the Crystal Eternal project, and enjoy the audience submitted hot takes in the intro portion of the show. The audience really came through for this one and were rewarded with Reina's thoughts on cliques within the vaporwave scene and her love of the Scorsese film "Casino". You heard it on "Hot Takes"!

 

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