XWaves

XWaves is a Stockholm-based electronic project that emerged as a significant voice in the second wave of vaporwave during the late 2010s. While many artists in the genre lean into irony or extreme lo-fi distortion, XWaves prioritizes a high-fidelity 'clean' aesthetic that incorporates elements of smooth jazz, deep house, and ambient trance.

Their 2018 release, 'Vaporwave for China,' became a cult favorite for its ability to evoke specific urban environments through the use of field recordings and heavily processed luxury-pop samples. The project explores themes of globalism, consumerism, and digital nostalgia, often utilizing Mandarin vocal snippets or imagery of East Asian metropolises to enhance the sense of 'placelessness.' Critically, XWaves is noted for bridging the gap between the meme-heavy origins of vaporwave and a more serious, compositionally focused approach to electronic music. Their work is a cornerstone of the 'mall-soft' and 'utopian virtual' sub-movements, influencing a shift toward more melodic and rhythmically stable productions within the scene.