Nmesh - Dream Sequins®
In the often hazy and ephemeral world of vaporwave, Nmesh's 2014 album Dream Sequins® stands as a towering achievement. More than just slowed-down muzak or ironic plunderphonics, it's an incredibly dense, meticulously crafted sonic collage that evokes a powerful sense of warped nostalgia, digital detritus, and surreal dream states. It’s a journey through the uncanny valley of forgotten media and half-remembered advertisements.
A Tapestry of Found Sounds
Created by Alex Koenig under the Nmesh moniker, Dream Sequins® is built almost entirely from an astonishing array of samples sourced from obscure commercials, corporate training videos, new age tapes, forgotten pop songs, video game soundtracks, and other fragments of late 20th-century media culture. Koenig doesn't just loop samples; he chops, layers, processes, and recontextualizes them into entirely new compositions.
The result is a sprawling, hour-plus journey that shifts seamlessly between moods and textures. One moment you're floating in an ethereal synth wash reminiscent of a forgotten PBS special ident, the next you're propelled by a warped funk groove salvaged from a corporate jingle, only to dissolve into glitchy digital artifacts or snippets of disembodied dialogue. It captures the feeling of channel-surfing through a bizarre, alternate-reality version of the past.
Nostalgia and Uncanniness
While deeply rooted in nostalgia, the feeling evoked by Dream Sequins® is complex. It's not just a warm reminiscence; it's often unsettling. The familiar sounds are twisted and repurposed, creating a sense of jamais vu – the familiar rendered strange. The album taps into collective cultural memory but presents it through a distorted, dreamlike lens, exploring themes of consumerism, technology, and the decay of information.
Tracks flow into one another, creating a continuous listening experience rather than distinct songs. Highlights are hard to pinpoint, as the album works best as a whole, but moments like the warped pop euphoria of "Climbing the Corporate Ladder ✔" or the unsettling ambient drift of "ΛΛΞΟΝ ΛЛОΝΞ" showcase the range and depth of Koenig's vision.
Vaporwave Landmark
Dream Sequins® is widely regarded as one of the high watermarks of the vaporwave genre. Its complexity, technical skill, and conceptual depth elevated it beyond many simpler vaporwave tropes. It demonstrated the artistic potential of sample-based collage music and solidified Nmesh's reputation as a master of the craft.
It's an album that demands patience and rewards repeated listens, revealing new layers and hidden details each time. A truly unique and immersive sonic experience that perfectly encapsulates the strange beauty and unsettling nostalgia of vaporwave.