Great post and introduction (for me at least) to Caroline's various aliases and output. For someone new to signalwave, what differentiates it from vaporwave?
Thank you! So signalwave is just a specific subgenre of vaporwave, which is more of a wide umbrella term. This style is based on loops from old broadcast media and therefore less reliant on the usual styles of music used in 'standard' vaporwave (80s pop, smooth jazz, soft rock, muzak etc.). In general I'd say it often sounds (even) more moody, dark and uncanny, and less beat-driven. Many producers like to experiment with noises like radio/TV static. This is a broadstroke generalization because for every 'rule', there will be an artist or an album proving the exact opposite can be true in signalwave. It's one of my favorite niches within the vaporwave scene because it's wildly experimental and anything seems possible.
To be very clear though – in my humble opinion, signalwave IS vaporwave, just as most other subgenres are just minimal variations on a theme.
Great post and introduction (for me at least) to Caroline's various aliases and output. For someone new to signalwave, what differentiates it from vaporwave?
Thank you! So signalwave is just a specific subgenre of vaporwave, which is more of a wide umbrella term. This style is based on loops from old broadcast media and therefore less reliant on the usual styles of music used in 'standard' vaporwave (80s pop, smooth jazz, soft rock, muzak etc.). In general I'd say it often sounds (even) more moody, dark and uncanny, and less beat-driven. Many producers like to experiment with noises like radio/TV static. This is a broadstroke generalization because for every 'rule', there will be an artist or an album proving the exact opposite can be true in signalwave. It's one of my favorite niches within the vaporwave scene because it's wildly experimental and anything seems possible.
To be very clear though – in my humble opinion, signalwave IS vaporwave, just as most other subgenres are just minimal variations on a theme.