is an Internet music microgenre, aesthetic and meme that emerged in the early 2010s. Originating from experimental genres like Post-Noise and Hypnagogic Pop, its sound is defined by the use of chopped, slowed-down, and reverb-heavy samples from 1980s and 1990s smooth jazz, R&B, and lounge music.
The term "Vaporwave" is a derivation of "vaporware," a term used in the computer software and hardware industry to describe a product that is announced and heavily advertised to the public but is never actually manufactured or officially released.
Just as vaporware represents a corporate promise that never materializes, Vaporwave music and aesthetics explore the "lost futures" promised by late-20th-century capitalism.
By sampling and distorting the "trash" of consumer culture (like elevator music, infomercials, and corporate Muzak) the genre creates audiovisual content that feels like a memory of a future that never arrived.
