Chillwave? Really? To !K7's credit, they never mention the genre, not even in their press release for F*>k Dance, Let's Art, which ask anyone who listens to it, it's chillwave. What about never rans like Re-wave or Emo-Space-Funk-Pop? The sound borrows as liberally from the cosmos as from the 80s, but for some reason, the genre as a whole can't get it's mind off making references to water.

1. Baghdaddy "Hot Shit (Creep Remix)"
2. Balam Acab "See Birds"
3. Peter's House Music "Body Heat"
4. Small Black "Despicable Dogs"
5. Toro y Moi "Fax Shadow"
6. Hideous Men "Tangled"
7. Slava "Anything"
8. Washed Out "Feel It All Around"
9. Truman Peyote "Kartwheels"
10. Psychobuildings "Paradise"
11. Animal Collective "My Girls"
12. Crystal Castles vs HEALTH "Crimewave"
13. Raw Moans "Aqua Net"
14. Pictureplane "Transaparent Now (Thin Veil)"
15. The Phenomenal Handclap Band "15 to 20 (Bim Marx Remix)"
16. oOoOO "Sedsumthing"
17. Memory Tapes "Bicycle (Horrors Cosmic Dub)"
18. Bear in Heaven "Lovesick Teenagers"

In defense of chillwave's water fetish, it often gives you that kind of slowly floating on the quiet edge of a dream feeling. It's equally ubiquitous fetish of crisp, analog percussion and synth keys, will safely keep your mind on edge, so you don't need to fear floating off to another cosmos.

I haven't had much exposure to the genre outside a few Youtube videos, so this compilation is serving pretty well as my introduction. It starts with the crass, 80s experimental narcissistic vibe of "Hot Shit (Creep Mix)" by Baghdaddy, which basically orbits around it's own theme, probably not caring if you listen to it or not, but Balam Acab step in next to offer what is really the soul of the sound with "See Birds". It's dreamy, as if everything and everyone in Tokyo's Shibuya district were pumped full of Vicodin and morphine, served copious sake and were following the rigor of some new trend that requires all movements occur in slow motion. Did you catch the veiled reference to water in that title by the way?

If you're a die-hard fan of Joy Division or B-Movie you'll need to check out Small Black's "Despicable Dogs". It was created with complete disregard for any musical advancement that's occurred since 1985. I can't decide if it's innovative, or just an effective recycling of some past artists ingenuity and emotion.

Toro y Moi really push the envelope of the genre by incorporating a deep, Flying Lotus bass line, and cut up, glitchy, soul vocals. If they didn't tell me in the press release, I could easily assume Toro y Moi is that one West coast US band featured in this compilation. They're from South Carolina in fact.

Always assume the 80s are leading the way with this genre, but never let yourself think that's all there is to it. Hideous Men make that distinction. You've got the stereotypical tribal drum patterns of the 80s, analog synths that once warbled ever so slightly, not because they meant to, but because they couldn't produce a flawless loop in their circuitry, and you have the deep, bassy pads creating a backdrop. On top of that they've layered some exquisite, oddly pitch corrected female vocals. The vocals sing in 80s anthem chorus style, and are a bit broken, like early computer-generated speech. It's interesting.

Slava get a little house, Washed Out find an 80s pop tune, then sample and loop it at half-speed while layering sluggish, falsetto male vocals over top. It's a tune called "Feel It All Around" and it is without argument, a figurehead of its genre (and yeah, the video is a lot of slow motion, in the water just off the beach shore footage).

Truman Peyote brings in the house beat again, before Psychobuildings delivers the kind of 80s sound you either ignored as the product of a hack, or embraced as some next artistic jam. Since this isn't the 80s, that confuses things a bit...or does it make them clearer? Anyone wannabe Spandau Ballet or something?

Animal Collective are too alt-art-indie to be on here in my opinion, and Crystal Castles are too Daft Punk. Raw Moans recovers in style however, with an ambient, experimental bit that gets by with percussion so subtle, I almost wanted to write that it didn't have any. It's not that it's hiding or anything though, because it's clearly right there. It's just not the focus at all. Once more, we have falsetto male vocals, a mainstay of Chillwave, as is the abrupt endings to songs that say, "I couldn't be bothered to figure out an ending so I just ended it".

They can say F*>k Dance because this is art, but in the 80s, this stuff would have been exactly the sounds underground clubs played. It's art, but there's no need to write off dancing to it. You'll just have to work for it a little harder than you may be used to. Great selection of music. Very recommended as an introduction to a "new" sound.

http://soundcloud.com/k7-records/tangled

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