Chillwave (originally considered synonymous with glo-fi and hypnagogic pop) is a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s. It is characterized by evoking the popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s while engaging with notions of memory and nostalgia. Common features include a faded or dreamy retro pop sound, escapist lyrics (frequent topics include the beach or summer), psychedelic or lo-fi aesthetics, mellow vocals, slow-to-moderate tempos, effects processing (especially reverb), and vintage synthesizers.
Chillwave was one of the first music genres to develop primarily through the Internet. The term was coined in 2009 by the satirical blog Hipster Runoff to lampoon microgenres and indie acts whose sounds resembled incidental music from 1980s VHS tapes. Prior to this, the music would have been labelled as shoegaze, dream pop, ambient, or indietronica. Leading acts included Neon Indian, Washed Out, and Toro y Moi, who gained attention during 2009's "Summer of Chillwave". Washed Out's 2009 track "Feel It All Around" remains the best-known chillwave song.[19]
Many artists exploited the style's low-budget simplicity, which led to an oversaturation of acts that contributed to the original scene's demise. The phrase "chillwave" came to be used as a pejorative due to the music's perceived shallowness and reliance on nostalgia. Detractors also criticized the term for having been contrived by media publications. It heralded the early 2010s proliferation of Internet music microgenres, including vaporwave, which originated as an ironic variant of chillwave. By the mid-2010s, chillwave had faded in popularity, with most of the original artists and listeners of the genre shifting focus to other music styles.
^Cragg, Michael (October 16, 2010). "Neon Indian: Psychic Chasms". The Guardian. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
^Harris, Lev (August 11, 2011). "Life, Leisure & Loads Of Reverb: An Interview With Washed Out". The Quietus.
^Phaneuf, Whitney (January 9, 2013). "Toro Y Moi Eases Into Adulthood". East Bay Express.
^Weiss, Dan (July 6, 2012). "Slutwave, Tumblr Rap, Rape Gaze: Obscure Musical Genres Explained". LA Weekly.
^ abcdTurner, David (March 14, 2016). "Is Indie Rock Over the White Male Voice?". MTV News. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
^Gabrielle, Timothy (August 22, 2010). "Chilled to Spill: How The Oil Spill Ruined Chillwave's Summer Vacation". PopMatters. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
^Trainer 2016.
^Pounds, Ross (June 30, 2010). "Why Glo-Fi's Future Is Not Ephemeral". The Quietus.
^ abcPirnia, Garin (March 13, 2010). "Is Chillwave the Next Big Music Trend?". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
^The Week Staff (July 22, 2011). "Washed Out: Within and Without". The Week.
^ abDespres, Sean (June 18, 2010). "Whatever you do, don't call it 'chillwave'". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
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^ abcdHinkes-Jones, Llewellyn (July 15, 2010). "Downtempo Pop: When Good Music Gets a Bad Name". The Atlantic.
^Cornelis, Kris (May 29, 2013). "Q&A: Toro y Moi's Chaz Bundick on Being 'Straight-Up Tired of Music'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
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Chillwave (originally considered synonymous with glo-fi and hypnagogic pop) is a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s. It is characterized...
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by mellow beats, vintage synthesizers, and lo-fi melodies, including chillwave, glo-fi, and hypnagogic pop. These three terms were described as interchangeable...
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smooth jazz disco R&B funk Cultural origins Mid-1970s – mid-1980s Derivative forms Chillwave vaporwave Other topics Adult contemporary music city pop...
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mid–1980s, United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand Derivative forms Chillwave Britpop chamber pop grunge post-Britpop post-rock Subgenres Grebo math...
styles such as post-punk, indie rock, emo, dream pop, Shibuya-kei, and chillwave. Wilson's accolades include numerous industry awards, inductions into...
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2002), ISBN 0-415-23734-3, p. 136. Pirnia, Garin (13 March 2010). "Is Chillwave the Next Big Music Trend?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 May...
soundtracking blockbusters." The Rise of the Synths 1980s in music Cyberspace Chillwave Cyberpunk Vaporwave Sovietwave Drive Robert (23 September 2016). "On The...
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