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。
Bits and pieces from this, CUZ ME PAIN project White Wear’s debut album, have been popping up over the last few months. Yet the final product, Black Strings, has been only available in stores in Japan since its release. Now, though, White Wear has uploaded the whole thing to SoundCloud so everyone can enjoy the…
New month, new MAP! Go on to see who we chose this month, and to hear a bunch of other great tunes from all over the globe. Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 29-track…
The first Music Alliance Pact of 2014 has arrived! To kick off the new year, over 30 blogs from around the world have selected a track to share with the rest of the globe. For Japan, Make Believe Melodies is highlighting the fidgety “Bishop’s Rising Sun” courtesy of Osaka’s Metome. Listen to it…and a lot…
Man, sometimes all you can do is say “no busy stuff today.” It’s really easy to forget the importance of just blowing the outside world off and taking it easy for a lazy Sunday or sleepy afternoon. I would like to think Osaka duo Spider Cloud agree with me – at least, I’m willing to…
Moscow Clubは本当に素晴らしい。最初に我々が注目した”Daisy Miller Pt. 1″ は、ヘンリー・ジェームスの物語からの引用で、作品同様の感情的な雰囲気を醸し出しています。今回SoundCloudにアップされた曲は、”火星年代記”や、”華氏451″等を執筆したSF作家、レイ・ブラッドベリ（レイ、 数々の素晴らしい作品をありがとう。安らかに眠れ。）へのトリビュート精神が。Moscow Clubの新曲は”華氏451″の英語タイトル、”Fahrenheit 451″で、”Daisy Miller”の曲のように文学的に攻めるのではなく、あくまでレイドバック。悲しい過去の物語を語るのではなく、ちゃんとダンスフロアにそぐうように作曲されています。シンセが良い味を出しているこの曲はMoscow Clubの今までの曲よりも打ち込みがメインになっていて、この３分程の遊び心溢れる作品は、Toro Y MoiやKissesを連想させます。コーラスが実に美しい。試聴は以下から。
今週日本のインディー界において大きな話題だったのはジャスティン・ビーバーでしたね。大阪のCloudy Buseyが曲をカナダのポップ・スターに歌わせたいと言ったのが発端で、今度はGive Me Walletsがジャスティンのヒット曲、”Boyfriend”をカバーしたみたいです。以下から視聴できます。Give Me Walletsはジャスティン・ティンバーレイクのようなミニマリズムを取り除いて、よりコンプレックスに、より速いテンポで曲を仕上げました。ジャスティン・ビーバーみたいなハイトーンは一切目指さない独自性がこのカバーを素晴らしい物にしています。
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.
Voices come to the forefront on this split EP between NC4K mainstays Paperkraft and Stones Taro. Samples of singing and of humans just generally generating noise have popped up in their releases, but the Rally Hard EP pushes them to the front in a way that none of the other releases from the label has…
Another Monday morning, another breezy electronic track from a Kansai-based artist. Like stopping by McDonald’s for a McGriddle before hopping on the train, this is quick becoming a nice little tradition to make the new-week start a little softer (albeit, healthier than the McGriddle). And Vice Versa’s “Before Saying Goodbye” sets acoustic guitar against pigeon-esque…
Rock dudes Your Song Is Good snuck a new album into stores at the start of March. B.A.N.D. dropped on the third of this month, and that means the group’s got a new single to go with it. Unthrillingly titled “The Love Song” finds Your Song Is Good jamming out a pleasant little ditty with…
Usually, I try to avoid writing about K-Pop artists crossing over to Japan on this blog so much anymore, moving that stuff over to the Tumblr. Yet Korea’s 2NE1 hold a special place in this site’s digital heart, so I am not all that hesitant to post a brief teaser of their new Japanese single…
It took me a few listens to even hear any hint of the New House track on this, HNC’s “remix” of “He Howls” off of that Tokyo band’s Burning Ship Fractal from earlier this year (remember that album?). The original version of “He Howls” is a plenty-good song, a squiggly highlight from an inconsistent album…
Here’s a new Make Believe Mix, highlighting some of our favorite music from July. Lot of variety this time around, ranging from the fidgety electronic sounds of Taquwami, the dreamy meditations of Elen Never Sleeps, the indie-pop stylings of BOYISH and The Paellas, and the surrealist whatever-you-call-it music of Rapunzel8083. Below is a list of…