The Reaper's Preacher
I usually hate pan pipes, let alone pan pipe synths, but this is the exception to my rule. Gives real late 90s VGM vibes, resulting in some comfy nostalgia occasionally ruined by visions of Mavis Beacon and that damned paperclip...
Favorite track: New e-Den.
Roquemaure
Great art, soothing music... retro vibes... makes you feel like you're chilling in the jungle... it's very relaxing, and it fits very well with the cover. Sometimes we all need a connection with nature don't we?
Favorite track: Transcendental Communication with Gaia.
Goon
It’s crazy to see how far vaporwave and all of its subgenres have come in the past 10+ years, with being an excellent example of that progress. Excellent record and is now one of my favorite vinyls in my collection. :~]
Favorite track: Nymphs of the Rainforest.
insularaffair
One of the best artists to come out of the scene recently, so glad to see this album get the vinyl release it deserves!
Favorite track: Fountain Oasis.
The beads of my headdress shimmered in the final rays of sunlight as the evening sun sank beneath the horizon. The tolling bell of the School resounded throughout the courtyard, sending the birds into the air and marking the end of my meditation.
The gentle chatter of my peers slowly became louder as they each finished their conversations with Gaia. I watched them with a pleasant smile, until an olive-colored hand offered to help me up.
I followed him through the courtyard to the space in the back, reserved only for the near-enlightenment students. A flickering fire was already burning in the pit, and the fireflies were already taking flight. The other students chatted and laughed merrily as we joined the circle.
They settled in as he picked up a stringed instrument and slowly plucked the strings. A gentle sway took the bodies of the students while they listened with closed eyes. I sat with a grin on my face, and my eyelids cracked just enough to watch him. He was different—a guardian of the forest, a Nymph. As students, we were forbidden from interacting with the forest in any way, for leaving our mark would damage the world. Our lack of experience had allowed his kind to slip into our ranks unnoticed.
I roused myself from my thoughts and followed his gaze to the forest beyond. I had never strode among the trees, but I longed to. As he strummed his final note, I felt a change in the atmosphere. He stood, his vine-laced fingers offering me an unrefusable invitation. Once his fingers closed around mine, I knew there was no going back.
I felt like a child among the undergrowth, staring in wonder at the shifting canopy overhead. Nature was everywhere, even intertwined with the houses of his people. I was welcomed into his village with pleasant nods and open arms. They were beautiful, lithe, with wild eyes.
They laughed as my feet left marks in the soil, my rounded toes next to his pointed ones. It was something the school taught us never to do—never leave your mark on the forest—but here, the guardians were encouraging it. As we walked through his village, he guided me with a green hand, his vines entwined with my fingers and spreading up my wrist. Sorrow filled my chest. I knew I would have to leave eventually.
I didn’t notice the passage of time until the sun had vanished and the jungle streets came alive, lighting up with flower bulbs supporting colonies of fireflies. We walked, and I felt home.
We stopped on the edge of the forest, between civilization and freedom. The fire burned brightly in the courtyard, blotting out the stars while the students chatted of their progress with Gaia. Suddenly, their folly was clear.
With open arms I was accepted by the forest, abandoning my technature anxieties for utopian dreams.
credits
released December 4, 2020
Music by BATHROOM PLANTS
Design by KEVLARESTUDIO
Literature by SAMANTHA TATE
Published by VILL4IN
No musical stone is left unturned on this bracing collaborative EP that swings from chillwave to hyperpop, making all stops in between. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 18, 2022
supported by 319 fans who also own “Installing Symbiotopia 2.0.1”
Eerie, beautiful, melancholic and yet hopeful, a musical journey to a time when we children wanted to become cosmonauts and were proud young pioneers, ignorant or not yet knowing of the dark side of our country at that time. whillm