Night Clerk Radio: Haunted Music Reviews

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon Caleb is back and this time we’re chatting about the original soundtracks to two very different games: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and Signalis. These soundtracks represent two very different approaches to creating rich and varied scores that enhance the themes and tone of their respective games. Connect with Caleb! Caleb’s Linktree Delta Green: Dead Channels He...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re diving into the world of Noir, film or otherwise, to discuss how it has evolved from cynical post-war artistic movement to bland genre pastiche. The modern euphemism for this process is “becoming a vibe.” We focus this discussion on two albums that express the range of noir-influence in music from richly textured dark ambient to abrasive...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon Yet again, we’re ignoring Valentine’s Day and instead talking about the music of Null Object, the lo-fi/vaporhouse project of podcast favorite Jordan Bortner (a.k.a. 식료품groceries). We talk about the project, its associated music, and our personal experiences and thoughts on this unique fusion of EDM and vaporwave. Music Discussed Cooperative Taxi Station by...

Cryo Chamber’s Tsathoggua Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon As is tradition, we sat down with our friend Caleb Stokes to talk about the latest Cryo Chamber Lovecraft compilation, Tsathoggua! This joint effort of over 20 dark ambient artists on the Cryo Chamber label is an eclectic blend of genres and ambient soundscapes. We dig into the music and discuss the perils of albums themed after wet dr...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon We’re kicking off 2023 by talking about one of our most requested topics: Death’s Dynamic Shroud, an electronic music trio whose eclectic blend of power pop plunderphonics and industrial noisy glitch has been an innovative force in electronic music since 2014. Their large and varied discography is an engaging listen that both entertains and rewards the active l...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re getting into the niche vaporwave subgenre of “dystopian virtual,” which serves as a counterpart to the previously discussed “utopian virtual.” Both genres present clean and sometimes ironic depictions of possible or now impossible futures. We discuss two excellent examples of the genre. Music Discussed FEEDING FRENZY by y o u r d i s c o...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon 'Tis the season of consumption, so all through this episode we’re rambling about the various ways in which vaporwave interacts with consumerism. We introduce the various arguments for vaporwave as a critique of consumerism. We then discuss all of the unfortunate ways our consumer culture impacts vaporwave (or any) artists. It’s a feel good holiday episode! Musi...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re going through the last few months of music shared and recommended on the Discord server for our Patreon community. We discuss eight albums that range from classic vaporwave to signalwave to dark ambient and beyond. Music Discussed Live from a Bomb Shelter in Ukraine by Heinali Tokyo Nights 1987 by 雨天 migraine Ｉ​​​Ｓ​​​Ｕ​​​Ｚ​​​Ｕ​​​　...

New Releases from Old Favorites Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re checking out two new-ish releases from artists we love: 폐점 by 식료품groceries and Nameless Dreamers by Equip & R23X. That’s it. Just chatting about two albums we really liked. Check them out! Music Discussed 폐점 by 식료품groceries Nameless Dreamers by Equip & R23X Credits Music by: 2Mello      Artwork by...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this bonus episode, we’re talking about the brand new vapormetal album from podcast-favorite, Winterquilt. This album is an energetic journey through an eclectic blend of genres ranging from death metal to donk. Check it out! Music Featured Winterquilt - Monster Island & The Satan of Fire Released through: MyPetFlamingo Credits Music by: 2Mello      Artwork...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re exploring the unique genre of occult-inspired electronica known as Witch House. We share our thoughts on a wide variety of Witch House tracks, the appeal of its aesthetic, and its connection to vaporwave. A huge thanks to our patrons on Discord for recommending this topic. Music Sampled Salem - King Night Balam Acab - Await MATER SUSPIRIA...

