George Clanton (also known by the monikers Mirror Kisses, ESPRIT 空想, and Kid's Garden) is an American

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

ian and singer-songwriter known for his involvement with the

vaporwave Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music, visual art style, and Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, elevator music, elevator, contemporary ...

music scene. He established his independent record label 100% Electronica in 2015, and in 2019 launched the first vaporwave music festival, 100% ElectroniCON.

Biography

George Clanton was born in

Ridgeway, Virginia Ridgeway is a town in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 742 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Martinsville Speedway, a NASCAR racetrack, is located between Ridgeway and the ...

. He grew up going to punk rock shows. His career began when he accidentally downloaded a misnamed

Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called '' Dig!'', and have gained media not ...

song, which led him down an Internet rabbit hole where he discovered "a whole new world of music" which inspired him to write and release his own under the pseudonym Mirror Kisses, and later ESPRIT 空想 (“fantasy” in Chinese). He decided to start using his real name before releasing his album '' 100% Electronica'', because " edidn't want to release one more album as Mirror Kisses", and he "hated saying 'Mirror Kisses' every time someone asked im hisband name." He tried to make a sequel to ''100% Electronica'' for three years but felt that he failed, because he wasn't able to find the sound he wanted for it. After giving up, he started experimenting and writing stuff for fun and felt that the "songs ere writingthemselves". Eventually, this material transformed into his next album, ''

Slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...

'', where he incorporated electric guitar and acoustic drums as well. In 2015 he established his record label 100% Electronica along with his girlfriend, fellow musical artist Negative Gemini. He and Negative Gemini both hail from Virginia and played their first show together in 2011 along with other artists such as

Skylar Spence Ryan DeRobertis (known by his stage name Skylar Spence and formerly known as Saint Pepsi) is an American electronic musician and singer who grew up in Farmingville, New York and attended Boston College for two years studying music. His electroni ...

. In 2019, they launched 100% Electronicon, the first vaporwave music festival. Clanton streams his live performances regularly on

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...

and YouTube. He described New York City as his favorite city in the world to perform. Clanton has a degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

and taught himself

computer programming Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as ana ...

in order to create virtual interactive experiences for his record label.

Songwriting and style

George Clanton's music has been described as a fusion of

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

, and vaporwave, while also using elements of

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

, and

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

. Critics have also associated his music with

chillwave Chillwave (originally considered synonymous with glo-fi and hypnagogic pop) is a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s. It loosely emulates 1980s electropop while engaging with notions of memory and nostalgia. Common features inclu ...

and

hypnagogic pop Hypnagogic pop (often abbreviated as h-pop) is pop or psychedelic music that evokes cultural memory and nostalgia for the popular entertainment of the past (principally the 1980s). It emerged in the mid to late 2000s as American lo-fi and noise ...

. Clanton noted that unlike some vaporwave artists, he does not try to be "ironic" or "silly with his lyrics", and prefers to "write great pop songs that are representative of an emotion that eactually

eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

when

e's is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and drawn by Satoru Yuiga. It was originally serialized in ''Monthly GFantasy'' from 1997 through 2005, and later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Square Enix from March 18, 2003 to Februa ...

singing them." He described his album ''Slide'' as a "vaporwave opera". When he finds a sound that he likes, he uses it as often as he can, believing it helps him make his albums sound more cohesive and iconic. Clanton's aim for his music is to evoke "

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...

". When he starts writing a song, he randomly presses notes on his keyboard instrument and cycles through patches and effects until they trigger emotions and memories on him. Although he is frequently associated with vaporwave, Clanton himself states that he embraces the tag largely for marketing purposes, and does not consider himself strictly a vaporwave musician. Vaporwave is primarily an instrumental genre, which contradicts Clanton's use of vocals. His only conscious attempt at the genre was with the ESPRIT 空想 side project.

Influences

George Clanton's influences include

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

Anton Newcombe Anton Alfred Newcombe (born August 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and founder of the music group The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Newcombe was the subject of the 2004 documentary film '' Dig!'', along ...

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

, New Order, and

311 311 may refer to: * 311 (number), a natural number * AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD * 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 311 (band), an American band ** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album ...

, which was the first band he saw live. Clanton collaborated with 311's

Nick Hexum Nicholas Lofton Hexum (born April 12, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter and rapper, currently the vocalist and guitarist for the multi-platinum alternative rock band 311 and The Nick Hexum Quintet. Early life Born in Madison, Wisconsin, to ...

on several songs which they released in 2019, as well as a full album in 2020.

Discography

As George Clanton

* '' 100% Electronica'' (2015) * ''

'' (2018) * '' George Clanton & Nick Hexum'' (2020; collaborative album with

) * '' Ooh Rap I Ya'' (2023)

As Mirror Kisses

* ''Soaking Wet'' (2008) * ''Dance Decree / Light Hearted'' (2009) * ''Bad Dreams'' (2012) * ''Heartbeats'' (2013)

As ESPRIT 空想

* ''「Girls Only」'' (EP; 2012) * ''Summer Night'' (EP; 2013) * ''Relax™'' (2013) * ''Virtua.zip'' (2014) * ''200% Electronica'' (2017)

As Kid's Garden

* ''Further'' (2007) * ''Lord, Amen'' (2009) * ''Don't Call Me Yours'' (2011) * ''DARLING'' (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clanton, George American electronic musicians Record producers from Virginia Vaporwave musicians Living people 21st-century American singers American male singer-songwriters American synth-pop musicians Chillwave musicians Trip hop musicians Hypnagogic pop musicians 1988 births