Once Upon a Time cover

Once Upon a Time

Released

The mysterious Romance collective takes (actual) Celine Dion acapellas and soaks them until they slide, waterlogged, down from the world of pop into the arcade where vaporwave is sold ten to a pack, cheap, and Oneohtrix and The Caretaker keep their kissas open ‘til dawn. It is easy to be distracted by the technology that enabled eccojams or screw music or Basinski’s fading loops, and it’s good to keep an eye on those fetishes. But a reflection of the immediate environment is central to the purpose of folk music, and that’s what vaporwave does by recycling the sounds of life spent in front of help kiosks. Romance’s churning of Celine’s everywhere voice helps us make sense of days spent with screened voices, and reminds us how great Dion’s voice is, at any speed, with or without cheese.

Sasha Frere-Jones

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