Chillwave/Glo-fi

If you know me, you've probably heard me make a joke about it or namedrop some chillwave/glo-fi artist.

I'm not lame I swear.


Earlier this year, the genre became what you might want to call a buzzword in the indie music scene. For the uninformed, the glo-fi or chillwave movement is categorized by 80s influenced drum machines, vintage keyboards, reverberated and subtly lazy vocals, and fuzzy guitars and bass. Prominent artists in the genre; Washed Out, Memory Tapes, Toro Y Moi, Neon Indian, and Small Black (just to name a few).

The genre has become the topic of debate between music journalists, critics, bloggers, and listeners. While some respect the genre as a new and interesting type of music to be critiqued, others say it's a fad that deserves no respect and should be put to rest like post-rock was in the last couple of years. Do you remember when you found out about 'post-rock?' It was cool for like a year, right? Explosions in the Sky were the shit back then, huh? Yeah, well I see similarities in the two movements.

While I see chillwave sticking around and progressing a little more than post-rock ever could, are these music fads legitimate or are they just stepping stones to the next important and prominent musical movements in history? Will anyone remember Neon Indian's debut "Psychic Chasms" 30 years from now like we all know and love Dark Side of the Moon? Not to say that the records are on the same level, because trust me, I love Alan Palomo but that dude has a long way to go before we make those comparisons. Digressions aside, I think the genre is in a good place to make the right move towards widely accepted legitimacy. Until then, I will be unashamed in listening to and enjoying the music released thus far.

And so this post isn't completely useless, I'm going to put up Washed Out's first cassette, "High Times." Before his popular EP, Life of Leisure, Ernest Greene put out one of our first real looks at chillwave earlier this year. I already described the sound up at the top there so that's what you can expect. Hazy and sunny music that is great for chilling...and waving. And glowing? You be the judge. Love you.

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