Check out this Japanese guy's channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcegcJA0ijqaZUUyvGtr5xQ He makes low-poly CGI animations using blender, records the output to VHS tape, and then uses some kind of capture card to bring it back to the digital realm.

>>768 Very few artists have managed to accurately capture the /retro/ look, and that's because they try too hard. It's always a small detail or two that stick out and scream "modern" at my face. Like I see a lot of images nowadays with a very heavy VHS effect applied, and fake scanlines with OSD on top, it's just not convincing at all. Let's take the first pic for example; a VHS frame from an anime produced in the 80s or the 90s by the latest. I can see multiple issues here: >resolution and quality This is a 720p+ image with fine details. It should be 480p at most with muddied details. The second pic is slightly better in this regard. >color contrast The contrast between colors is too low and the whole image has a pastel overlay. If anything screams "2010s" it's pastel colors. When VHS washes out colors they do appear desaturated, but the differences between them are still obvious, like a painting with bright saturated colors that are clearly different, but having gathered some dust on top. See first pic related. >visible pixels The VCR OSD looks extremely fake (i.e. play, vcr tape...etc) like you know this was lazily taped-on heh with an editor. Normally OSD doesn't look pixelated, instead it gets blurred like literally everything else on tape and ends up with a smooth look. If you can see pixels on VHS you're doing it wrong, see second pic related. >OSD Who puts OSD on a VHS frame anyway? When people started uploading digitized VHS frames to the internet in the 90s, none of them included OSD. What kind of rookie would include it? Overall it would have been much easier, and much more convincing, to just take a regular picture with bright colors, record it on VHS, then digitize it back. Like what this guy did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oJs8-I9WtA ... The end result has a subtle, but very convincing VHS effect. And that's coming from an original footage that was shot at 4K! Keep it simple, stupid. Also if you really want that "I took the tape out of the dog's mouth" effect, just record your tape on another tape, and see if the second tape has degraded enough for your tastes. If not, record that second tape on another tape then check again. Here's a demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8GOcB6H0uQ >>769 Pretty cool. This guy is much more convincing because he uses a real VHS rather than a digital filter, but he fell into some pitfalls in regards to the 3D render. I'm not an expert by any means on 3D but I can pick up on a few errors, such as... >polygon count Notice how the head of the girl in the first vid is less complex than her hands? Now notice how the scene around her is even more complex? That's an inconsistency that sticks out. You either go low poly for everything equally without any textures or reflections, or you go high poly but keep the shapes basic without too much detail. Vid related is probably what 空想料理店 蟹 was trying to do; an early-mid 80s 3D render with low polygons all around. >smooth animation In the 80s and even part of the 90s doing 30 FPS or higher in 3D was very expensive. Artists would stick to the "cinematic" 24 FPS if they could afford it, if not they would only go lower, again like in vid related. >??? I can't put my finger on this one, but almost every Blender render looks modern. I don't know if it's shaders or just the renderer itself but it always has that very unique Blender look that feels modern. I'm a firm believer that anyone who wants to make "old" content should only use the tools that were available at the time... Wanna make an old comic? Use real ink on paper rather than a drawing tablet. Wanna make 80s music? Use a real synthesizer/keyboard and record on tape rather than a DAW. Wanna create vintage CGI? Use the original 3D Studio or Infini-D rather than Blender. Sorry for the wall of autism, I'll be posting some actual contributions shortly.

First up we have Jack Stauber, famous for the 'Two Time' song which you've probably stumbled upon by now. Not only does he emulate 80s visual styles on an authentic worn out VHS, he also emulates 80s synthpop very accurately, which is something I can't recall anyone doing since the 2000s. It would be even more impressive if this was done digitally, because it's just too convincing to suggest so. The modernism lies in the subject matter of his videos, which is usually kept unclear and a bit too surreal on purpose. He also sports the Blender look I talked about in the previous post when he does 3D, which you can see in the video 'view'.

Next up we have SkyCorp Home Video™, a youtube channel that makes authentic-looking VHS logos and segments purely for comedic effect, often parodying 80s and 90s cheese. For the most part they get the 3D right, and the subtle VHS effect works perfectly.

