Today, Mallsoft is a topic of great relevance and interest in today's society. From its multiple perspectives, Mallsoft has managed to capture the attention of academics, specialists, and the general public. Its influence ranges from everyday aspects to issues of great global importance. In this article, we will delve into the world of Mallsoft, exploring its different facets, analyzing its impact in various contexts and reflecting on its relevance today. Join us on this journey of discovery and understanding about Mallsoft.
Mallsoft | |
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Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | Mid-2010s, Internet, 4chan |
Mallsoft (also known as mallwave) is a vaporwave subgenre centered around shopping malls.
Often based on corporate lounge music, mallsoft is meant to conjure images of shopping malls, grocery stores, lobbies, and other places of public commerce. Mallsoft artists typically elicit nostalgic memories of these retail establishments, even to those who did not experience them firsthand, sampling easy listening, bossa nova, and smooth jazz music. The genre also often attempts to provide commentary on consumerism and corporate capitalism. Much of the enjoyment from listeners is derived from nostalgia and the "pleasure of remembering for the sake of the act of remembering itself".
Some artists simply slow & reverberate existing 1980s' pop songs to make them sound like they're coming from the overhead speakers in an empty or abandoned mall. Reverb and distortion are often overlaid on top of tracks to give them an isolating and disorienting feeling. YouTube videos often pair mallsoft tracks with images of malls, with an emphasis on selected images that appear to have been taken from the 1980s and 1990s. The visuals can often be meant to invoke a sense of loneliness along with the cold nature of meandering through overly-corporate mercantile environments.
Music journalist Simon Chandler described Dutch artist Cat System Corp.'s 2014 album Palm Mall as being "perhaps the definitive mallsoft album".