Vaporwave Review: Building a Better World by 猫シCorp & t e l e p a t h

globogymface This review was originally written on the main Agora Road website globogymface


View: https://hiraeth-records.bandcamp.com/album/building-a-better-world


Now we have a few hours until the official release of the album Building a Better World by 猫シCorp & t e l e p a t h. Listening to this album was a joy and you will definitely want to listen to this one as soon as it hits bandcamp. I reviewed each and every song below so you'll know what you'll be getting into. Below is a little snippet that describes the album and I couldn't have said it better myself 猫 シ Corp. (Catsystemcorp) and t e l e p a t h created an album with heavy synths and airy pads; inspired by classics such as the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis and other sci fi movies – the artist went for a classic synth sound but choose to give it their own twist. Both no strangers in the vaporwave scene have combined their artistic skills to create a sound new to the scene.

猫 シ Corp. has been active for quite some years and has released numerous albums in the vaporwave and mallsoft genres. T e l e p a t h has been active since the early days of vaporwave and is also the founding fathers of the subgenre 'slushwave'. T e l e p a t h is also one half of the group 2814 (together with Hong Kong Express), most known for their album "Birth of a New Day". Both artists have moved away from the old skool sound and turned to a more ambient and classic 80's synthesizer sound. Taking a mix of both their styles they literally 'built a new world'. The album is divided into two sides, a "city side" and a "jungle side". The first being heavier and the second lighter.

This new album has been in the works for over two years and is a much anticipated album in the scene. It will be the first album released on 猫 シ Corp. 's new label 'Hiraeth Records', founded late 2018 but starts releasing July 2019. T e l e p a t h runs his own label: Virtual Dream Plaza. Both artists have been known for selling out 500+ records within half an hour. 猫 シ Corp. has been featured in Bandcamp articles and is discussed in many videos (reviews) (Pad Chennington for example). t e l e p a t h 's 2814 has been featured on for example The Needle Drop and is considered one of the biggest influencers in the scene and genre.

Now let's get right into the review!​

都会 Side A Of "Building a Better World"​

01 目覚め (vaporwave) –
Translated to "Awakening" opens with heavy rain drops as you wait in anticipation to see what kind of dream sounds that 猫シCorp & t e l e p a t h had came up with. The style is very ambient the suspense almost hurts as you wait, but alas you will see a light at the end of the tunnel. I hear the beats of holistic drums and the smoothest jazz you've ever heard. It's sleek, ambient, and almost dreamlike, you will feel like you are in a Metropolis and you just came out from the city metro subway into a neo futuristic plaza that is infused in the natural jungle ambience around you. The song goes in really deep in your soul and has an aroma of a new spiritual awaking.

02 Dawn over the Metropolis (vaporwave)
– Here is where the story continues.... Its strange. It feels like the city is empty, a sort of nothingness. No people, no animals, just buildings and the essence of nature. It feels like in the movie Interstellar where Cooper enters the black void and floats in what seems like an endless library of time. You will definitely need to listen to this on your own. It's something that you would want to take the time and enjoy it without any distractions. I has a state of being and immensely brings you into the forefront of audible ecstasy. I feel like this song is what really encapsulates the whole album in general.

03 Sector 131 (vaporwave)
– This gives you a little different vibe from the previous 2 tracks. I feel like it's more darker and more metallic in my opinion. We still got the rain going on but the music chimes in with the wind and I hear what feels like an energy pulse emitting throughout the song. It sounds more ghostly and I feel like hope has been abandoned and that the spirits are roaming the Metropolis I don't know if they're benevolent or not. You will have to see for yourself. It's quiet and dark but it feels alive.

04 Lost Promises (vaporwave)
– Lost Promises is more dynamic and definitely hits the spiritual side of your self. We are no longer in this world of consumerism and hoards of meritocracy. I can finally see now that the old ways are over and the new oasis begins a new order of dreams. You will reach but you will never obtain, that's the plight of us, humans. Always fighting and striving for what we can't have but yet have no appreciation for what we already have now and abandoned your inner self. Lost Promises speaks to the souls. It makes you look inside yourself and deal with your insecurities.

05 世界の果て (vaporwave)
– Conveniently translated to "End of The World" marks the end of Side A of Building a Better World. It is a happier and gleeful vibe that makes you feel hopeful for the future. It makes it seem like that you should have no fear, you should accept the new world as your home and be free. It is what you've always wanted. A place you can call home.

ジャングル SIDE B of "Building a Better World"​

06 Building a Better World (vaporwave)
– Atlas we are witnessing the creation of a new dawn. In the background you can hear echoes of a telecom and the transitioning of harmonic synths phasing in and out of the speakers. The rain still pours and the ambiences still exist. "Building a Better World" subtly plays a lone flute in the distance and makes the hairs on your skin stand up to give you a chilling sensation throughout your body. It ends will the telecom echoing something in Japanese but it's hard to decipher.

07 Hiraeth V (vaporwave)
– This song is vibrant, joyful and ecstatic. It grooves with a harmonic symphony and leaves you in peace to live in the new world. a better world. It just goes with the flow in ambience and experience a deep DMT ride along the way.

08 進化 (vaporwave)
– Translated to "Evolution". The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth. What can I say about this track. This track feel like it is more heavy on the halo synths and has a louder audio to possibly signify the transformation of this dreamland. I think that Evolution is the shortest track on the album. There is not really much more to say about it. I feels like it's just going through the motions.

09 A New Life Awaits You (vaporwave)
– Now we have reached the end of the album. It somehow sounds and feel alive. This is definitely more sounds more mystic and really takes on the role of an enchanting deity. Wow this really ties the whole album together. It's as if you were just woken from a long weird dream. Like you just dozed off in the mall went to a deep DMT driven dream and woke up to realize what you just experienced wasn't real. You are back to reality. You just live.

Overall, this album way a joy to listen to and my favorite track is 目覚め or "Awakening" and Lost Promises. This album feels alive like REALLY alive and when you listen to the whole album continuously you can feel and hear the changes that every song morphs perfectly with one another. There are no songs in the album that feel like it doesn't belong. The story that it tells really fucks with your mind a little especially A New Life Awaits You. This was a long time to make the album and I feel like the two biggest names in vaporwave really did a great job.
 

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bob512

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I have to add that the CD and minidisc bonus track called "Into the Dream" is also a very good song
 
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Eis-T

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I don't know how Catsystem Corp does it, but there is a incredible sense of consistency in his work for someone who has a very diverse discography. I can more often than not instantly tell if it's a catsystem corp track. How does he do this? is it that lush reverb? the snares? the arrangements? Because of this overarching quality, it feels like all his works belong into a same fictional world. A Catsystem Corp Cinematic Universe if you will.
 
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