Our last feature for today: North Korean pop songs! With NK citizens completely shut off from the outside world since the 70s (?) their lives have been pretty much frozen in time, creating unintentional /retro/. Their music is ABBA-esque, and although their fashion sense and recording technology may be from a decade or two into The Future™, they're still very 20th century. This would be cool if NK wasn't ruled by a complete maniac. Next time someone asks you about K-pop, show him Moranbong Band! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOH41w7M2tU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCQ3iJLuw8M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVsaOYZl3E0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQx6HIcVxFg

>>768 https://prolikewoah.com/geimu/res/14643.html#14730

>>771 >I can't put my finger on this one, but almost every Blender render looks modern. I don't know if it's shaders or just the renderer itself but it always has that very unique Blender look that feels modern. I think there was a way to make POVRay renderings in Blender, but from what I remember that option hasn't work since Blender 2.8 came out. I'd love to get into vintage-style 3D rendering at some point, so it's too bad that there aren't more easy modern ways to get that look right off the bat. >I'm a firm believer that anyone who wants to make "old" content should only use the tools that were available at the time... Wanna make an old comic? Use real ink on paper rather than a drawing tablet. Wanna make 80s music? Use a real synthesizer/keyboard and record on tape rather than a DAW. Wanna create vintage CGI? Use the original 3D Studio or Infini-D rather than Blender. I agree. It seems like people just want to take the easy way out without putting actual work in. It's one thing if you're just taking certain aspects of past aesthetics, but if you intend to go all the way you shouldn't half-ass it by merely adopting superficial similarities with the old styles. It's too bad a lot of the old ways of the doing things are becoming harder to practice since they're no longer the norm. Film photography has become a niche interest. Bland tablet-drawn art has replaced hand-drawn art for most uses. Clinical digital recordings are the norm for music now. When the new ways have become so convenient and efficient, it's going to take some real discipline and determination to use the old methods when things have become comparatively easy.

>>776 >I'd love to get into vintage-style 3D rendering at some point, so it's too bad that there aren't more easy modern ways to get that look right off the bat. I'm interested in vintage 3D too, there are modern programs that can make it with relative ease though. I've stumbled upon a few while surfing the interwebs, there must be more out there of course but the following list should be a good starting point... >Anim8or Freeware, first released 1999 and still actively developed today. A modeler, renderer, and --you guessed it-- animator. Easy to get into but does things differently than most other programs. Pic 1 is a sample render. >Art of Illusion FOSS, first released 2000 and still actively developed today. Pretty much the same as Anim8or. Pic 2 is a sample render. >POV-Ray You already know about this one. Since it's only a renderer, you'll have to model your scene elsewhere (Anim8or + ani2pov should work) and then import it for rendering. Pic 3 is a sample render. >3D Studio MAX [1.0 - 3.1] Windows edition of the popular 3D Studio for DOS, the versions in brackets were released between 1996 and 1999. Much easier to use than its DOS counterpart and runs just fine on Windows 7. The best version according to my limited testing is 2.5. >Bryce [2.0 - 5.5] The program used to make the picture in your post (hiresdome). The versions in brackets were released between 1996 and 2005, 5.5 was released for free some years ago so you can find it easily. Not really a modeler since it's focused almost exclusively on terrain generation, but can render and perform basic animations. However unlike the previously mentioned programs whose renders look pretty much identical, Bryce has a very unique render style that can be spotted from a mile away.

>>778 >I'm interested in vintage 3D too, there are modern programs that can make it with relative ease though. I've stumbled upon a few while surfing the interwebs, there must be more out there of course but the following list should be a good starting point... How easy are they to learn for a complete newcomer though? >Windows edition of the popular 3D Studio for DOS, the versions in brackets were released between 1996 and 1999. Much easier to use than its DOS counterpart and runs just fine on Windows 7. The best version according to my limited testing is 2.5. I have the DOS version but never tried it, so that's good to know. Thanks for all the info. I'll have to save it somewhere. I'm more into tinkering with music than with visual art forms, but at some point I'd like to experiment with cheesy '90s-style ROMpler music and old-school CG artwork would fit that like a glove should I ever decide to release anything.

