b e g o t t e n 自杀 : (new aura) - 新时代 (2019)

Forgive my absence. Let's talk about some vaporwave.

begotten is a relatively new artist in the vaporwave world, their first release coming out in October 2017, and like most artists in the field they've managed to remain largely anonymous and mysterious. Unlike most artists, they were cryptically giving themselves an expiration date (6 EPs), and with the release of this album (new aura) [actually new era if you translate the Japanese correctly, but who cares? stylistic choice, right?], begotten has officially retired.

That finality gives something powerful to this record, powerful enough that I think it stands out from the rest of their discography. Though all of begotten's work plays with echoing sound and reverb texture as all the best VW albums do, (new aura) feels darker than the rest; the distant vocals that echo through the slow synth chords mesh perfectly with the dark, cavernous aesthetic. Hell, one of the best songs on here is literally called "(cavernous)"!

When I listen to music like this - ambient, dark, relatively simple vaporwave adjacent shit - I find myself less interested in the techniques of the songs and more in what orbits the songs; by which I mean the great number of factors and ideas that go into packaging a collection of songs. There's the aesthetic of the cover art and the lore given with the album; there's the album length and tracklist order; there's song length to consider as well, a great number of things that can make the difference between a record with some good songs and a great album.

I'm pleased to report that this is a great album. Opening number "(interpersonal eden)" sets the tone perfectly before the resplendent "(sensuous)" showers us in some slow echoing beats and saccharine, disembodied moans. Next "(dilapidated)" shows the darker, more eerie side of what can be done with the sound, as a slow and funereal arrangement plods on behind deathly echoes and moans. For most of the album it's impossible to tell what sort of music could have gone into these songs, as they're so skillfully looped and drenched in effects that something new is produced, something that can be genuinely chilling at times. 

Abstract, spacey, pure and powerful gibberish that worms into the soul; that's how I'd describe the rest of this record. For better or for worse the technique behind the sound remains the same for most of the runtime, treating us to an experience that is immediately striking but can get a bit repetitive. If "(dilapidated)" stunned you, the short "(voluptuous wires)" will bore you and the even shorter "(serendipity)" will just annoy you. Things work best here when they have time to grow and enchant, meaning the throwaway tracks littering the second half will drag down your opinion for sure. I think if tracks like the two I just mentioned and the predictable "(connectivity)" weren't here, and tracks like "(cavernous)" were given more time to develop, (new aura) would stand just a little taller on its own. 

But what can you do when you have critiques and the artist is retired? The sound won't be refined, the name won't be repeated again; it's a little sad, a little dark, just how I like my vaporwave. There isn't a lot of nostalgia here, but there is the call of a void, a dark emptiness that shines. Ultimately my critiques mean nothing; we have what we have, and we either enjoy it or we don't. I think there's plenty here to enjoy. I leave you with an excerpt from a poem that was released to accompany this album:

"A void is all that's left / No sanity to be found / I've lost my mind in the process / I can't distinguish any sounds..."

DREAM...