INNITやIdleMoments等のイベントが象徴しているように、大阪のビート・シーンは非常に大盛況。Magical Mistakesの渦巻くようなサウンドや、Seihoの実験的なビートは、とてもユニークなのと同時にグルーブ感もあります。でも、”Alder”はそのような曲がブラックホールに吸い込まれたかのような印象。IdleMomentsをオーガナイズするEadonmmによるこのトラックは、極めてテンポを抑えた、スローな楽曲。ゆったりと始まり、アンビエントな空気感を堪能しているその時に、ピークを迎えます。シンセサイザーによる壁のようなレイヤーが左右にパンし、異なるテンポのボーカルが、それぞれ違うピッチで奇妙なデュエットを奏でます。ダンスフロアには不向きかもしれませんが、それ以上に、独特な音世界を堪能する事が可能。試聴は以下から。
Kansai outfit Post Modern Team’s first song made available to the world’s ears was a little ditty called “Never Let You Down.” It was one of 2012’s finest tracks, a breezy song featuring one of the sweetest hooks to come out of Japan’s indie-pop scene – “never let you down,” they sang, like whispering into…
ここ２年ほど前から、CUZ ME PAINレーベルのアーティスト達が暖めてきた、幻想的な空気感を持つダンスミュージックが、東京のシーンで注目を集めています。 このようなテイストは、Sapphire SlowsやLLLL等、同じように海外のブログで話題になっているアーティスト達からも見受けられるかもしれない。でも、CUZ ME PAINが放つJesse Ruinsの海外から受けている賞賛が大きな原動力となり、東京のインディーシーンを活性化させているのは確かです。 この夏にDead Funny RecordsからデビューEP、”Wisteria”をリリースした埼玉のデュオ、Fancy Booksのバイオグラフィーにも、CUZ ME PAINの名前が上げられています。 確かにオープニングトラックの”Twilight Memory”や”Ermine”では、シンプルなビートの上に温もりのあるシンセサイザーが渦を巻き混ざり合っていて、この比較も納得できるな、と感じます。 具体的にFancy Booksが、CUZ ME PAINのアーティスト達とどう違うかというと、”Wisteria”等で聴ける、ポップで楽しいボーカルがフィーチャーされている所でしょう。また、今回の目玉ともいえる”Sister Carry Stars” は、電子音やベースなどだけでも美しく表現できていただろうけれど、女性ボーカルが加わる事により、温もりのある、暖かいトラックへと見事に変貌しています。 CUZ ME PAINの中でもダントツにポップで聴きやすいJesse Ruinsでさえ、ミステリアスな世界観を演出する為にボーカルに工夫を加えています。しかしFancy Booksは”Sponge Boy”等で聴けるように、あえて自然なボーカルを導入する事で、新鮮さを出してきています。 “Wisteria”はCUZ ME PAINからの影響を上手く取り入れ、新しい可能性を追求した作品と言えるでしょう。 Fancy Books EPの視聴はこちらからまた、購入はこちらから:
There are words on Tokyo electronic artist Exoskeletone’s “Chimera” – in fact, the above video features them – but it’s best to not pay much attention to them. They work better as texture than lyrics, the digi-mumble at the center of this song the closest thing to a sweet escape from the walls-closing-in-feel of the…
Figure might not hate you, but he definitely doesn’t mind making you feel claustrophobic. “Don’t Hate You” follows up his excellent Come Down album from last year, and it sticks to the same sonic principals that made that six-track set so good – Figure records his music in a way that makes the guitar come…
At this point, trying to pin Japan’s booming indie electronic scene to one specific geographic region besides “the Internet” seems silly. Osaka – and, really, Kansai – used to be the go-to place, but now new branches of this community have sprung up everywhere, from Fukuoka to Hiroshima to Sapporo. It doesn’t really matter that…
I’m usually not drawn to the acoustic guitar. Too often, it’s the tool of choice for snobs and hucksters, the preferred instrument of people doing acoustic covers of rap songs (ya know, because it’s not real music in its original form) and dorm-room Lotharios. I’ve heard countless covers of “Wonderwall,” and every time I want…
As the image above indicates, “The Hidden Secrets” also doubles as the name for Tokyo indie-pop outfit BOYISH’s newest EP, one which was slated to come out on July 25 but as of 11:18 P.M. on that day isn’t anywhere to be seen (I guess check for an update if it appears by the time this posts). Still, BOYISH have served up a preview in the form of the title track. BOYISH tend to have two modes of twee – they either sound sorta explosive in their ennui or downtrodden and muffled. “The Hidden Secrets” is the latter, as the vocals sound mumbled and have been recorded as to me nearly unintelligible. The guitars and the beat, though, dash ahead and do an excellent imitation of 80’s indie-pop, which is what this group does oh so well anyway. Listen below.
Update: Now you can hear the whole EP below.
I’ll admit right up front, I love bedroom music. Something about people, often in solitude, crafting achingly pretty music just gets me somehow. It’s why we post about She Talks Silence so much (still trying to find that debut album!) and it’s why I write about Tokyo’s NITES. Deliberately vague in description, NITES blanket-warm atmosphere…
This is as jaunty as DYGL have ever sounded, to an almost unsettling degree, though peel it back a little and a bit more roughness comes through. DYGL move ahead on a hoppy melody, highlighted by some nifty turn-of-the-2000s guitar work and a beat built for a get down. And those handclaps, so jolly! It’s…
Last week, chilled-out group Super VHS dropped a new EP for free over at Bandcamp just waiting for you to click the “download” button. Girlfriends features two relatively relaxed tracks, both moving like a lazy Sunday afternoon and with a little fog slightly crowding the scene. The title track moves along slowly, the guitars gently…
Love And Hates get a lot of play around these parts, but I’ve failed to mention the twee-crunk duo isn’t either members primary gig. Both have solo gigs, one of them playing as Miila and the other as HNC. The latter has a new album, Cult, out on Dec. 2 and a good number of…
Japanese producer Yamaan released his first album 12 Seasonal Music back in January and I feel especially stupid not stumbling across it until now after hearing “Blossom.” Opening with a vocal sample, the song quickly turns into a folk-tinged number before shifting once again into its real form – a never-sitting-still hip-hop beat anchored by…
The latest from Maltine Records requires know super deep analysis, at least not on a Friday night. The relatively mysterious Otenba Kid’s Pink Panther EP is a rollicking set of disco and house tunes, recalling artists such as Cherryboy Function on shimmering opener “G.o.o.d.y,” which matches bright synthesizer up against piano lines. It’s a high-energy…