>>779 >How easy are they to learn for a complete newcomer though? Quite easy, as long as you have basic knowledge of the 3-axis system (x/y/z). The manual/documentation is very straightforward from what I've seen, and you'll find online tutorials for pretty much everything... There aren't that many tools in each program to wrap your head around, it's just that there's a lot of donkey work to be done using these tools, especially when modelling. For example it's easy to drop a sphere into the window and edit its points, but it will take some considerable time to transform said sphere into a face with features. My advice is start small, learn the basics and familiarize yourself with the program you're using, then render a simple scene. Some people never make it past the modelling stage because they obsess too much over the quality of their first models, don't fall into that trap. Make your models and move on. As you gain experience you can revisit your old scenes and refine their models, but you must have scenes to begin with. >I'm more into tinkering with music than with visual art forms Oh really? How about sharing some of your pieces here, I'd love to check them out.

>>771 >Wanna make 80s music? Use a real synthesizer/keyboard and record on tape rather than a DAW. Are there any modern artists who do this? If there aren't any then I'd like to try making music this way.

>>780 >Quite easy, as long as you have basic knowledge of the 3-axis system (x/y/z). The manual/documentation is very straightforward from what I've seen, and you'll find online tutorials for pretty much everything... There aren't that many tools in each program to wrap your head around, it's just that there's a lot of donkey work to be done using these tools, especially when modelling. For example it's easy to drop a sphere into the window and edit its points, but it will take some considerable time to transform said sphere into a face with features. My advice is start small, learn the basics and familiarize yourself with the program you're using, then render a simple scene. Some people never make it past the modelling stage because they obsess too much over the quality of their first models, don't fall into that trap. Make your models and move on. As you gain experience you can revisit your old scenes and refine their models, but you must have scenes to begin with. Okay, thanks. >Oh really? How about sharing some of your pieces here, I'd love to check them out. I never really finish anything, but here are some rough snippets and loops I've recorded: https://vocaroo.com/4EaQefY0Zvn https://vocaroo.com/4z9YT4vrH8q https://vocaroo.com/KTMIajqOhXv https://vocaroo.com/2YYp2FPdIOd https://vocaroo.com/1LJRuA9ReHm https://vocaroo.com/hzETMHpSInn Some of these are just MIDI files with reverb slapped on them. The last one was the most recent one I was fleshing out out of these tracks, which is why the transitions sound so rough. A few are basically memewave (including the third one, which I recorded as a test for a synth I bought), but I've been moving away from that style. I've been working on trying to learn to play parts physically rather than sequencing everything and haven't been working on creating any compositions lately, so these are kind of old. >>781 Boards of Canada are famous for preferring to work with hardware and analog instrumentation rather than doing everything in a DAW. Oftentimes they even eschew traditional forms of effects in favor of doing things on their own (in one interview they talked about creating a Leslie effect by putting a microphone in an ice cream bucket). They frequently use warped tape recordings of acoustic instruments that could be mistaken for synthesizers. I don't think you should let the fact that there are other people out there doing it let stop you. I personally plan on going in that direction once I can come up with music that's up to snuff.

>>783 I took a look at Boards of Canada. It isn't exactly 80s music, but they make good stuff nonetheless. >I don't think you should let the fact that there are other people out there doing it let stop you. I just want the music to exist so that I can listen to it. If it isn't out there, then I'll create it myself, both to listen to and to inspire others to make more. I'm curious enough to try my hand at it though. Thinking about this post on Channel4 BBS. Where is he now? Do any of you fill your life with older media? I think I'm getting there, I've never owned a car made after 1999, and use a beige CRT monitor for my PC with a Windows 95 theme. Eventually I'll get a beige computer case and a floppy disk drive. Am I autistic for all of this? Definitely.

