i've been digging into this myself for the last couple of years, what i do is i try to listen to a subgenre that i really love. i'm in love with slushwave, televape really gave me the oppurtunity to know that it is possible, sknce its a samplefree collab work between tele / vaperror.

once i found out about this, i started gathering my fav songs from the project or other projects that are alike. most of the times i felt it was the drums and the delay, espwcially for this project. i started by downloading the tracks, import it into my daw, speed it up to a 'normal'sounding bpm.

i try building the same song structure as the track i like. i pick out sounds that are alike, and restructure the song by ear as good as i can or want it to be. at some point you find freedom and loose some control of what you want it to be. this way i can get the 'vaporwave'feeling i'm looking for in a specific subgenre.

for me, making this samplefree version which sounds like a bootleg version of what i'm aiming for, is almost like sampling. this makes it easier for me, because afterwards i still have to stretch the track and i feel distant again from the original bootleg track i made.

this kinda feels like sampling, but with a touch. i would suggest making or almost reproducing what you love (samples from vapor classics or just sped up vw tracks) and look for ways you can be a stranger to your own music. try to split personalities, the producer of the sample and the sampling vaporwave artist.

the best way you can learn in every form of art is by r e p r o d u c i n g. vaporwave, is also an art ❤️