Genre Explorers - Vaporwave
Daniel Lopatin - Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1
This is considered the first Vaporwave album ever made by many members of the community. Daniel Lopatin, under the guise of Chuck Person, decided to come out with an album inspired by the Southern hip-hop scene and their chopped and screwed style. This style, usually used on old records to provide a backing mix, is now the main attraction.
The basic idea is to take something else, slow it down an unprecedented amount, and then sample a small bit of it and put it on repeat for minutes on end. Every once in a while, the track changes speed, or a random stutter is thrown in, but most of the time, it's just repeated over and over. And while this sounds redundant, it tends to create a very dense, layered texture which when combined with samples from the past leads to a nostalgic feel as well.
Unlike most albums which claim to have spawned a genre, this one probably actually did. Eccojams Vol. 1, based on "Echo Jams" (what Lopatin refers to these songs as), was released in August 2010 as a mixtape with a limited release. The album was developed as an experiment by Lopatin, hence the guise of "Chuck Person". However, the album was an experiment that led to the formation of vaporwave as a genre. The critical plunderphonics inspired sound was derived from this album, and the albums that immediately follow this one will show an obvious derivation.
In terms of quality, many cite this album as the best vaporwave of all time. Its slowed down jams are IDM for a new age, slowed to the point where they are impossible to dance to, but still containing some inherent value just the same. The two sides of the tape are entirely unnamed, but the individual pieces are sometimes referred to with labels of A1, A2, A3, etc. and in the same manner for the B-side.
Probably the best proof of concept ever, Eccojams laid the groundwork for all that was, and still is, to come. An excellent reminder that innovation can still take place even today.