>>783 >4EaQefY0Zvn If I didn't know you made this I would have taken it for a real 80s song, very well done. I like this piece the most. >4z9YT4vrH8q Pretty cool, the ending has some Boards of Canada vibes which makes it my favorite part. >2YYp2FPdIOd This one sounds the most "tracker-like", pretty good! The beginning immediately reminded me of a BoC song, I'm not sure which one exactly, probably "Smokes Quantity". >1LJRuA9ReHm Another nice tracker-like piece, a bit repetitive though. >hzETMHpSInn Doesn't sound too rough, maybe it needs some better leveling as some instruments are too quiet but otherwise great work. I think this piece would work better if it went more upbeat around the 0:47 mark rather than getting calmer, or at least going upbeat right after that part, if that makes sense. Overall your work is top notch, I definitely encourage you to complete your pieces and maybe compile an album/EP when you have some tracks done. No shame in sequencing by the way, but of course the more skills you have playing the instruments in real time the better. >>784 >It isn't exactly 80s music, but they make good stuff nonetheless. I don't think they meant to mimic the 80s, in fact most of their samples are from the 70s from what I remember. Their work is more along the lines of re-contextualizing old samples into something completely different with an often darker sound, you would listen to it and it feels equally modern and retro. This is most evident on their album "Geogaddi", which is by far their magnum opus, do check that out. >I just want the music to exist so that I can listen to it. If it isn't out there, then I'll create it myself, both to listen to and to inspire others to make more. I'm curious enough to try my hand at it though. That's a great motive, do try your hand at it and post results! >Thinking about this post on Channel4 BBS I disagree with the stance. Shutting yourself out of the modern world is cynical and counter-productive, not everything modern is bad, and not everything old is good either. It's okay if you're dissatisfied with the state of the world, we all are, but forcing yourself into a bubble will only harm you. The world will move on and you'll be at a disadvantage not being aware of the changes happening. Admittedly I consume a lot of old media, but I take a chance on newer media if it intrigues me, sometimes finding hidden gems. I also take advantage of new tools and technologies to make my life easier when possible... I don't keep up with the news but whenever something major happens I hear about it from the normals in my circle so I'm not completely shut off.

>>784 > Eventually I'll get a beige computer case and a floppy disk drive. nice, a buddy of mine is clearing out some stuff and told me he'd give me some old beige cases. I am building a computer with new hardware but rest assured, at some point in time I will be buying an internal 3.5" FDD adapter so that it will have a working diskette drive. I even found a site selling internal adapters for 5 1/4" floppy drives, so potentially I could have a really nice system with the capability to read and write both 3.5 and 5 1/4" floppy disks. I'll also be throwing in some blu-ray drives just because I have them. I too live in a bubble to some extent, but of course some things, through osmosis, get through the bubble and reach me. I like it this way.

>>784 >I took a look at Boards of Canada. It isn't exactly 80s music, but they make good stuff nonetheless. Most of their inspiration comes from the hippie era through the early '80s, although focusing specifically on the '70s. >Thinking about this post on Channel4 BBS. Where is he now? Do any of you fill your life with older media? I think I'm getting there, I've never owned a car made after 1999, and use a beige CRT monitor for my PC with a Windows 95 theme. Eventually I'll get a beige computer case and a floppy disk drive. I try to keep most of today's pop culture at arm's length, but I'd never go that far. I try to have the best of both worlds by adopting any positive developments of life today while keeping everything else out. >>785 >If I didn't know you made this I would have taken it for a real 80s song, very well done. I like this piece the most. Thanks. To me it sounds a bit too much like a contemporary pastiche of '80s music, like Starforce or something. I like that synthwave stuff but am also sick of it. I am kind of proud of the way it turned out with the DX7 faux-woodwind part at the end though. >Pretty cool, the ending has some Boards of Canada vibes which makes it my favorite part. That's my favorite part too. The ending was a complete accident I discovered by reversing one of the previous sections and then assigning the part to another instrument. The chords that first show up 38 seconds in were the first part I came up with. I was trying to come up with something that sounded like smooth jazz (that Macintosh Plus track that sampled "Tar Baby" by Sade was the sound I was going for), but instead the main melody ended up sounding more like a blues or Tin Pan Alley song from the '20s or '30s. The acoustic piano sound kind of emphasizes that, although that's just a placeholder for now. >This one sounds the most "tracker-like", pretty good! The beginning immediately reminded me of a BoC song, I'm not sure which one exactly, probably "Smokes Quantity". I actually named the file "Into the Light" because it started off as an imitation of "Open the Light," but I wasn't thinking and probably confused the title with the Siouxsie and the Banshees song. This was another conscious influence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8pDnJBB7Vw Maybe some Dancing Fantasy too. >Another nice tracker-like piece, a bit repetitive though. For sure. The drums and bass parts are just placeholders until I can add some variation. They're just the same loop for each repeated ad nauseam. There isn't much of a main melody line yet either. The bit that you first hear at 29 seconds in was all that I came up with. >Doesn't sound too rough, maybe it needs some better leveling as some instruments are too quiet but otherwise great work. I think this piece would work better if it went more upbeat around the 0:47 mark rather than getting calmer, or at least going upbeat right after that part, if that makes sense. That was part of what I meant when I talked about being "rough." Not only the mellow part that sounds a bit out of place, but also the pretty sudden start about 18 seconds in. I usually start off by working on main chunks and then creating transition between them, but I don't even have all the main sections of that track done yet. >Overall your work is top notch, I definitely encourage you to complete your pieces and maybe compile an album/EP when you have some tracks done. No shame in sequencing by the way, but of course the more skills you have playing the instruments in real time the better. You made the Boards of Canada comparisons, and that's exactly what I plan on sounding like when I'm ready for an actual release (specifically the leaked releases and The Campfire Headphase). I've been trying to take apart their chord progressions and imitate the weird dissonant aspects of their tracks. I even ended up buying an acoustic guitar, a monosynth, and a fife to try and get that Campfire Headphase kind of sound. I don't plan on getting quite as autistic over recording techniques as they do though. Here are some more recent WIPs: https://vocaroo.com/3m1VEJxXHk3 https://vocaroo.com/dxaMZUTFkVv https://vocaroo.com/kztWXboRwcy The second one is pretty repetitive but I think it could be a nice vignette track with some more work (and a better recording; I played it by hand and cut the notes off sooner than I'd like).

