Richard Green Shifts to Chillwave
Richard Green's latest track "Ending up in the Wrong Way" marks a notable shift from his high-intensity style toward introspective chillwave/synthwave with silence-embracing production. The recalibrated sound stands out for emotional resonance and nuanced production techniques. This coincides with broader vaporwave evolution as George Clanton's 100% Electronica label continues fusing vaporwave with vocal-driven synthpop.
London-based Italian musician Richard Green has built a career on defying genres. Before his recent synthwave single, his work spanned from experimental electronic music to a full neoclassical trilogy for piano and strings, featuring collaborations with classical pianist Irene Veneziano and the Archimia Strings Quartet. "Ending up in the Wrong Way" stems from the end of a personal relationship in 2023 and is featured on his "Illusions" EP. While composed in his London home studio, the track's live saxophone and violin parts were recorded at the respected Studio Elfo near Milan, Italy, blending organic warmth with its electronic core. This stylistic shift is not a final destination for the prolific artist, who once created 132 new musical ideas in a single year. Green has already announced two new EPs for 2026, one exploring melodic techno and another influenced by indie-electro and hip-hop. The chillwave genre itself first gained prominence online in the late 2000s during a period dubbed the "Summer of Chillwave" in 2009. Spearheaded by artists like Washed Out, Toro y Moi, and Neon Indian, the sound is defined by its nostalgic and dreamy aesthetic, often using vintage synthesizers to evoke the pop music of the late 1970s and 1980s. George Clanton, along with Lindsey French (Neggy Gemmy), founded the 100% Electronica label in 2015, initially as a vehicle for their own music. The label quickly grew into a cornerstone of the modern vaporwave scene, reissuing sought-after albums like Surfing's "Deep Fantasy," which sold out its first vinyl pressing in under six hours. [cite:
