George Clanton - "I Been Young"

George Clanton is currently the undisputed king of vaporwave. He’s synonymous with the genre tag, which originated years before his initial releases under the monikers ESPRIT and Mirror Kisses. Despite arriving after its original surge in popularity, his work continues to build off of and evolve from the sound’s late aughts origins. His 2018 full length, Slide, and his unlikely collaboration with 311 frontman Nick Hexum in 2020 were both memorable and perfect examples of Clanton’s relaxed mood music.

His latest single, “I Been Young,” is a step in a somewhat different direction for Clanton. The vaporwave vibe, which he’s perfected a million times over, is still firmly intact, but Clanton seems to be taking inspiration from another era as source material. The 90s influence on the track is crystal clear with Sneaker Pimps and Portishead coming to mind, but Clanton also seems to be veering into poppier territory. Take, for example, the keys on the track, which almost sound like they were sampled from “Ya Gotta Be” by Des’ree. 

The video that Clanton shared in conjunction makes further allusion to his late 20th century inspirations. Even though the host of the television show that appears in the opening seconds of the video clearly is speaking in an American dialect, Clanton is clearly paying homage to Top of the Pops.

Stream the video below.

You can purchase Clanton’s music via his website or Bandcamp.