With its humble beginnings in 2017, FOTOSHOPPE CO. has been a tour de force within the vaporwave scene, publishing an absolutely astonishing amount of albums in its near-decade existence. With nostalgia as its prime focus, FOTOSHOPPE continues to reinvent the concept of vaporwave, nourishing a dedicated community left starved for a genre that - for lack of a better term - has been removed from its glory day fifteen or so years ago. As FOTOSHOPPE CO. approaches its 500th release, I got to sit down with label-head Gage Friesen and discuss the CO.'s past, present, and future.
Stuburban: This is a wildly direct question, but it's something I think about whenever I peruse your catalog: How old are you? FOTOSHOPPE CO.'s whole M.O. is nostalgia, and I'll often come across something that hits me in my soul. But other times there are things that are completely after my time. The cross-over appeal for Millennials and Zoomers is strong here.
Gage: I am 25, born in 1999. I am a huge fan of anything retro: 80s, 90s, 2000s mostly, but the 50s, 60s, and, 70s have some cool memorabilia too. I can't explain it. I just really like a lot of the things that came out back then. There are a lot of cool things that come out today too, but there is so much more stuff we made in our history that you can't get anymore, or people just abandoned. I like to take a look back on some of the cool things we've made and breathe some new life into it. A lot of people like to separate the generations from each other, but I like to blur the lines. At the same time I still see stuff that come out today that piques my interest. There is a lot of stuff in this world to discover, but very little time.
S: If anything FOTOSHOPPE CO. has taught me that there's certain aspects of nostalgia that transcend all age groups. I'm 37, and the album covers for Pocket Mönster's "Playing In The Rain" and "Winston Way" grab me in the same way that it may grab someone over a decade younger, and I find that absolutely fascinating. The longing for childhood is strong. Has FOTOSHOPPE CO. ever released anything with a 50's or 60's motif?
G: My casino-wave albums [definitely] fill that role. I love the classic 50s lounge music that 's featured in Fallout 3 and New Vegas, so it inspired me to make some 50s style lounge albums like Casinopolis, Luigi's Casino, or Gomorrah [all under the alias kiwii] . I haven't really focused heavily on the 60s, but maybe something will come out in the future.
S: I don't want to break any kayfabe here, but are you responsible for creating most of these records? If not, how do you find all of these artists? I can't begin to explain how vast your library is.
G: So FOTOSHOPPE CO. started out as just my own artist page, but during my 7th album I started making up aliases. I started making way more tracks that had a specific sound that was different from FOTOshoppeツ. I came up with PlayStation ｐｌａｔｉｎｕｍ first, and [then] started coming up with a bunch of new artist names and albums until eventually I attracted new people. DreamWorks, pinker, scamlines, and 任天堂WII were some of the first artists to contact me, and from that point on I decided to become a label. This eventually led to the catalog numbers and seasons being created. The idea behind the seasons was I wanted to let the fans take part [in] the label. Let the people pick their 50 favorite tracks to appear on a special compilation album at the end of each season. I also wanted to make each season have a new cover that would also be the logo, so each time the season changes the logo does as well.
S: The first FOTOshoppeツ record was released January 2017, is that correct?
G: Actually I joined Bandcamp in April of 2017. My first two albums originally released on Soundcloud first, but I moved over to Bandcamp after Aesthetic Heaven was made.
But the album was released on January 2017 just on Soundcloud.
S: And from there, what was the first album you released that didn't involve you, and when did that happen?
G: Dreamworks was the first artist to appear that wasn't me, [and] that was around August or September 2018
S: So it sounds like you became a label pretty quickly. When artists send you their albums or demos, what do you look for in their recordings that make you think "I'd like to release this?"
G: I don't really have any rules. I just like to release what sounds good to me.
Video game themed albums are always a personal favorite.
S: I'll be honest, those are some of my favorites as well. When I get a Bandcamp notification for a new FOTOSHOPPE CO. release and[with] any hint of a video game theme I pick it up instantly. What originally got you into vaporwave?
G: It was the memes [laughs]. I saw some memes with the Macintosh Plus 420 song in 2015 and I instantly fell in love with the sounds. I eventually found Enjoy Yourself [by Saint Pepsi] and Beach Walk [by Whitewoods] on YouTube and fell down a rabbit hole. After discovering several vaporwave songs on YouTube I decided this is what i wanted to create. This led to me making a bunch of songs that are featured on the album 2015-2016 [under the alias Q-bic].
G Continued: I couldn't quite get that same sound other artists in the genre were getting so I asked my dad, "how do they do it?" My dad taught me what sampling was, and I created my first vaporwave track ever S I D E Q U E S T at the end of 2016. This also led me to creating FOTOshoppeツ. I got the name from taking Floral Shoppe [by Macintosh Plus] and combing it with Photoshop and replacing the Ph with an F.
S: Is your dad a musician?
