ULTRAVIOLET VISIONS: We Are Back Online!
May 10, 2024 - portal.rwb
Welcome back everyone to a brand new edition of ULTRAVIOLET VISIONS! It's been months since our last blog post on here and it's honestly been long overdue for some updates. Before I get into the usual music recommendations, discussions, and shoutouts, I just thought I'd give an update on everything going on with me and the label and some explanation for certain delays like with shipping and these blogs.
In August we will be hitting our 2 year anniversary since UVF's initial launch and it has been an absolute blast working on this project. Since Day 1, I've wanted to build a platform to emphasize and promote all of the amazing music I've been a fan of in this scene and giving them a place to really shine and highlight them for the hidden gems that they are. Every single release felt like such a great success in my mind, regardless of sales or numbers, but mainly just due to the fact that we were able to turn someone's digital release and give it a tangible, physical form. With music being so heavily emphasized in the digital space these days, there's a special feeling when getting to hold a physical release in your hand like a tape or a CD. Things have changed a ton since the start of this label (mostly for the better!) and it's been a hard time for me personally to balance everything going on in my busy life. I still have every bit of passion and determination inside of me to continue on with this project as when I first started 2 years ago, but I definitely feel like in the past year or so I haven't been able to live up to my ambitions and fulfill the goals I strive for. There's a lot more I could be doing to improve the whole experience on everyone's end regarding UVF and I really want to focus on just cleaning things up and trying to stay on top of new releases and updates. Currently we have a couple releases lined up for UVF that I'm excited to share, but I wouldn't feel comfortable continuing to put releases out knowing there are still delays for orders. Once all pending orders have been shipped out, I can't wait to continue on with expanding the UVF catalog and sharing more music with you all. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me with any concerns regarding your orders and I'd be happy to give you any info you need.
With all that being said, let's kick things off with a recap of all the latest updates regarding artists on the UVF roster!
UVF Updates
Spring Dream
On April 21st, TRUMAN! hosted the "Spring Dream" show at Complex24 in Denver, Colorado with most of the returning roster from the previous "Snow Dream" show. Truman was kind enough to invite me to play and with some planning, I was able to book a flight for the weekend and play my first ever live show!
Our trip to Denver was amazing and we had such a great time hanging out with everyone for the show! This was actually the first time I would be meeting any online mutuals so it was pretty nerve racking, but everyone was insanely kind and welcoming. Since starting our Lunar Data Garden project, Truman and I have gotten to know each other a ton and meeting in person for the first time was pretty surreal. Despite all the nerves, Truman was a great host and took us all around Denver. As soon as we landed we got some Korean BBQ and just yapped in person for the first time. The next day would be our one big day to pack as many things to do as possible before we had to really get into "show mode" come Sunday. We got these fire breakfast bagels, went to the Museum of Nature and Science, visited the Aquarium, stopped by a 4/20 music festival downtown, and ended the night at this super cozy bar with one of the best burgers I've had in forever. I swear all I was thinking of in my head after touring around Denver that day was "God a bacon cheeseburger and a beer would fucking smack right now" and when dinner came around it's like Truman read my mind immediately lol. Sunday rolled around and I met up at Truman's apartment to practice our sets when I met Sam (sigiliyph) and Aiden (Atekin) for the first time! They were super chill and we all practiced our sets for a couple hours before the show. Truman and I rode together to the show and bonded as we feasted on Wendy's Biggie Bags. When the actual show started, the energy was super sick and intimate in comparison to any other show I've been to. It's been a while since I've gone and been to any concerts or shows before so just being around people interested in similar music as me in this super underground venue was such a nice feeling. Without going into extreme detail over everyone's set, I just wanna say that everyone killed it and brought so much energy to the show that night! The whole night felt like it flew by so quickly and the thought of finally having to leave was starting to kick in. Shoutout to Luxury Noise, Big Baby Profit, Charlotte, Astrid, Aiden and Sam for sharing this night with and being super chill people to talk and hang out with! Thanks to Big Baby Profit for setting things up to get our set's recorded! You can watch both my portal.rwb set as well as the world's first Lunar Data Garden set over at the ULTRAVIOLET-FUTURE youtube channel. The Lunar Data Garden set will also be compiled into a Live Album over on the LDG Bandcamp page so be sure to support us there as well.
New scarecrow_ Album, "Our Shadow"!
