VIRTUAL FLANNEL NEON WAVES

Ok so this really old, well, the song is but I think the album has basically just been released so I'll just talk about the title track and if you like that then... then well the rest is up to you. You can go stream it all can't ya, cause this is the intonet and that's how it do.

What am I on about, I hear you ask. Well, I am talking about Virtual Flannel. I have never heard of this person before but you learn something new every day don't you, or that's what everyone says anyway. I like the name Virtual Flannel, but it strikes me as something imperceptible, like a virtual shower or bath - these things will only clean you virtually. Not actually. Maybe that's what the name is suggesting: that music is just a "virtual flannel"; it gives you a sense of feeling emotions, being someplace, or maybe actually being mentally cleaned or purified - it allows some sort of catharsis. And in that sense music could be seen as an artificial provocateur.

Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Probably am. But it's a little food for thought. In any case, the song is 'Neon Waves' and it's the title track from VF's new album Neon Waves (duh). Please listen to it now ok.

Those synths at the beginning create an otherworldly feel, almost like this music exists only virtually (haha) and not actually - like it can only ever be digital. Which is funny because the album has also been released on tape. Moving on, the song follows a swaggering hip hop beat and is shot with many noises that turn it into a luscious corridor of music. Record crackles and tiny super-high-pitched candy popping noise give it ambience, filling in the gaps where the beat cannot reach. A stair-climbing bassline smooths its way below the sounds. Glitch hop yeah.

It's like being taken on a journey - and one that feels like it won't end because it fades out magically at the end. It is space-age yet totally now in terms of its sound, the synth oh-so medically clean yet the beat clacking and clunky. Expect more of this kind of sound if you buy the album - it's glitchy and fluid and easy on the ears. A real treat.

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