Create authentic vaporwave audio instantly! Upload your song and use the Vaporwave Aesthetic preset (65% speed with heavy reverb) for that dreamy, nostalgic vaporwave sound, or customize settings for experimental vaporwave creations. Preview changes in real-time!
What is Vaporwave Audio?
Vaporwave audio is a distinctive music style that emerged from the vaporwave aesthetic movement of the early 2010s. It slows down songs to around 60-70% of their original speed (typically 65%) and adds heavy reverb, creating a dreamy, nostalgic, surreal, and otherworldly atmosphere. Vaporwave transforms familiar music into something haunting and beautiful - it feels like a memory, a dream, or a transmission from an alternate 1980s-90s future. The extreme slowdown and reverb create a sense of time dilation, nostalgia, and melancholy that perfectly captures the vaporwave aesthetic of retro-futurism, consumerism critique, and internet culture.
How to Make Vaporwave Audio
Creating authentic vaporwave is simple with our free vaporwave maker:
- Upload Your Song: Select any MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, or OGG audio file - vaporwave works best with 1980s-90s music, smooth jazz, R&B, funk, city pop, or elevator music
- Click Vaporwave Aesthetic: Our preset automatically slows your song to 65% speed and adds heavy reverb (80%) - the authentic vaporwave formula used by the genre's pioneers
- Preview Instantly: Press the preview button or spacebar to hear your vaporwave transformation before downloading - experience the dreamy slowdown in real-time
- Customize (Optional): Click 'Custom' to experiment with speed (50-100%) and reverb (0-200%) for experimental vaporwave, ambient vaporwave, or your unique aesthetic
- Download & Use: Click 'Create Vaporwave' and your track downloads instantly as high-quality MP3, ready for aesthetic videos, retrowave content, or vaporwave playlists
Why 65% Speed with Heavy Reverb Creates Vaporwave
The Vaporwave Formula: 65% speed is the sweet spot for vaporwave - slow enough to create that surreal, time-stretched feeling without becoming unlistenable. Combined with heavy reverb (80%), it transforms familiar songs into dreamlike soundscapes that feel nostalgic, melancholic, and otherworldly.
Time Dilation Effect: At 65% speed, songs feel like they're playing underwater or in a dream - vocals become ghostly, instruments sound distant and ethereal. This extreme slowdown creates the signature vaporwave feeling of time slowing down, reality warping, and memories becoming hazy.
Heavy Reverb = Atmosphere: 80% reverb adds massive spatial depth, making the audio sound like it's echoing through an abandoned mall, empty hotel lobby, or infinite digital space. The reverb creates that characteristic vaporwave "swimming in sound" quality.
Nostalgia Amplification: Slowing down 1980s-90s music to 65% with heavy reverb doesn't just change the tempo - it transforms it into a nostalgic artifact. The slowdown makes everything sound more emotional, more distant, more like a fading memory. This is what gives vaporwave its powerful nostalgic and melancholic impact.
Best Music Genres for Vaporwave
1980s-90s Pop & R&B: Whitney Houston, Toto, Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson - these become dreamy, nostalgic vaporwave classics. The smooth production and vocals of this era are perfect for the vaporwave treatment.
Smooth Jazz & Funk: George Benson, Sade, Steely Dan - jazz fusion and smooth jazz transform into hypnotic vaporwave soundscapes. The instrumental complexity adds layers to the dreamy slowdown.
City Pop: Japanese city pop from the 1980s (Mariya Takeuchi, Tatsuro Yamashita) is vaporwave gold. The genre's inherent nostalgia and production style perfectly align with vaporwave aesthetics.
Elevator Music & Muzak: Background music, corporate hold music, mall music - vaporwave was partly born from slowing down and repurposing forgotten commercial music, turning it into art.
New Age & Ambient: 1980s-90s new age music slowed down becomes ultra-atmospheric vaporwave ambient - perfect for meditation, focus, or creating otherworldly atmospheres.
Vaporwave for Different Content Types
Aesthetic Videos: Vaporwave audio is essential for aesthetic video content featuring retro technology, abandoned malls, sunset drives, neon lights, glitch art, or vaporwave visuals. The dreamy sound perfectly complements the visual aesthetic.
