|
Japanese vaporwave producer Infinity Frequencies started out with rather trivial
"eccojams" that sampled dance-pop hits of the 1980s.
Euphoria (2012) contains 20 of them, thankfully very brief, for a total of 32 minutes.
Dream Recovery (2012), which contains 24 of them for a total of only 27 minutes, veered towards more abstract "remixes" of the music of the past,
attaining a trance something akin to
Jon Hassell's "third world" ambient music
in the most exotic moments, like Cascading Rainfall and
Endless Existence.
In the same year he also released
Euphoria Eternal (2012), 13 "remixes" of dance-pop hits for a total of 14 minutes, and
Sunset Limited (2012), nine songs for a total of
17 minutes.
By his standards, Computer Death (2013) was a sprawling album: 28 brief ambient vignettes sampling, as usual, old dance-pop songs.
The Zen-inspired Group Meditation (but perhaps also inspired by movie soundtracks) is a sort of centerpiece, being twice longer than most of the others (almost a whopping four minutes)
Pulses is a close second, a looped cosmic beat.
Lotus Bloom is perhaps the best "re-imagination" of old muzak.
Shrines (2013) is mostly devoted to aggressive rhythms, to melodies with
booming beats (Moonlit Cruise and Continental the most creative ones), and often with jazzy overtones (Stars the most exotic of the jazzy bunch).
The repetition is used in a more manic way on
Computer Decay (2014), 18 songs for a total of 19 minutes,
to bring out a haunting and ghostly quality
(Forever, Future Outlook, Hologram, Watching).
Nonetheless, in a few cases the operation yields nostalgic and romantic atmospheres (notably in Ghostly).
The more atmospheric
Computer Afterlife (2014) reaches
peaks of nostalgia (Eternal, Remember, Frozen in Time)
but is mostly a transitional work that abandons the facile remixing for true
ambience.
His skills and his inspiration improved on
Into The Light (2015), 24 vignettes for 28 minutes, that shifted towards
a more delicate and ethereal style
(best represented by Memories Echoed in Time), although
sometimes too abstract (Endless). As usual, half of the songs could have been omitted.
The 23 brief vignettes of Closer Than Ever (2016) don't seem to have the same emotional depth of the previous three albums. With rare exceptions
(One Last Chance, Reflections) this album is a rather dull and tedious experience.
Between two Worlds (2018), that offers 23 more, is only marginally better. By now Infinity Frequencies is focused on rhythm-less creatures, and here the
highlights are the solemn adagio of Between Two Worlds and
the warped Mozart-ian piano themes of Obsolete Request and Unraveling.
His work has converged to a looped aesthetic that blends
minimalist repetition, "eccojams"
(nostalgic mash-ups of damaged vintage recordings),
ambient drones and glitchy soundscapes.
(Copyright © 2020 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
|
(Translation by/ Tradotto da Niccolo` Bargellini)
Infinity Frequencies, artista vaporwave
giapponese, ha iniziato la sua attivit con eccojams piuttosto banali,
ottenute attraverso campionamenti di hit dance-pop anni 80. Euphoria (2012) ne contiene 20, fortunatamente piuttosto
brevi, per un totale di 32 minuti. Dream
Recovery
(2012), che ne contiene 24 per un totale di soli 27 minuti, vira verso remix
pi astratti di musica del passato, ottenendo una trance quasi associabile alla
musica ambient del terzo mondo di Jon Hassell nei momenti pi esotici, come Cascading Rainfall e Endless Existence. Nello stesso
anno h pubblicato anche Euphoria
Eternal
(2012), 13 remix di hit dance-pop per un totale di 14 minuti, e Sunset Limited (2012), 9 canzoni per un totale di 17
minuti.
Per i suoi standard, Computer Death (2013) un album vasto, ben 28 brevi
vignette ambient che usano come campionamenti, al solito, vecchie canzoni
dance-pop. Group Meditation, ispirata dallo
zen e forse anche da qualche colonna sonora, una sorta di pezzo centrale,
vista la sua lunghezza doppia rispetto a molti altri brani dellalbum (quasi 4
minuti, una durata incredibile visto lartista). Pulses, un beat cosmico
in loop, viene subito dopo. Lotus
Bloom
forse la miglior re-immaginazione della vecchia muzak.
Shrines (2013) contiene
principalmente ritmi aggressivi, melodie con beat detonanti (Moonlit Cruise e Continental sono i pi
creativi) e spesso con sfumature jazzanti (Stars il pi esotico
tra i brani jazzanti).
La ripetizione usata in maniera pi
maniacale in Computer Decay (2014), 18 brani
per un totale di 19 minuti, per ottenere una caratteristica inquietante e
spettrale (Forever, Future Outlook, Hologram, Watching). Ci
nonostante, in alcuni casi loperazione produce atmosfere romantiche e
nostalgiche (come si nota in Ghostly).
Il pi atmosferico Computer Afterlife (2014) raggiunge picchi di nostalgia (Eternal, Remember, Frozen in Time) ma
soprattutto un lavoro di transizione che abbandona i remix superficiali a
favore del vero ambient.
Le sue abilit e ispirazioni migliorano
in Into the Light (2015), 24
vignette per 28 minuti, album che tende verso uno stile pi delicato ed etereo
(rappresentato soprattutto da Memories
Echoed in Time)
anche se talvolta diventa troppo astratto (Endless). Al solito,
met dei brani potevano essere omessi.
Le 23 brevi vignette di Closer Than Ever (2016) non sembrano avere la stessa
profondit emotiva dei tre album precedenti. Con rare eccezioni (One Last Chance, Reflections), questo album
unesperienza piuttosto noiosa e fastidiosa.
Between
Two Worlds
(2018), che ne offre altre 23, solo leggermente meglio. Ormai Infinity
Frequencies sembra interessato a creature prive di ritmo, e qui i punti degni
di nota sono ladagio solenne di Between
Two Worlds
e i deformati temi pianistici la Mozart di Obsolete
Request
e Unraveling.
Il suo lavoro confluito verso
unestetica del loop che amalgama ripetizioni minimaliste, eccojams (nostalgici
mashup di registrazioni vintage ormai rovinate), droni ambient e paesaggi
sonori glitchati.
|