>>788 >I try to have the best of both worlds by adopting any positive developments of life today while keeping everything else out. A very wise stance, I try to do the same in my life. >I like that synthwave stuff but am also sick of it Same here, but my sickness comes from most of it sounding too modern, hardly any synthwave tracks that really sound like authentic 80s songs. Yours was an exception. >specifically the leaked releases and The Campfire Headphase TCH is a great record, a close second favorite to Geogaddi for me. Haven't really checked BoC's leaked stuff aside from Old Tunes 1 & 2; the first was really good but the second was mediocre to me... I think they're musical geniuses and it's only natural that you're inspired by their work, but I urge you to also build on their style and make something unique rather than only attempting to replicate them. Just my opinion of course. And now for track reviews! >3m1VEJxXHk3 Love it. The ending may be a bit abrupt but this piece felt quite complete, if you edited the last portion to be a proper exit (maybe ending on a high note) it would be perfect. >dxaMZUTFkVv Not really that repetitive, it's quite nice. Not really sure how this one should progress though. >kztWXboRwcy A bit ominous, pretty cool. The stop in the middle was too abrupt but otherwise a solid foundation for a track, or even a loop.

Here's a little something since we have vaporwave fans on the board. As you may know vaporwave is a genre based on heavy sampling and modification, usually from the 80s-90s. However some artists have created sample-free, completely original vaporwave that sounds pretty close to something you'd hear in that era. Check these out.