Retrowave & Synthwave Content: Use vaporwave for retrowave videos, 1980s nostalgia content, outrun aesthetics, or cyberpunk atmospheres. Vaporwave provides the perfect sonic backdrop for retro-futuristic visuals.
Lo-fi & Chill Content: Vaporwave creates ultra-chill background music for studying, working, relaxing, or sleeping. The slowed tempo and heavy reverb are deeply calming and meditative.
Art & Experimental Videos: Vaporwave audio works perfectly for experimental video art, surrealist content, internet culture commentary, or avant-garde projects. The genre's conceptual depth adds meaning to artistic work.
Nostalgia Content: Use vaporwave for content about the 1980s-90s, childhood memories, obsolete technology, or cultural nostalgia. Vaporwave audio amplifies nostalgic feelings and creates emotional resonance.
The Vaporwave Aesthetic & Culture
Vaporwave emerged in the early 2010s as both a music genre and an internet aesthetic movement. It critiques consumer capitalism, embraces retro nostalgia, and creates art from corporate culture's forgotten music and visuals. Vaporwave takes the smooth, optimistic sounds of 1980s-90s commercial music and transforms them into something melancholic, surreal, and contemplative through extreme slowing and reverb.
The genre is closely tied to internet culture, meme aesthetics, and the visual language of early digital art. Vaporwave visuals typically feature Roman busts, palm trees, sunsets, old computers, Japanese text, corporate logos, and glitch effects - all in pink, cyan, and purple color palettes. The audio complements this visual language by making everything feel distant, dreamlike, and nostalgic.
Key vaporwave pioneers include Macintosh Plus (Floral Shoppe), Saint Pepsi, 2814, and countless bedroom producers who embraced the genre's DIY ethos. What started as an underground internet phenomenon has influenced mainstream music, visual art, fashion, and internet culture.
Vaporwave vs Other Slowed Audio Styles
Vaporwave (65% speed, heavy reverb 80%): Most extreme slowdown with intense reverb. Creates surreal, dreamlike, otherworldly atmosphere. Specifically for aesthetic/retrowave content and nostalgic immersion.
TikTok Slowed (80% speed, medium reverb 50%): Subtle slowdown for viral social media sound. More accessible and versatile. Less extreme than vaporwave, more mainstream appeal.
Nightcore Reverse (75% speed, light reverb 30%): Moderate slowdown with subtle atmosphere. Dramatic and emotional but more restrained than vaporwave. Best for sad edits and emotional content.
Daycore (80-90% speed, minimal reverb): Gentle slowdown, cleaner sound. Chill and relaxed but not surreal. Less experimental than vaporwave.
Frequently Asked Questions About Vaporwave Audio
What is vaporwave audio?
Vaporwave audio is a music style that slows down songs to around 60-70% speed (typically 65%) and adds heavy reverb, creating a dreamy, nostalgic, surreal atmosphere. It emerged from the vaporwave aesthetic movement and creates sounds that feel retro, melancholic, and otherworldly - like a memory of the 1980s-90s filtered through a dream. Perfect for aesthetic content, retrowave videos, nostalgic edits, and experimental music.
How do I make vaporwave music?
Upload your audio file (1980s-90s music works best), click the 'Vaporwave Aesthetic' preset which slows your song to 65% speed and adds heavy reverb (80%), preview it to hear the dreamy vaporwave transformation, then click 'Create Vaporwave' to download. Your vaporwave track is ready in under 30 seconds. For best results, use smooth jazz, R&B, city pop, or elevator music.
What speed is vaporwave?
Vaporwave typically uses 60-70% of the original song speed, with 65% being ideal for most tracks. Our Vaporwave preset uses 65% speed with heavy reverb (80%) to create the authentic dreamy, slowed-down vaporwave aesthetic that defines the genre. This extreme slowdown creates the signature time-stretched, surreal quality vaporwave is known for.
What's the difference between vaporwave and slowed + reverb?
