To finish my drift through synth wave and vaporwave albums, I introduce Desired. Desired does not have as much relevant information available for analysis compared to the artists mentioned above. The only sources used are streaming or record reselling platforms – Soundcloud, Spotify, and Discogs. However, the music content of Desired is very close to what I intend to produce for Virtual Aeffects.
Desired is a young Russian from Ekaterinburg who is a fanatic for anime – visible through the constant reference on his album covers to anime characters – nicknamed “sailor Senshi” and “Saturn genesis”. He belongs to the group “Sailor Team”. Their inspirations apart from anime are the Japanese culture of the 90s or music genres in vogue at that time, such as French House, with names like Daft Punk and Modjo. His music is totally sample-based and takes the listener to lo-fi vaporwave, future funk and French House aesthetics. Many of the tracks in Desired remind me of the mythical Modjo song “Lady, hear me tonight”.
Japanese Culture in the 90s. Why is it so influential?
I have read a few articles on Japan. The country has become a fad over the last 20 years. Many people fancy Japan as an ideal place to boost their personal qualities. It’s like an exotic paradise for Western Europeans and Americans. Talking about Japan is like a futuristic impossible, technological, infinite dream. Over the years, the medieval idea of Japan and the Japanese has faded away as Western-inspired movies no longer depict samurai and ninjas and sword sacrifices, and pictorial paintings of them, with fish and almond trees, Mount Fuji, and traditional dresses. This turnaround is no doubt due to the Japan of the 1990s.
It seems that the country is encapsulated at that time. Many creatives take advantage of this to draw inspiration from these motifs, which are figuratively present although far away in time. In this way, I present some musical and cinematographic artefacts that help build this mythical idea of cultural Japan that lives in many artists.
Spending the day strolling along Akihabara highstreets will give you a delightful dash of nostalgia. Businesses that you thought were dead and buried are still going in Japan, like DVD rentals and music stores. 90s retro video games also kept gaming classics alive, reminding us of our childhoods glued to a screen.
Richard Young in “Japan in the 90s: Still Alive”
This nostalgia that Richard Young speaks of is what Desired seeks in its music – the exaltation of an era and its eternalisation.
Exploring some songs
Sunshine Aerobics is the introductory song to the album Lovestory (2017) and perfectly mirrors elements of vaporwave music, with the twist that Desired likes – energetic, humorous, and frenetic. Obviously sampled, the lyrics portray the same love content that David Bruno addresses, which reaches for kitschy tastes. Another peculiarity of this song is the abuse of the saxophone – filled with reverb.
Sixth track from the same album, but this time with more French House-oriented vibes – loops of the same sample and something of a manipulation. There’s something Desired doesn’t seem to like to do, though, which is the chopped and screwed techniques that traditional vaporwave has.