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As the internet continues to move at a breakneck pace, it’s been harder for scenes to form and stick around for any meaningful amount of time. Vaporwave, witch-house, and countless other net-genres have come and gone in the past ten years, often with very little to show past their initial booms. There’s a duality to the nature of niche music in the internet age, and in some cases their expiry date has only served to further their artistic statements.
Enter hardvapour, the net-genre already past its expiry date despite its young age. With its aggressive sound and deliberately outdated visuals, hardvapour is outsider art that aims to obliterate what little life remains in the long-stagnant vapor scene. Stemming mostly from eastern Europe, this rapidly expanding scene has quickly churned out a number of compelling releases.
With DJ ALINA’s new album MANIAX, the bizarre hyperworld of hardvapour has arrived at its biggest and best moment yet. Allegedly hailing from Ukraine, DJ ALINA recently told Fact that she puts on raves by the Black Sea. Playing into the uncertainty surrounding anonymity on the internet, DJ ALINA’s mysterious online presence further feeds the otherworldly nature of her outré music.
As much Aphex Twin as it is Skinny Puppy, DJ ALINA’s latest release broadcasts everything that’s great about hardvapour. There’s a serious potential for the scene to go further than it already has, and MANIAX finds DJ ALINA frequently reaching those heights. To top it off, MANIAX is being released through Dream Catalogue, who have an impressive track record thanks to their involvement with some of most inventive internet releases of the past five years.
Conceptually tied to the disturbing case of the Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs, the album is borderline apocalyptic sounding at points. Unrelenting and remorseless, MANIAX is the type of music the brain conjures upon inspecting the darker reaches of the internet. While it remains to be seen where MANIAX will situate itself in the grand canon of distinctly internet music, it’s clear that it deserves to be up there with the likes of Macintosh Plus’ Floral Shoppe.
Listen to the premiere of MANIAX below, and purchase it digitally or on cassette here.
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