Progressive Vaporwave artist scarecrow_ is back with their latest album "Our Shadow"! After the release of their ambitious double album "Flora & Fauna", scarecrow_ returns with another 10 boundary pushing tracks that further expand their already vast and intricate take of the NUWRLD style. Starting off the album, "Awake" takes us on a 7 minute expansive journey through multiple different switch ups that somehow blend coherently into each other. The track ranges from it's bright and punchy vocal stabs in the opening to it's melancholic arpeggio passages in the midpoint. I love the way that scarecrow_ can pack so many different styles and layers into one track while constantly keeping the listener on their toes, waiting to see what happens at every turn. Other standout tracks to me include "Lover" for it's tight groove chaotic energy throughout the track. "Station" is a track that takes you on a slow journey down a dramatic path of hard hitting drums and waltz-like melodies. At the halfway point, the song comes to a halt and transforms into this eerie slow building vocal chant that increases in energy as layers of drums and synths pile on top of each other beautifully. The vocal refrains on this track are very reminiscent of something you'd hear on a Giant Claw record. The penultimate track "Separate" is an instant favorite of mine for it's mind boggling production. Easily being the glitchiest track on the album with chops that will leave your ears begging for more, "Separate" is what I can only describe as a stroke of pure genius and masterclass in song structure and creativity. One of my favorite tracks I've heard all year for sure. "Just For Now" ends the album off on such a bittersweet note, wrapping the album up beautifully with a bow on top before crashing into it's destructive and explosive end in the later half of the track. Overall, scarecrow_ proves themselves once again as being one of the most forward thinking artists to come out of the Vaporwave genre in recent years and continues to expand the sound of their already vastly diverse catalog. As always I HIGHLY recommend this album as well as any of scarecrow_'s previous works. If you go into this extensive catalog of music with an open mind, I promise you'll come out the other end with your mind blown. As the title suggests, when I first discovered scarecrow_'s music 2 years ago I was truly "Never The Same" ;) . As previously mentioned, scarecrow_ also released their last album "Flora & Fauna" on ULTRAVIOLET-FUTURE! The album is available on CD and Minidisc if you would like to support both scarecrow_ and I in the process. Personally, this was one of my favorite albums of last year and I was super proud of how the whole CD and Minidisc design came out.
"Heaven's Medallion", a New Album under the Two Circles side alias, out://of//bounds
After the release of their all encompassing record "Inbetween Everything" back in December 2023, Two Circles is back with a brand new album under their more ambient/slushwave side alias out://of//bounds! "Heaven's Medallion" delivers us a heartwarming and enchanting collection of 6 songs that take your mind through a journey that can only be brought by Two Circle's signature charm. The first track "Amulet (魔法)" warps us into an empty plane as a heavenly landscape begins to slowly expand before you. The track slowly envelops every nook and cranny in your brain with its lush pads until suddenly you are stuck with a yearning melody as you stare into heaven itself. "Sailing the Cloud Sea // City Limits" is s slow 2 part endeavor as you traverse through this 10 minute trek. "Sailing The Cloud Sea" is a relaxing boat ride as you stare into a sea of clouds before you and lose yourself in the bright pink skies. Reaching the second half, the clouds begin to clear as we enter "City Limits" and view the city thats ahead of us. Beautiful ocarina melodies flood our ears as we arrive at our destination and dock for now. In "世界の木" , we are confronted with the almighty "World Tree" as we seek for answers from within through the means of connecting with the environment around us. A melancholic resting point to gather our thoughts before continuing on the rest of our adventure. Dawn approaches as "Eventide Nightfall // Moon In Front" brings us into a dreamy, spiraling lullaby where we can slowly melt away as layers of synths cascade onto the night sky. "The Balance of Many" leaves us to gather our things as our journey comes to an end. Pillowy synths build up as we connect one last time with the heavenly atmosphere that's been painted before our eyes. After travelling through clouds and dreams, "Heaven's Medallion" is there in the end, waiting for us to reach out and grab from the skies. As always, this new out://of//bounds adventure doesn't disappoint and will leave you filled with emotion and a sense of what I can only describe as 'home". With every new installment, I'm consintantly blown away by how effortlessly Two Circles is able to build entire worlds in front of you and paint sonic masterpieces for you to pick apart and add to your library of emotions. In case you missed it, Two Circles released their magnum opus "Inbetween Everything" on ULTRAVIOLET-FUTURE late last year! Minidiscs have sadly sold out but the album is still available on CD if you'd like to pick up a copy and support both Two Circles and I. The album is also accompanied by a spectacular visualizer that's available to watch on the UVF youtube channel as well as Two Circle's youtube channel. I can tell they put their entire heart and soul into the visuals they created so I highly recommend you all check it out whenever you get the chance.
