Vektroid

Vektroid
Birth name Ramona Andra Xavier
Also known as
  • Vektroid
  • New Dreams Ltd.
  • PrismCorp Virtual Enterprises
  • Macintosh Plus
Born (1992-08-19) August 19, 1992
Washington, U.S.
Origin Portland, Oregon
Genres
Occupation(s) Music producer
Years active 2005–present
Labels
  • Beer on the Rug
  • PrismCorp
  • Pavillion36
  • Section 27
Associated acts

Ramona Andra Xavier (born August 19, 1992) is an American electronic musician from Portland, Oregon. She has released music under her primary Vektroid alias, as well as others, such as dstnt, Laserdisc Visions, New Dreams Ltd., Macintosh Plus, Virtual Information Desk, and PrismCorp Virtual Enterprises.[1] Xavier played a prominent role in the popularization of the vaporwave subgenre with the release of her only studio album under her Macintosh Plus alias, Floral Shoppe (2011). The album helped popularize the vaporwave genre throughout the Internet. Since then, she has continued to release music through Bandcamp and other online platforms.

Early life

Xavier was born in Washington State on August 19, 1992. She began producing and releasing electronic music in 2005. Xavier now resides in Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon.[2]

Career

Xavier has released music through aliases including Macintosh Plus, PrismCorp, and Laserdisc Visions, among others.[1] She reports that she has put out over forty releases since 2005. Paolo Scarpa characterized Xavier's music as an "exposé of late capitalism".[3] James Parker noted Vektroid's "sensuous virtuality" and "new cyber-pop unconscious".[4] Writing for Sputnikmusic, Adam Downer called Floral Shoppe a shift toward beauty in an age that has nearly "run the gamut of what artists and musicians can do".[5]

Tiny Mix Tapes ranked Floral Shoppe and 札幌コンテンポラリー, released by Xavier under her Macintosh Plus and 情報デスクVIRTUAL aliases, respectively, on its list of its 50 favorite albums of 2012.[3][4] Fact magazine called Floral Shoppe the defining album of Bandcamp, the streaming service through which Vektroid releases her music. The album is the site's most user-recommended album in the experimental music category.[6]

Xavier stopped releasing music regularly in early 2013, only releasing two albums of that year, Home™ and ClearSkies™. Both albums were released under the PrismCorp Virtual Enterprises pseudonym in April. In 2014, Xavier released her most recent vaporwave project, Initiation Tape: Isle of Avalon Edition, a revision of her release Initiation Tape - Part One, as New Dreams Ltd. In early 2015, she collaborated with electronic duo Magic Fades to produce a remix of the song "Ecco" from their debut album, Push Through.[7] In February 2016 she released three albums, Fuji Grid TV EX, Shader Complete and Sleepline. The first two are revisions of some of her albums while the last one was produced in 2013 but never released previously.[8]

Impact

Under various aliases, Xavier played a role in the creation of the modern electronic genre vaporwave between 2010 and 2013.[9][10] Her project, New Dreams Ltd., is considered one of the primary artists in the vaporwave genre.[11][12]

Discography

Studio albums
Collaborative albums
  • Midnight Run (album) (2016) (with Siddiq)
  • GDGA1 (2016) (with Saem Fend, as CTO & Ray Sherman)
Compilation albums
  • Hello1&2 (2009) (as Vektordrum)
  • iss2+2 (2010) (as dstnt)
  • Vektroid Texture Maps (2016)
Extended plays
  • Hello Skypedals EP1 (2009, reissued on the album Hello1&2) (as Vektordrum)
  • Hello Skypedals EP2 (2009, reissued on the album Hello1&2) (as Vektordrum)
  • Geese (2009) (as Vektordrum)
  • Capitose Windowpane (2009) (as Vektordrum)
  • isÆ (2010) (as dstnt)
  • Night Signals II (2010) (as dstnt)
  • Telnet Erotika (2010, reissued in 2017 as Telnet Complete)
  • Prism Genesis (2011, reissued in 2016 as Fuji Grid TV EX (as New Dreams Ltd.)) (as Fuji Grid TV)
  • NO TITLE (2016) (with Siddiq, as PALACIO DEL RIO)

References

  1. 1 2 Lillie, Mitch (31 December 2013). "Scene Report: Electronic Music". Willamette Week. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Vektroid's Bandcamp". Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 Scarpa, Paolo (December 2012). "情報デスクVIRTUAL 札幌コンテンポラリー". Favorite 50 Albums of 2012. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 Parker, James (December 2012). "Macintosh Plus Floral Shoppe". Favorite 50 Albums of 2012. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  5. ↑ Downer, Adam (16 February 2014). "Review: Machintosh Plus - FLORAL SHOPPE". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "January's best Bandcamp release". Fact. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Bowe, Miles (10 February 2015). "Vektroid makes triumphant return with her massive Magic Fades remix". Fact. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Vektroid Drops Three New Releases via Bandcamp". Hipstetic. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Harper, Adam (2 February 2015). "What Health Goth Actually Means". The Fader. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  10. ↑ Cantino, Chris; Grabarek, Mike; Scott, Jeremy (20 October 2014). "Is the Health Goth Movement Selling Out to the Mainstream?" (Interview). Interviewed by Alex Horne. Vice. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Galil, Leor (February 19, 2013). "Vaporwave and the Observer Effect". Chicago Reader.
  12. ↑ Friedlander, Emilie; McDermott, Patrick D. (October 8, 2015). "A Recent History of Microgenres". The Fader.
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