Vaporwave (65% speed, heavy reverb 80%) is more extreme and atmospheric - deeply slowed with intense reverb for surreal, dreamlike quality. Regular slowed + reverb (75-80% speed, medium reverb) is subtler and more versatile. Vaporwave is specifically for the aesthetic/retrowave vibe and nostalgia immersion, while slowed + reverb is more general-purpose emotional audio.
Is this vaporwave maker free?
Yes, completely free with unlimited use, no file limits, no subscriptions, and no hidden charges. Create as many vaporwave tracks as you want for your aesthetic content, retrowave videos, vaporwave playlists, or experimental music projects. We believe everyone should have access to creative audio tools.
What audio formats work for vaporwave?
Our vaporwave maker supports MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, and OGG audio formats. Upload any of these formats and download your vaporwave audio as high-quality MP3 (320kbps), ready for your aesthetic content, YouTube videos, or personal playlists.
Can I adjust the vaporwave settings?
Yes! The Vaporwave preset uses 65% speed with heavy reverb (80%), but you can click 'Custom' to adjust speed (50-100%) and reverb (0-200%) independently to create your unique vaporwave sound. Try 60% for ultra-slow vaporwave, or 70% for less extreme versions. Experiment with reverb up to 200% for experimental ambient vaporwave.
What music works best for vaporwave?
1980s-90s music is ideal for vaporwave - smooth jazz, R&B, pop, funk, city pop, elevator music, and corporate background music. Artists like Whitney Houston, Toto, Sade, George Benson, and Japanese city pop create incredible vaporwave. The smooth production and nostalgic quality of this era transforms beautifully with the vaporwave treatment.
Does vaporwave change the pitch?
No! Our tool slows down the audio while preserving the original pitch, so vocals and instruments sound natural - just slower and more atmospheric with heavy reverb. You won't get distorted or unnatural pitch changes. The pitch stays exactly the same as the original song, maintaining musicality while creating the vaporwave slowdown effect.
Why is vaporwave so nostalgic?
Vaporwave amplifies nostalgia by slowing down already-nostalgic 1980s-90s music to 65% speed with heavy reverb. This makes familiar songs sound like distant memories, fading dreams, or transmissions from the past. The extreme slowdown and reverb create a sense of time passing, things being lost, and memories becoming hazy - which is deeply nostalgic and melancholic.
What is the vaporwave aesthetic?
The vaporwave aesthetic combines retro 1980s-90s visuals (Roman busts, palm trees, sunsets, old computers, Japanese text), glitch art, corporate imagery, and pink-cyan-purple color palettes with slowed, reverb-heavy music. It critiques consumer capitalism while celebrating nostalgic beauty. The audio you create with this tool is the sonic foundation of that aesthetic.
Can I use vaporwave audio on YouTube?
Yes, you can create vaporwave versions of songs and use them in your content. However, the original song may still be subject to copyright - YouTube's Content ID system may claim the video. Many vaporwave creators successfully upload content using this model. For original work, consider using royalty-free 1980s-style music.
Can I preview before downloading?
Yes! Click the 'Preview Audio' button or press spacebar to hear exactly how your vaporwave audio will sound. You can adjust speed and reverb in real-time while previewing to find the perfect vaporwave atmosphere before downloading. This lets you experiment with different settings to get the exact aesthetic you want.
How is vaporwave different from lo-fi?
Vaporwave (65% speed, heavy reverb) is more extreme and surreal - deeply slowed with intense atmosphere for dreamlike quality. Lo-fi typically maintains normal speed and focuses on vinyl crackle, tape hiss, and mellow beats. Both are chill, but vaporwave is more experimental and aesthetic-focused, while lo-fi is more straightforward background music.
Why 65% speed specifically?
65% speed hits the vaporwave sweet spot - slow enough to create surreal time-dilation and dreamlike quality, but not so slow it becomes unlistenable or loses structure. It's more extreme than TikTok slowed (80%) or nightcore reverse (75%), which is exactly what vaporwave needs to achieve its otherworldly aesthetic.
Does this work on mobile devices?
Yes! Our vaporwave maker works on all devices - iPhone, Android, iPad, desktop, and laptop. Just open the page in your mobile browser, upload your audio, and create vaporwave right from your phone. Perfect for aesthetic content creators and vaporwave enthusiasts on-the-go.