G: Yes, he was a part of the punk scene in the 90s. He created Houseboy, Join'r, and was in some other bands I can' t remember. He also taught me how to make CDs and Cassettes. He still releases stuff today on Bandcamp and I make album art for him.
S: Does he like the music you make? Do you play in any non-FOTOSHOPPE CO. bands?
G: My dad likes some of the stuff I make. We actually have made albums together that have appeared on the label. DJ P!dj √ノᄃノのひ丂 and Freeze are collabs between me and him. FOTOSHOPPE is the only thing I do musically at the moment.
S: That's awesome, I love hearing that you both have collaborated on stuff together. Speaking of rock oriented music, the label has been experimenting with less traditional vaporwave sounds with albums such as ＦＵＣＫ Parental Advisory by bud good and the aforementioned Playing In The Rain by Pocket Mönster. I believe you've started calling it "post-vaporwave." What lead to this experimentation? It seems like you're the only vaporwave-adjacent label testing the waters with new sampling methods.
G: I find stuff to sample all the time so I like to keep everything in a specific folder based on the mood. Depending on how I'm feeling that day, I will pick out what I find and piece the samples together to create a story. I personally like all kinds of different genres so I like to change it up. I think [the genre name] post-vaporwave just came naturally.
S: You seems to be one of the few people really keeping the scene alive. Do you think vaporwave is dying or on its deathbed?
G: I think Vaporwave will never die as long as there are people who still enjoy making it and listening to it. Vaporwave is the perfect genre for people to experiment with music, so there will always be something new.
S: What are some of the non-FOTOSHOPPE CO. vaporwave acts that you try to keep up with?
G: DMP and Phantom Tapes are some cool labels that release interesting albums. My friends c a l d o r 32x - from SPLATOO, CALDOR CORP, and SPLAT records - and VITO蒸気の波を行います from DMT Tapes always release some cool albums on their labels as well. DMT Tapes and Midnight Moon Tapes were a huge inspiration for me. Monstercat was a big inspiration for me too, but they aren't really vaporwave.
S: As mentioned previously, your library is extremely vast. I'll never forget first coming across your label during peak pandemic and buying the entire discography for a buck fifty. Sifting through all of those albums is what kept me sane during the latter half of 2020. As of this writing your most recent release was I-80 / I-15 by Pocket Mönster, [marking your] 479th release. Knowing your release schedule you'll most certainly hit 500 by mid year. Did you ever think FOTOSHOPPE CO. would ever grow to be this big?
G: When I first started I had no plans for starting a label. The label thing just kinda happened on its own. I don't really have an end goal. I just really enjoy creating vaporwave. I still can't believe we're about to hit 500 albums! It's unreal to me that it has come this far and still going. I enjoy every second of it.
S: Do you have any special plans for the 500th release?
G: We have the compilation album coming out, and a little bonus release planned for our bonus label Warp Zone. We also have a special album planned for our 10 year anniversary!
S: Very glad you brought up Warp Zone! What is Warp Zone exactly? That little "?" under your link bar [on Bandcamp] stuck out to me immediately.
G: The Warp Zone is our secret page where the fans can find our bonus albums. Over time I started to accumulate a bunch of songs and albums that didn't quite fit the main label. I really wanted to get them out to the fans. So, for our 5 year anniversary, the Warp Zone was created!
S: I adore Easter Eggs like that. Have there been any others that people have largely missed?
G: I think a lot of people miss out on the tracks that are exclusive to the physical releases. I want to get all of these tracks archived online at some point so they don't get lost to time.
S: That's a great call out there. I'm a big proponent of physical media and love when they come with little perks like exclusive tracks. The most recent FOTOSHOPPE CO. release was Pocket Mönster's I-80/I-15, which I had mentioned a little bit earlier. Can you tell me a little more about this release? Was it based on an actual road trip taken to Iowa?
G: Pocket Mönster is a personal artist for me. I like to use the bit crush style to tell stories about my life. Video games have always been there to relax me when life gets disorienting. Recently I took a plane to Omaha, and the album is about how that escalated into a trip to California.
S: Are you not located in California?
G: I was born in Chicago, [and] then moved to California when I was a month old. I was raised in California my whole life. I just went out to Iowa temporarily. I'm back in California now and I don't plan on moving for a while.
S: What are some things that excite you about vaporwave's future, and what are some things you hope to see for other artists?
G: I'm excited to see what new albums and artists will come out in vaporwave. I always look for new albums to vibe with. I want to see more vaporwave artists playing live as well.
S: Agreed, I'd love to see some more live vaporwave gigs myself. I want to thank you again for taking time to speak with me. Any future projects or plugs you'd like to mention?
G: Thank you for the opportunity! I had a great time. Stay tuned to FOTOSHOPPE CO. for more music and physical releases!
Got any questions or thoughts for the FOTOSHOPPE CO. crew? Leave em in the comments section and we'll be sure to get em to them!
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