Mallsoft

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mallsoft
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsMid-2010s, Internet, 4chan

Mallsoft (also known as mallwave) is a vaporwave subgenre centered around shopping malls.[1]

Overview

Album cover of Palm Mall by Cat System Corp. Illustrations such as these are often used as artwork for mallsoft music.

Often based on corporate lounge music, mallsoft is meant to conjure images of shopping malls, grocery stores, lobbies, and other places of public commerce.[2] Mallsoft artists typically elicit nostalgic memories of these retail establishments, even to those who did not experience them firsthand,[3] sampling easy listening, bossa nova, and smooth jazz music. The genre also often attempts to provide commentary on consumerism and corporate capitalism.[4] Much of the enjoyment from listeners is derived from nostalgia and the "pleasure of remembering for the sake of the act of remembering itself".[5]

Characteristics

Some artists simply slow & reverberate existing 1980s' pop songs to make them sound like they're coming from the overhead speakers in an empty or abandoned mall.[6] Reverb and distortion are often overlaid on top of tracks to give them an isolating and disorienting feeling.[6] YouTube videos often pair mallsoft tracks with images of malls, with an emphasis on selected images that appear to have been taken from the 1980s and 1990s.[6][7] The visuals can often be meant to invoke a sense of loneliness along with the cold nature of meandering through overly-corporate mercantile environments.[8]

Reception

Music journalist Simon Chandler described Dutch artist Cat System Corp.'s 2014 album Palm Mall as being "perhaps the definitive mallsoft album".[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Vaporwave, the Millennial legacy of Daniel Lopatin". Revista cultural el Hype. 2020-02-21. Archived from the original on 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  2. ^ "Mallsoft is the New Elevator Music | Indie88". 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  3. ^ "The Teens Who Listen to 'Mallwave' Are Nostalgic for an Experience They've Never Had". MEL Magazine. 2019-01-30. Archived from the original on 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  4. ^ "Micro Genre Within a Micro Genre That Uses Ambience as an Instrument: Learn About Mallsoft". www.ultimate-guitar.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  5. S2CID 165274914
    .
  6. ^
    ISSN 1533-1598
    .
  7. ^ "Macross 82-99's 'Sailorwave' Should Be Every Retro Anime Fan's Soundtrack on CBR". 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
  8. ^ "Genre As Method: The Vaporwave Family Tree, From Eccojams to Hardvapour". Bandcamp Daily. 2016-11-21. Archived from the original on 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  9. ^ "The Mall, Nostalgia, and the Loss of Innocence: An Interview With 猫 シ Corp". Bandcamp Daily. 2017-03-08. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
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