>>789 >Same here, but my sickness comes from most of it sounding too modern, hardly any synthwave tracks that really sound like authentic 80s songs. Yours was an exception. That's definitely my biggest issue with it. It's some of the only music I've liked that's come out of the 2010s, but at the same time, I'm also tired of how little it seems to draw from actual '80s music and how narrow the range of aesthetic influences on it seem to be (Blade Runner, John Carpenter movies, Tron, etc.). It's actually a pretty broad genre (just look at SAIR's funk music), but it seems like a lot of people are just trying do the same exact thing and getting the wrong impression of what actual '80s aesthetics were like. I get guys like Perturbator and Carpenter Brut trying to do their own thing and appreciate the aggressiveness of their music, but their edgy cyberpunk aesthetic isn't for me and I'd rather listen to actual '80s music (or at least something that feels closer to it). Stuff like MPM Soundtracks is a nice compromise to me. For a guy who used Synth1 for all his tracks, he did a great job of capturing the spirit of the '80s. His focus was also more melodic and I find the music to be more emotive overall than the more balls-to-the-wall artists. In one way I actually prefer the "chillwave" stuff that was popular at the beginning of the 2010s. There are definitely aspects of it I don't like (the weakling-indie-singer vocals seem to be very common, for one), but there seemed to be more of a personal focus to it rather than the "HEY, REMEMBER POP CULTURE THING FROM THE '80S?" gimmick that so much of the "retro electronic" music is based around. >TCH is a great record, a close second favorite to Geogaddi for me. Haven't really checked BoC's leaked stuff aside from Old Tunes 1 & 2; the first was really good but the second was mediocre to me... It's probably my favorite next to Music Has the Right to Children. Geogaddi I have problems getting into, but the vignettes on there are easily my favorites out of any of the albums. As for the Old Tunes stuff, it's definitely pretty inconsistent in quality. Some of my all-time favorite tracks from them were on those leaks ("5.9.78" and "Mukinabaht" come to mind), but there's also stuff that strikes me as filler. The same goes for the Random 35 Tracks Tape. These two are probably my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbyp6gE8aMg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdkhi0MRR6I Overall, I think their early tracks are among the most eerie stuff they've ever done despite the releases themselves being spotty in quality. >I think they're musical geniuses and it's only natural that you're inspired by their work, but I urge you to also build on their style and make something unique rather than only attempting to replicate them. Just my opinion of course. I definitely agree. I've been wracking my brain for a while trying to think of ways I could differentiate my work from theirs aesthetically. I was thinking about maybe adding some more digital '80s and '90s touches in terms of production, but I think that would kind of take away from the organic feeling I want the music to have. I definitely plan on having prominent lo-fi string samples, but Boards of Canada already did that on "The Beach at Redpoint." Maybe I could put some electric guitar bits in certain tracks if it seems appropriate. I really don't know. One problem is that some of my influences run parallel with theirs. Genuine '70s music usually doesn't appeal to me, but I find the weirder side of that decade pretty fascinating. I remember watching shows like In Search of... and reading '70s paranormal books as a kid, for example. '70s-style typefaces and graphic design I've also started to find appealing. I really don't want to just end up being thought of as a second-rate Boards of Canada. If I end up releasing anything, I'll probably do so under several different names dependent on the style that each release is in. I could have one for mangled '90s-style computer music separate from the more organic sound I'm trying to achieve right now, for example. >Not really that repetitive, it's quite nice. Not really sure how this one should progress though. I intend to add more background textures and maybe a lead line, even if it's just a bit of noodling. >A bit ominous, pretty cool. The stop in the middle was too abrupt but otherwise a solid foundation for a track, or even a loop. Yeah, the intent was just to show the two parts I have at this point. The second part is pretty skeletal, but it gives you a picture of the foundation the final track is going to be built on. So far the atmosphere's nice and creepy, but it needs a real melody. >>790 I'll have to give a listen to these. Vaporwave has always appealed to me, but its reliance on sampling is something that I've always disliked. That PrismCorp Virtual Enterprises one I do think I heard years ago judging from the artwork.

>>790 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tYpkyy7Ogs There's also this.

>>791 >SAIR >MPM Great taste anon. I honestly didn't know either of these, but they sound right up my alley. >the weakling-indie-singer vocals seem to be very common You hit the nail on the head, this is exactly how I'd describe these vocals. Sadly what started as a "fresh" trend in the early 2010s mostly in indie scenes has grown into a plague in the entire music industry, not only infecting pop music but also electronic and dance music which previously made use of lush dreamy vocals, instead of this garbage. >5.9.78 That's my favorite off the album too, really wish they released it officially. >I was thinking about maybe adding some more digital '80s and '90s touches in terms of production, but I think that would kind of take away from the organic feeling I want the music to have. Not if it's on a record that embraces the artificial electronic sound, like many 90s records that experimented with it. It would be a nice contrast to the traditional/organic record (s) you'll make. Note that "electronic lo-fi" could be a thing, drawing inspiration from early digital devices and mediums. >Genuine '70s music usually doesn't appeal to me, but I find the weirder side of that decade pretty fascinating. Haven't listened to any of the weirder 70s music, ashamedly, although I really want to. I did listen to Kate Bush however so I think that's a start... The decade was definitely an interesting one, with the birth of electronic music and 3D graphics and disco it would have sure been fascinating to live through it. >I could have one for mangled '90s-style computer music separate from the more organic sound I'm trying to achieve right now, for example. If you ever decide to release the tracker pieces, consider premiering them on tracker/demo platforms like the Mod Archive, they're fairly active and you'll get noticed faster and easier. >>792 I love Eyeliner, his best for me was High Fashion Mood Music. Couldn't really get into Buy Now so I don't get all the praise that album gets.