UV Spotlight
Moving on from all the happenings with our UVF artists, I wanted to share a couple albums that I've been a fan of and have had in my rotation recently!
"Accela" by Lila Tirando a Violeta
I discovered this album while randomly digging through Bandcamp a few months ago and have been pleasantly surprised with how heavy yet beautiful this album sounds. "Accela" is a mind-melting amalgamation of heavy distorted electronic music with brilliantly crafted sound design experiments sprinkled throughout. The album is entrancing yet abrasive leaving you stranded in this desolate landscape filled with prickly electronics and hellish growls. Definitely might be a more challenging listen and not for everyone but has definitely peaked my interest since first discovering it. The album is also available on cassette through their Bandcamp page if you'd like to support Lila Tirando a Violeta either physically or digitally!
"No More Tears" by Venus Death Trap
Venus Death Trap seems to be an artist that popped up out of nowhere but has made quite a splash with this latest record to come out on Business Casual. "No More Tears" is a brand new hour long record with 17 tracks ranging from bright, upbeat tracks like “You Know I Love You, Right?”, to more NUWRLD styled tracks like “Love Me” that are very reminiscent of albums like “I’ll Try Living Like This”. I’m always happy to hear any new albums in the scene that take heavy inspiration from acts like death’s dynamic shroud so this will be right up your alley if you’re looking for more music in that style.
"👁点击と👁" by 👁️🗨️📲
Legendary Vaporwave duo 👁️🗨️📲 delivered with a monumental new album, “I Click With My Eye”. Honestly, I couldn't give all my thoughts here and could probably do an entire video on this album, but in short, this feels like the ultimate culmination of Vaporwave as a genre up to this point in time. A time capsule of sound that has just taken the past 10 years of Internet culture and jam packing it into a 50 minute experience. The Visual Album that accompanies this album is a must watch imo and truly elevates the entire album to a whole new level. 👁️🗨️📲 has truly cracked the Vaporwave code and concocted a generational album. The album was released on Kats kill Records along with a beautiful vinyl release that currently has a couple copies left on overstock so grab one while you can!
"The Wrong Side Of The Soul" by アバドン
アバドン (aka Abaddon) released their latest record "The Wrong Side Of The Soul" towards the end of last year, and ended up on my AOTY list. The album is filled to the brim with Abaddon’s usual fusion of heavy electronic instrumentals and glitchy vapor fueled vocal sampling. Abaddon has slowly and slowly perfected their style and you can see them finally reach a point with this album where they are able to show off their creative ideas to the fullest. The album was also accompanied by a gorgeous cassette release under Cityman Productions so be sure to snag a copy for yourself!
"ミラーリング TOWER" by NUWRLD Clubhouse
Every year, the NUWRLD Clubhouse discord server comes together to form a yearly compilation made by various artists in the mixtape club. This year we decided on finally making a remix compilation of DDS remixes titled "ミラーリング TOWER"! The compilation features 36 remixes of various songs from the vast DDS catalog. This has been a big passion project for members of the mixtape club and we are super happy to finally have it put together and released! Unfortunately, the compilation is only available to mixtape club members at the moment, but many of the artists have released their remixes on their various platforms to check out. Nevertheless, the DDS mixtape club is one of the best things this scene has to offer and would be a great excuse to check out over 3 years worth of NUWRLD monthly mixtapes! Also big shoutout to Two Circles for coming up with the cover art for the comp since they did such an amazing job I seriously can’t get enought of it!
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Finally, I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone out there that checks out and reads these blogs! Writing these blogs up has taken up a lot more of my time than I had expected which is why I haven’t gotten one out in a while, but I figured we were long overdue for a new post. As always, it would be greatly appreciated if you share the blog with your friends or anyone who might be interested and be sure to join our Discord as well as follow us on our social medias to keep yourself updated with all of our releases. Hope you all have a great Friday or whenever you end up reading this and I’ll catch you on the next blog post 💜
-portal.rwb from UVF
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