History · 5 eras

Timeline

  1. 1980 — 2008

    Before vaporwave

    None of the ingredients were invented by the genre. All of them were lying around.

    Who
    Vocabulary that starts here
    Chopped and screwedPlunderphonicsMuzakCity popMemphis DesignEarly CGI / low-polyOld WebHypnagogic pop
  2. 2009 — 2011

    Formation

    Two templates, then the record that fixed the look. No name for it yet.

    Who
    Records
    Labels
    Vocabulary that starts here
    EccojamsUtopian virtualVaporwave
  3. 2012 — 2014

    Explosion

    The branches appear almost at once, mostly invented by people who had just heard of the genre.

    Who
    Records
    Labels
    Vocabulary that starts here
    VaportrapFuture funkMallsoftLate-night lo-fiSlushwave
  4. 2015 — 2018

    Expansion

    The aesthetic proves it can be produced rather than sampled — and gets a festival.

    Who
    Records
    Labels
    Vocabulary that starts here
    DreampunkHardvapourSimpsonwaveAmbient vaporwave
  5. 2019 — present

    After

    The golden era passed; the aesthetic did not. Nostalgia moves from the 1980s toward Y2K.

    Who
    Labels
    Vocabulary that starts here
    Barber beatsY2K futurismCybersigilism

    Beer on the Rug deletes its entire catalogue in 2019. Fans have been archiving it since.

See the family tree → The canon