#8

SMIRNOV. Hello. I'm back after a mid-summer break. I say that, but I'm bullshitting. Okay, what have I got for you this eve? For today's episode number, I will focus on the genre that is 'Chillwave', or rather what I sonically think are the roots of it. So what is this'Chillwave' thing and who came up with the term and why? Well, I'll try and explain over the course of the videos but I can guarantee that by the time that this episode has been compiled it's probably already evolved into 'Drillwave' or 'Shrillwave' or something like that. Anyway, let's start off with something that might be found in this, this 'field' of music.


SMIRNOV. According to Wikipedia and some bloke who wrote an article in The New York Times, chillwave is characterised by bands with weak lead vocals who trade on the memories of 1980s, specifically electropop, recession-era, low budget, ambient and shoegaze. Hm. Kind of. I'll let you know what my take is after the next video.



SMIRNOV. That was Washed Out, with 'Belong'. Now if you have ears, what you might be able to term from this 'genre' is not really how the New York Times gimp described it but rather how I describe it, which is less 1980s electropop and more a kind of Balearic version of soft synthetic rock of old, fed through a nostalgic-tinted filter of sun-kissed first loves, school disco cola and lazy, warm nights in council estates, dreaming of Miami or New York or Monte Carlo. Something like that. Probably. This is where the roots of this fad comes from, for me.

SMIRNOV. The term 'Chillwave' was reportedly made up by some fucking hipster. Now this might infer that it's a genre for hipsters, theatre producers, graphic designers and lesbian vegans. The youtube comments are rife with hipster dissing, usually from older hipsters. I don't know. It isn't exactly commerical but neither is it sterile and foppish. At a Washed Out gig I stood shoulder to shoulder with a bin-man and a serial killer. I was the least 'hip' of those two. Also I witnessed a couple of pissheads steal a giant Washed Out poster.  I enjoy this music in small doses as it reminds me of stuff like this.

SMIRNOV. Anyhow, most genres and 'movements', as we know, are compartmentalist. There is though, a bit of a trend in America for a certain style of music that evokes hazy memories of 1980s summers. This 'fad' has been going for a couple of years actually. Here's a track from Toro Y Moi.


SMIRNOV. Right, here's something from Neon Indian.

SMIRNOV. What now? Oh let's be post-modern, or pre-modern and dip into the past and see hear more roots from this musical fad.

SMIRNOV. I understand Jay Z fucked with and fucked up the song you just heard. On behalf of Jay Z, I'd like to say sorry for that. Sorry. Don't fuck with Alphaville. Just don't. Now let's bring you back into 2011 with this next act, who I've featured before on Autobahn 1. I'm going to finish my chicken burger.



SMIRNOV. Well I didn't actually manage to have my chicken burger as it wasn't cooked properly, so I made do with toasted cheese sandwich. Here's something which, surely must have influenced Washed Out.


SMIRNOV. For you non-UK residents under 40, that was Noel Edmonds introducing that clip. That hairstyle. I'll tell you something about that in a moment. He's something of a British institution, having worked on Radio 1, hosted saturday morning kids television shows, various game shows and currently Deal or No Deal. He was even killed by Clive Anderson in 1997, courtesy of Chris Morris. He has a reputation for being naff and creating a monster called Mr Blobby. A friend of my dad's had this exact hairstyle, around 1978. Only it was ginger. He came round once to see him but my dad was out so he asked my mum if he could wait. He fell asleep in front of the TV. My dad went apeshit when he came back from the pub. I was only an infant at the time but that hairstyle has awkward memories. Here's one from Memory Tapes. Live in Manchester.

SMIRNOV. Okay, I'm nearing the end of this, a-hem 'Chillwave' special. Here's something which I feel wouldn't sound out of place on  DJ's setlist. Or shouldn't, at any rate, sound out of place. Is it too hip to slow dance with someone anymore?

SMIRNOV. Hahaha what does video and link to Chillwave genre communicate really, that it's essentially conservative yuppie wine bar pop? I hope not. You can make lush, hazy, melancholic pop with a laptop these days. It's not negative. Right since we're approaching the end of summer, I'll leave you with one of my favourite songs of all time. I feel it fits in nicely to this episode's playlist. See you next time.