Birth of a New Day by 2814 (Review)

2814 is a collaboration between Hong Kong Express and t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者, two of the biggest names in the amorphous “vaporwave” genre. While vaporwave can often seem like little more than album after album of ’90s R&B samples slowed waaaaay down, 2814’s music is more subtle and cinematic.

It may still be incredibly sample-heavy, but the mysterious duo — anonymity is another big aspect of vaporwave — tweak their sounds enough that they become both otherworldly and familiar. There’s an exotic, sensual aspect to these blurry, murky tracks, thanks to the heavily reverbed, dub-laced atmospherics and vocal snippets heard on “恢复” and “新宿ゴールデン街.”

In a 2014 interview, Hong Kong Express expressed his love for Wong Kar-wai’s movies, and described his music as an attempt to “project an image of love and loneliness in the big city.” Indeed, you feel almost half-awake yourself thanks to the music’s bleary-eyed sonics. Like Marconi Union, 2814 evoke the scene of a rain-slicked city at 3am, and being the only one awake while everyone’s tucked in nice and dry. It’s a lonely existence, to be sure, but there’s a city full of mystery just waiting for your exploration.