The Music of clown core Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re talking about the music of clown core, a duo whose music is a unique and abrasive blend of highly technical jazz, metal, and electronica with a healthy side of vulgarity. We also discuss the appeal of high-effort memes, the purpose of artistic creation, and the importance of experiencing challenging art. Music Disc...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re talking about the classic music of the DOOM video games, focusing on the work of Bobby Prince in 1993 and Mick Gordon in 2016. Not only did both composers produce memorable and compelling soundtracks for their respective games, they did so under very different market and technological conditions. We talk about these changing conditions an...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re remembering the life and work of Cesar Alexandre; a multi-genre and multi-talented music producer and artist from Brazil who passed away in April of 2021. Cesar’s work includes seminal vaporwave albums under the name Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza, stunning atmospheric dark ambient work as Cryo Chamber artist Mount Shrine, and numerous other p...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re returning to one of our foundational topics: Hauntology. We cover Hauntology as a genre of music and learn about its distinctly UK-focused roots. This includes the history of veteran hauntological record label Ghost Box Records and discussions focused on two recent Hauntological albums. Albums Discussed u​,​i by Olivier Alary & Johannes M...

SOME NEWS The Kickstarter for “Ludonarrative Dissidents,” Ross’s RPG podcast, is still going strong and crushing stretch goals. Check it out! Check it out here: Ludonarrative Dissidents Podcast: Season 2 Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re tackling the popular vaporwave subgenre of Utopian Virtual with a discussion that is as much topic-driven as it is album-driven. We refi...

SOME NEWS The Kickstarter for “Ludonarrative Dissidents,” Ross’s RPG podcast, is still going strong and crushing stretch goals. Check it out! Check it out here: Ludonarrative Dissidents Podcast: Season 2 Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon On this episode, we’re generating deliverables by circling back to some bleeding edge Corporate Vaporwave and dedicating our bandwidth to a deep dive into two...

SOME NEWS Ross has just launched a Kickstarter for a second season of his podcast “Ludonarrative Dissidents,” a show focused on the in-depth discussion of various aspects of tabletop role-playing games. Check it out here: Ludonarrative Dissidents Podcast: Season 2 Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon On this episode, we’re listening to two albums that were released on Hiraeth Records, a record lab...

Dungeon Synth is a genre we’ve discussed on several previous episodes, but these albums have typically expressed a somewhat narrow range of themes involving sword and sorcery type adventure. The genre is, of course, far more expansive. On this episode, we’re listening to two dungeon synth albums from 2021 that highlight how varied dungeon synth can be. Albums Discussed Earthly Delights by Chantere...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re reading through Visual Signals, a vaporwave ‘zine started by KITE0080. Each issue features an eclectic blend of vaporwave news, artist interviews, essays, and a grab bag of articles on everything from rice cookers to classic cheat codes for The Sims. In addition to being a fun read, Visual Signals represents an important effort to curate...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we each set out trying to find some new music (specifically summer jams) to enjoy. Ross returns with a Chillhop compilation and a long discussion on Lofi Hip-Hop record labels while Birk shows up with an experimental electro-jazz album. These choices completely reinforce this show’s chemistry. Music Discussed Chillhop Essentials Summer 2021 by...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re discussing the album Endless Mall by ECCO 深い夢, a massive mallsoft project consisting of one hundred tracks that cover a wide range of subgenres. We discuss some of our highlights from listening to this album and talk about the process of consuming large media projects. Music Discussed Endless Mall 深 い 夢 by ECCO 深い夢 Credits Music...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon Climatewave is a subgenre of vaporwave that focuses on using samples from broadcasts of weather news and forecasts. We’ve previously discussed climatewave in the context of The Weather Channel, but in this episode we’re branching out to explore European and Japanese-based climatewave. Music Discussed Ｔｅｌｅｔｅｘｔｏ ｅｓｐｅｃｉａｌ by Kratzwerk ｍｅｔｅｏｒ...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon In this episode, we’re returning to one of this show’s core genres, Dark Ambient. We discuss two recent dark ambient albums and explore not only the music but the varying ways in which each album explores the concept of narrative in music. Music Discussed The Colony by Delmak-O Phantasiai by LEILA ABDUL-RAUF Other Links Top 10 Dark Ambient Releases Of 2021 Annu...

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon Naturewave is a subgenre of vaporwave that explores the unresolvable tension between the development of technology and the impact that development has on nature. In this episode, we dig into this topic and discuss two excellent albums that each deal with these issues in their own unique ways. Music Discussed Biosphere 0​.​2 by Cyber Surfer 3D OVERGROWTH by OSCO...