What is "vaporwave"

Vaporwave (also spelt as vapourwave) is a music genre and art movement that emerged in the early 2010s among Internet communities. It is characterized by a nostalgic or surrealist fascination with retro cultural aesthetics (typically of the 1980s, 1990s, and early-mid 2000s), entertainment technology, consumer culture and advertising, and styles of corporate and popular music such as lounge, smooth jazz and elevator music. Musical sampling is prevalent within the genre, with samples often pitched, layered or altered in classic chopped and screwed style.

Central to the style is often a critical or satirical preoccupation with consumer capitalism, popular culture, and new-age tropes. The visual style of vaporwave, as seen on album covers and in art videos accompanied by the music, is commonly referred to as " aesthetics" (often stylized as ).