ishiiburidai
Ishiiburidai is a visual editor and music producer that has both been doing it from the start and, at the same time, has only just started. His YouTube channel (where he shared MV edits) dates back to 2015, during the heights of the scene’s popularity, while he’s been releasing albums since only last December.
Pool Plants: What is your personal history with Argentinian music? Who are your favorite Argentinian musicians or bands? What kind of non-Argentinian music did you listen to growing up?
ishiiburidai: Honestly, I had a complete dislike for the more popular genres here (cumbia, reggaeton) from a young age. Over the years, however, I learned to open my ears to certain very enriching acts, cultural and sound-wise (Gilda, Antonio Rios and Los Pibes Chorros), but they wouldn’t be my choice for favorites in the country. I’ve been exposed to all sorts of music from a very young age, so I’ve developed a personal taste not ensconced in one genre, but plenty: I went to see Charly Garcia when I was four months old, La Renga in my childhood, the duo Tonolec (whose singer I believe to be our very own Bjork) in my early adolescence and many more.
It would be faster to name the music I’ve not grown with. As I discussed this interview with the other members of AQ, I remembered my mother telling me she put an old radio speaker to her belly playing Dead Can Dance and The Cure when she was pregnant. My father owned a recording studio for twenty years, so you can expect me having listened to every tune under the sun, the highlights being Kiss, Pink Floyd, etc.
Personally, when I was 9 I distinctly remember my mother handing me headphones on the bus and she played me L’Via L’Viaquez by The Mars Volta… It has been my favorite band ever since to this day. Its experimental nature opened such a vortex in my mind I became obsessed, I’m talking the Age of Moses when we burned blank CDs on white envelopes in which I scribbled the track names and duration of the albums (which of course I already knew by heart)
P: How were you first introduced to vaporwave music and how did you get your start in the vaporwave scene? How did you come up with your artist name? What do you like in the current vaporwave scene?
I: I don’t remember the exact circumstance in which I first listened to Vaporwave, but I can’t have been older than thirteen that I listened to the more popular ones (Saint Pepsi, Macintosh Plus, Blank Banshee) and was very drawn to it, although I was still in my Skrillex-obsessed era. Overtime it gained momentum on me as I really started going online, watching music edits became my passion and I decided to use Windows Movie Maker with its very basic tools (which amounted to splitting and speeding/slowing clips) to make my very first videos:
猫 シ Corp. (Cat Corp.) - Endless Neon Signs
My artist name came from browsing for kanjis that sounded good, previously I had been Blixadanix (a play on my first and last names, shoutout if you got the Einstürzende Neubauten reference, (yes I’m named that way)) until I got to 石井ぶり台 which could be simply read as a name or Dr. Ishii. Credit where its due, looking back I might had unconsciously been influenced by the Kill Bill character O-ren Ishii.
Correction: Apparently on further research, 石井 is a common Japanese surname, while ぶり is a suffix meaning “style” or “fashion” & 台 is associated with “stand” or “platform”. The alias coincidentally might mean “stand of the Ishii fasion” which I really like <3
The thing I like most in the current scene is the decentralization of music, to be able to just put stuff out there and people will support outside of shitty music platforms such as Spotify that leeches the artists dry and gives them next to nothing if they’re not already a “big name”. I stumbled upon so many good artists this way and have been blessed to collaborate with some of them. Impeccable scene and Bandcamp is the perfect place for us.
P: When making vaporwave, how much do you draw on Argentinian music and influences? Have you made albums that are about Argentina in any particular way? Do you think there is anything unique about Vaporwave from Argentina?
I: Not much really, I try to branch out as much as possible when making my music, going so far as to name my tracks in Japanese, Bhutanese and Nepali. A recent EP I made called 静けさ has the concept of using one Eastern language for every track, which compliments that the songs in it were used for various compilations and the cover reflects that (the butterflies coming from all directions and meeting in the middle).
There are plans to make an album specifically about Argentina, we’re planning that with Argentum Quorum for some time in the future, but that doesn’t mean It'll be entrenched in Argentinian samples, since country lines are social constructs. For example, I used a Colombian Arawak chant in águila nahual, the track I made for them as well as the Mexican title, because I envision all of the aboriginal peoples of America as a singular and special identity that I feel blessed having as my ancestors.
P: Have you worked with other Argentinian musicians or artists, either locally or nationally? How about people in other countries in South or Central America?
I: From Argentina specifically, I’ve only been in touch with the other members of AQ (Our leader Nahuelsat, LAPA the goat compressor-machine and EAST ACCESS the 막내 of the group) and briefly with modest by default. I cherish them so much, for the short time we’ve been in touch they’ve been helping me in taking my songs to a whole other level, honestly couldn’t have done it without their help. We’re trying to set up a community of South American Vaporwave enjoyers and stumbled on a few but hey! If you’re reading this and match this criteria reach out to any of us, we’d be thrilled to have you!
This past year I’ve had the wonderful chance of making visuals for Mabisyo at Beats for a Broken World, Another Love for Void Moon and recently with Van House to make promos for Raw Violence vol. 2 which I’m featured in.
P: Do you think you are able to connect easily with the American or European vaporwave scenes despite the geographical distance?
I: Absolutely! I’ve only had a few misunderstandings due to language barrier and time zones when setting up premieres and such, that’s the biggest pain in my ass, but everyone’s been so obliging and ready to meet-me-halfway so that everything could be sorted and lined up perfectly.
P: What is one thing you would like to see happen with vaporwave in Argentina or vaporwave in general? How do you think the vaporwave scene in Argentina could grow?
I: As said before, the best thing that would happen for me would be for a community to form around Vaporwave producers and listeners from South and Central America and we’ve been trying to set that up. The best way to achieve that I think is for it to form naturally, maybe set a few IRL shows although that’s very costly; I know Lost Traveler has done live shows but I’ll get back to you on how profitable that has been. In the end, I believe the fact that Vaporwave has emerged as a purely online movement is pivotal in constructing its identity and how it has reached people all over the globe, that’s one of its biggest strengths!
You can see ishiiburidai's videos on YouTube and find his music on Bandcamp and also with Argentum Quorum on Bandcamp. You can follow him on Instagram and TikTok.
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