What is #seapunk? It’s a new meme within sphere of DIY / internet music (chillwave). A March 4 article in the New York Times (
well worth reading) describes it thus: “Sprouting from the digital petri dish of social networking, seapunk is a whimsical style that mashes together cartoonish aquatic themes, rave culture and a nostalgia for ’90s Internet imagery.” Oh, now I know: it’s that.
#seapunk draws on house, garage and drum & bass, but there’s not a great stylistic continuity, at least not musically. The visual motifs of aquatic life, dolphins, pyramids and generally all things wet help to identify the micro-genre. Whatever it is, there is a real vitality to it, as proved by these tracks. Xyloid is an 18 year old electronic music producer from San Antonio, Texas. Non-conformist and totally brilliant, fresh af: this stuff doesn’t sound like anything else happening now. It’s a welcome break from too damn much dubstep. His Soundcloud is full of free downloads of music that's a lot better than that many artists are charging for. My favorite is "Knee Deep", but all of the tracks are great.
