8 times The Simpsons infiltrated electronic music

We’ve come to expect the unexpected from Björk, but even with that paradoxical thinking, we weren’t really expecting the Icelandic singer to liken the concept of her new album ‘Utopia’ to a minor, inhuman character/plot point from the third episode of The Simpsons’ debut season back in 1990. But lo and behold, in The Observer last week she did just that.

On reflection, perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised. The Simpsons has had a mighty cultural impact in its nearly-28 years on air, and permeated many corners of the world, including electronic music. Check out a further eight instances below.

In 2016, a new genre of audio-visual art combining influence from The Simpsons and vaporwave music was created, termed as Simpsonswave. It’s essentially clips of Simpsons spliced over vaporwave tracks, but the simple idea garnered viral popularity, with videos such as the above ＳＵＮＤＡＹ ＳＣＨＯＯＬ notching up over 10 million views. Editorial outlets such as Thump and Pitchfork commented on the sensation, running think pieces titled Is Simpsonwave a Real Thing? and What the Hell Is Simpsonwave? respectively.

In the premiere episode of The Simpsons' 22nd season, Elementary School Musical, world-famous scientist Stephen Hawking featured among a host of guest stars. What did the TV show do with such a incredible mind at their disposal? They made him a DJ.

When an artist has such a defined sound as someone like Burial, the potential for parody is ripe. The person behind a YouTube account called PrayForPatrick took this baton and ran with it in 2013, uploading a Burial-esque version of Kirk Van Houten’s desperate plea for remarriage to Luann, complete with atmospheric drums and rivers of reverb.

In 2010, sibling production duo Vinalog, comprising EMG and John Swing, put out the second release of their vinyl-only label Relative, a four-track outing featuring dubbed-out textures, pumping chords - and a sample of Homer Simpon’s phone mockingly telling him to “Please mash the keyboard with your palm now" on closing cut ‘Smash The Keypad’.

J King is an artist who reimagines iconic album covers with Simpsons characters. We first became aware of him last year, loving his interpretations of Dizzee’s ‘Boy In Da Corner’ starring Bart Simpson and Craig David’s ‘Born To Do It’ featuring Ned Flanders. This year we just had to hit him up to do more, putting his own spin on work from Skream, Fatboy Slim, Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin and Burial. Check out J King's Instagram here and view his work on his website.

If you like your clubs bright and yellow rather than dark with peeling walls, the Manchester may have a party for you. Homerpalooza is a Simpsons-themed night, soundtracked by artists who have appeared on the show, such as RZA ,Common and Snoop Dogg, and serving up cocktails like Flaming Moes. On a similar tip, there was also a 2014 night at London’s Brixton Jamm that claimed it would only play two tracks all night, one being ‘Happy Birthday Lisa’.

The Simpsons was born from the mind of Matt Groening. In 2010, that mind also curated an All Tomorrow’s Parties festival, which featured Simpsonsified illustrations of the creator across the artwork. Featuring among the bookings he picked out were Spiritualized, Panda Bear and The XX.

Lil Yachty has emerged as one of the brightest stars in rap music this year, winning legions of fans with his self-described “bubblegum trap” beats and mumble rap flow. In June he appeared on US primetime talkshow The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and performed a rap covering 59 characters from The Simpsons.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer, Season 7 is the best, follow him on Twitter