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''Far Side Virtual'' is a 2011 album by James Ferraro, released digitally and on vinyl by the label Hippos in Tanks. The album marked Ferraro's transition from his previous style of lo-fi drone music toward a sharply produced electronic aesthetic. ''Far Side Virtual'' deliberately evokes the artificial style of corporate "elevator music" and obsolete computer sounds. Ferraro said he first conceived of the album for release as a series of ringtones, and that listeners using songs from the album as ringtones is the completion of the project. The album engages with concepts of hyperreality, simulacra, disposable consumer culture, 1990s retro-futurism, advertising and branding, pop art, and musical kitsch. Critics have found Ferraro's attitude toward his themes ambiguous, depicting the modern world as both bleak dystopia and uncanny utopia. The album received generally favorable reviews, with many critics admiring its conceptual underpinnings as much as, or more than, the quality of the music itself. The album also had its vocal detractors; particularly, its position as UK music magazine ''The Wire''s number one release of the year was met with contention from some readers. ''Far Side Virtual'' has been cited as one of the original catalysts of vaporwave, an underground electronic music movement that covers much of the same sonic and conceptual territory. ==Release== ''Far Side Virtual'' was announced in May 2011 as Ferraro's first LP for the label Hippos in Tanks. The label first released the digital EP ''Condo Pets'', intended to preview the sound of the forthcoming LP. Karen Ka Ying Chan, writer for ''Dummy'', identified the theme of the two releases as Ferraro's "fascination of the surreal side of American living". Amber Bravo of ''The Fader'' said ''Far Side Virtual'' had been "billed somewhat as a cultural critique as told through MIDI-synths." Ferraro's announcement of the album reads, in part: "all the proceeds from ''Far Side Virtual'' are going towards my facial reconstructive plastic surgery, my new face will be fashioned after CCTV's satellite queen, Princess Diana. and you will be able to see it live in concert on the Far Side Virtual World Tour.. Always coca cola."〔 The tracks "Adventures in Green Foot Printing" and "Earth Minutes" were released in advance of the album. ''Far Side Virtual'' was released on October 25, 2011, as a digital download and a 1000-copy run of transparent vinyl records. Ferraro later explained that his original idea had been to release the 16 compositions on the album as a set of downloadable ringtones, but wanted the songs to have the impact of a complete album but felt that few would want to purchase the music as a set of ringtones.〔 Ferraro said, "Hopefully these songs (be ) made available for ringtone and the album will be condensed into ringtone format so the album won't be the centerpiece, it will just dissipate into the infrastructure. The record is just the contained gallery space of these ringtone compositions." Ferraro said that listeners using the songs from ''Far Side Virtual'' as ringtones is the realization of ''Far Side Virtual'' as a performance art installation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Far Side Virtual」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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