I gave that Timid Soul album a try and have been listening to it every day now. >>792 Haven't heard this one, but I suppose it's time to give High Fashion Mood Music a re-listen. I heard it years ago and don't remember much of it. >>793 >That's my favorite off the album too, really wish they released it officially. I'd love for them to release all their lost or unreleased music. I don't like Trans Canada Highway or Tomorrow's Harvest all that much, so I'd probably prefer that over an actual new album. They've talked about cataloguing and releasing some of it in the past, but I think the last thing they said about the topic implied they just planned on passing it on to their family. Maybe there's a good reason they seem so dissatisfied with their early work, but I'd still love be able to hear it all. >Not if it's on a record that embraces the artificial electronic sound, like many 90s records that experimented with it. It would be a nice contrast to the traditional/organic record (s) you'll make. Note that "electronic lo-fi" could be a thing, drawing inspiration from early digital devices and mediums. Yeah, for the more digital stuff I still do plan on bouncing the tracks to cassette (or maybe VHS) for a lo-fi sound. Black metal and "dungeon synth" musicians used to record digital synths that way, and it sounds nice to me. I'd go so far as to say that I'd rather listen to a "lifeless" digital synth recorded with imperfect analog technology than a pristine digital recording of a "warm" analog synth. >Haven't listened to any of the weirder 70s music, ashamedly, although I really want to. I did listen to Kate Bush however so I think that's a start... The decade was definitely an interesting one, with the birth of electronic music and 3D graphics and disco it would have sure been fascinating to live through it. In terms of the music of that period, it's mainly disco, punk, and electronic music from the final years of the decade that appeal to me. Most of the rock from that era that isn't punk doesn't interest me much unless it's drawing from it. I spend more time listening to ABBA's records than anyone else's. I'm mainly into the weird happenings and the off-kilter cultural aspects of the '70s. You had widespread interest in the occult and alternative forms of spirituality (largely due to the influence of the hippies), parapsychology and paranormal interests in general coming more into the mainstream, prominent cult activity (The People's Temple, The Children of God, Alamo Christian Foundation, etc.), Jack Chick's comics (and evangelical Christians catching the premillennialist end times fever), the Love Canal disaster, as well as some of the most infamous serial killer activity of all time taking place. >If you ever decide to release the tracker pieces, consider premiering them on tracker/demo platforms like the Mod Archive, they're fairly active and you'll get noticed faster and easier. Do they even accept MIDI files, as opposed to .mods? That's really all those were. Back when I first started learning my way around a DAW I actually considered making music files for Doom .wads.

>>793 I liked Buy Now. It reminded me of playing some sort of multimedia CD or something. I like eyeliner's other stuff too though.

>>795 >It reminded me of playing some sort of multimedia CD or something Yeah, that's the appeal to me. It sounds like the soundtrack to a lost mid 90s edutainment game.

>>794 >I gave that Timid Soul album a try and have been listening to it every day now. Glad you liked it! >but I think the last thing they said about the topic implied they just planned on passing it on to their family. Damn... They'd rather die before making an official release? That's disappointing. I liked Tomorrow's Harvest though, it's the most "cold" sounding album but it's a treat to listen to. That being said I understand that it may not be that well liked, as opposed to MHtRtC/TCH/Geogaddi. >I'd go so far as to say that I'd rather listen to a "lifeless" digital synth recorded with imperfect analog technology than a pristine digital recording of a "warm" analog synth. First is pretty much all electronic music during the 80s-90s, second is all that's been pumped out in the 10s and beyond. I'm not a music wiz but I think you could achieve a preeeetty convincing warm effect using compressors and filters... Ever tried doing anything similar? >as well as some of the most infamous serial killer activity of all time taking place. Oh yeah I've watched a movie about that once, must have been one hell of a time. >Do they even accept MIDI files, as opposed to .mods? Er, no... You could convert MIDI to MOD but the Mod Archive have a strict policy against that, so maybe you could look for platforms centered around MIDIs and post there? I must say I'm quite impressed that those are just MIDIs, they sound as rich and complex as most of the MODs I've heard. I can only imagine what you would do with an actual tracker.

