News at 11 (album)

Cat System Corp.
Company type	Music project
Industry	Music, vaporwave
Founded	2013
Founder	Jornt Elzinga
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jornt Elzinga
Products	Music albums (including News at 11)

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article News at 11 (album), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 7 August 2025

News at 11 represents the fourteenth studio album released under the moniker Cat System Corp., the project of Dutch electronic artist Jornt Elzinga. Launched on September 11, 2016, the album incorporates samples from smooth jazz alongside clips from television talk shows and advertisements, serving as a homage to those affected by the September 11 attacks. The concept originated from a vaporwave mix featuring the burning Twin Towers, inspiring Elzinga to craft News at 11 as an exploration of "an alternate reality where the tragedy never occurred." Initially intended to center around a Weather Channel motif, the album’s production spanned nine months and has been likened to thematic elements found in Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2018).

The album’s first nine compositions incorporate samples from television recordings and songs, whereas the subsequent eleven tracks primarily utilize Weather Channel audio. It portrays September 11 as an ordinary day within a timeline where the Twin Towers "still stand proudly." Numerous references to 9/11 are embedded throughout, such as the track "8:46 AM," named after the moment Flight 11 struck the North Tower, and cover art depicting an American flag viewed through an airplane window. In February 2020, Elzinga issued a vinyl version featuring two additional tracks, and in September 2021, he collaborated with filmmaker Indy Advant to produce the visual album Liberty Edition.

Upon release, the album was met with favorable reviews from both critics and listeners. Enthusiasts regarded it as capturing vaporwave’s "final echoes" before the fall of the Twin Towers, while reviewers commended its evocation of a lost futuristic vision. News at 11 stands as the highest-selling mallsoft album on Bandcamp and is widely considered among Elzinga’s most impactful creations. Its cassette edition has also become one of Bandcamp’s most coveted items.

Background

Dutch electronic musician Jornt Elzinga began releasing music under the name Cat System Corp. in 2013, earning recognition for his vaporwave works inspired by 1990s pop culture and consumerism excesses, exemplified by albums such as Hiraeth and Palm Mall (2014). His early projects emphasized pre-9/11 aesthetics, a theme he further developed in News at 11. Between 2014 and 2015, Elzinga collaborated with prominent vaporwave figures including Telepath, Donovan Hikiru, and Luxury Elite. By 2016, he deepened his exploration of pre-9/11 atmospheres with Class of '84, which drew influence from 1980s media like Saved by the Bell.

Before creating News at 11, Elzinga encountered a vaporwave mix titled Reptilian TV that depicted the Twin Towers engulfed in flames. Although the original video was removed, its re-upload inspired Elzinga to acknowledge it as the catalyst for his album. He confirmed this influence through comments on an unofficial repost by Vapor Memory.

Music and themes

The initial nine tracks sample television broadcasts from the morning of September 11, featuring titles that reference American TV culture and elements related to 9/11 as a tribute to those impacted. Simon Chandler of Bandcamp Daily observed that the album seeks to reclaim lost moments of innocence. Tracks ten through twenty focus on echoing Weather Channel audio clips, extending themes introduced in Elzinga’s earlier work Sunday Television (2016). Vaporwave artist and critic Pad Chennington interprets News at 11 as a sonic reconstruction of pre-9/11 society, while James Mahood highlights its hauntological aspects within vaporwave.

Author Roisin Kiberd draws parallels between the album’s approach to 9/11 and Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation, noting their shared portrayal of obliviousness toward the attacks. Elzinga described his creation as an effort to revisit childhood tranquility amidst present-day realities. The record also engages with capitalist themes; Kiberd characterizes it as "history being compressed, stripped of context and neutralized," whereas Tony Vesalainen from Cityman Productions remarked on its serene tone despite weighty subject matter. Japanese writer Satoshi Kizawa emphasized how elevator music elements evoke nostalgia throughout. The album samples artists such as the Rippingtons and Eric Marienthal. Elzinga himself has referred to this project as a form of escapism.

The opening track, "Goodmorning America!", abruptly interrupts anchor Diane Sawyer as she announces the week and day of the event. Track three, "8:46 AM", features slowed percussion paired with somber piano beneath a WUSA presenter’s comment about nationwide silence. On track seven, "Financial News", a CNN Daybreak anchor reports on Nokia and Motorola stock prices, reflecting technological progress during that period. "Tuesday Television" concludes with Richard Hack discussing Howard Hughes before fading into "Evening Traffic," which closes out tracks one through nine. Kiberd interpreted recurring Weather Channel phrases like "The extended forecast" as metaphors for delayed tragedy: "We're near the end now, but the weather's not over yet."

Artwork and production

Elzinga dedicated nine months to crafting the album; during this period, he assembled a five-hour compilation of Weather Channel music, which his girlfriend frequently played during car rides. The cover art portrays a gusty American flag seen through what resembles the vintage Weather Channel logo. Vesalainen viewed this imagery as reminiscent of a CRT TV display, symbolizing the millions who watched the attacks unfold on their television screens. He also observed a deliberate contrast between the visuals and the music: while the artwork directly references the event, the soundscape merges tranquil jazz with samples from the Weather Channel.

Release and promotion

Originally, Elzinga imagined News at 11 as "a soundtrack for commuting in the morning." After selecting key tracks, he broadened the project into a full album connected to the September 11 attacks, explaining that "the music combined with 'ancient' news clips and commercials transports you back to 2001." The album was released on September 11, 2016, coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the tragedy. Subsequently, vinyl and cassette versions were issued in February 2020 through independent record labels Geometric Lullaby and Lost Angles. In anticipation of the 20th anniversary, Elzinga unveiled a VHS video album titled News at 11: Liberty Edition on September 10, 2021 via Utopia District, featuring visuals for every track created by filmmaker CCTV.

Reception and legacy

News at 11 garnered widespread critical acclaim. Simon Chandler emphasized Elzinga's effort to achieve "suspended animation," capturing history just before a devastating event, which added emotional resonance to the work. The Lost Angles cassette edition has become one of the most coveted physical releases within the vaporwave scene, while its remastered version holds the distinction of being the best-selling mallsoft album on Bandcamp. Elzinga himself expressed astonishment at its popularity, remarking, "and here we are doing interviews."

Reviewers applauded the album's nuanced approach and thematic depth. Tony Vesalainen described it as a therapeutic experience for those impacted by the attacks, whereas Roisin Kiberd compared it to inducing "a sense of impending revelation," akin to "certain drugs." James Mahood referenced an interpretation that 9/11 signaled the demise of "the not yet born vaporwave culture," highlighting that the pre-9/11 era can only be accessed through media; he identified News at 11 as emblematic of vaporwave's aesthetic identity. Vaporwave artist Pad Chennington, whose uncle was a victim of the attacks, commended how the album facilitates peaceful contemplation of that day and consciously avoids engaging with 9/11 conspiracy theories. Satoshi Kizawa viewed the record as evoking a lost hopeful future after 9/11, describing it as embodying that vanished future’s spectral presence.

Track listing

Information sourced from Bandcamp. Tracks 1 through 9 and track 14 feature bolded titles to indicate songs sampled; all news segments originate from the morning of September 11, 2001. The 2020 remastered edition includes two bonus tracks: "New Amsterdam" and "Uptown Algonquin."

Personnel

Details obtained from Bandcamp.

Jornt Elzinga – production
Angel Marcloid – digital and vinyl mastering

External links

News at 11: Liberty Edition (official film)
September 11th As It Happened (news footage incorporated into the album)