>>797 >Damn... They'd rather die before making an official release? That's disappointing. I liked Tomorrow's Harvest though, it's the most "cold" sounding album but it's a treat to listen to. That being said I understand that it may not be that well liked, as opposed to MHtRtC/TCH/Geogaddi. Yeah, although on one hand I can't say I blame them for not wanting to release the stuff they made when they were younger and don't feel is up to their own standards. It sucks that that's possibly the case, but I get it. What I will say about Tomorrow's Harvest is that I consider "Nothing is Real" among their best tracks of all time. Other than that, there are a few other parts I like, such as "Split Your Infinities," the introductory fanfare to "Gemini," the optimistic-sounding ending of "New Seeds," and the final third portion of "Palace Posy." "Split Your Infinities" in particular reminds me of the climax of an '80s "genre movie." That's no surprise considering the album is supposed to sound like an '80s sci-fi flick in the first place. "White Cyclosa" even sounds like an homage to John Harrison's Day of the Dead music, which I'm sure was intentional given that they named him as an inspiration in an interview. I think my biggest problem with the album is that to me it lacks the kind of memorable chord progressions and melodic touches that a lot of their previous work had. "Nothing is Real" is the only track, I think, that gives me the otherworldly feelings that a lot of their older music does. A lot of the youthful naivete seems gone. I'm at least glad the Sandison brothers seem to have been satisfied with the record when they were done with it though. It seems like most of the listeners liked it too, although not to the extent of their earlier recordings. >First is pretty much all electronic music during the 80s-90s, second is all that's been pumped out in the 10s and beyond. I'm not a music wiz but I think you could achieve a preeeetty convincing warm effect using compressors and filters... Ever tried doing anything similar? I'm sure you could, but I'm OCD about actually recording to tape eventually. Maybe it's just masochism on my part. >Er, no... You could convert MIDI to MOD but the Mod Archive have a strict policy against that, so maybe you could look for platforms centered around MIDIs and post there? That's what I thought. >I must say I'm quite impressed that those are just MIDIs, they sound as rich and complex as most of the MODs I've heard. I can only imagine what you would do with an actual tracker. Yeah, those tracker-sounding ones are just .mids. I start tracks with basic soundfonts or as MIDIs right from the beginning, and that might have something to do with it. It can keep you focused on the actual composition aspect of making music instead of production gimmicks. Sweetening up the sound with nicer timbres and effects and stuff can come later, when the composition itself is actually completed. At that point, you can just assign the MIDI data to a hardware synth (or a VST if you want to make things easier) and record it. I also prefer MIDIs as a way of archiving pieces considering that they're the industry standard. That way you're not locked into some proprietary format that is hardly used outside of a specific program. Maybe another reason they sound nice is the bit of reverb I slapped on there.

>>795 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgKJr5MbXWQ New Eyeliner album came out btw. Thoughts?

>>799 just listening to the first couple seconds, this is great. I love that channel, "Vapor Memory". He's on Bitchute as well, I believe.

>>799 Sounds too dry and "metallic" in a sense, also lacking when it comes to melody. None of the tracks really grabbed my attention except Potpourri, but it's full of short pauses that it's impossible to get into its flow. I feel like Orange Milk is the graveyard label of vaporwave; a successful artist would sign with them only to produce something very underwhelming, usually as a follow-up to a successful album. For example DDS, Nmesh, and Eyeliner.

>>779 Really, try Bryce. It's braindead easy and you can make something nice looking in a really short time (pic related within my first 2 hours of playing with it). It is pretty limited, but perfect for a start. Also freely available. https://archive.org/details/bryce4 https://archive.org/details/bryce4content

>>768 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6HCnub_OoU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ENMpzR54us I really love the stuff that Konzept has been making for Sam Hyde recently. It's a pleasure to watch and it looks like it was taken straight out of 1999-2004, just rendered in 4K.

>>883 Thanks, I downloaded Bryce 4 a while ago but didn't see that other .iso there.

I always thought of modern "retro aesthetic" to be dishonest as hell. It doesn't capture the zeitgeist in its entirety, simply the surface level elements of it, and not even in a good way.