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Category Archives: Music @ja

New Fraqsea: “Trippin'”

Thanksgiving is almost over here, but we are going to go on vacation for the weekend. Before we leave, here is a new video from Fraqsea, for teh song “Trippin.'” Watch above, and have a great holiday/rest of your week.

More Than Ordinary: Passepied’s “Toriyanse”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hey, look nobody is perfect. Below is some text that originally appeared on the Make Believe Tumblr yesterday, as that’s where I first heard an mp3 version of this song. The video, though, came out today and, coupled with the fact there is not much else to cover, I’m going to repost what I wrote here because…this is great song!

One of the more subtle trends of the year in Japanese music has been young artists (or, if you would like to be cynical/probably right about it, labels) embracing the style of Tokyo band Sotaisei Riron. That outfit aren’t exactly toiling away in the salt mines of the music industry – all three of their proper full-length albums (plus an EP) have appeared in the top ten of the Oricon Charts. Yet they are still quite a bit of an outsider group – they feature some of the most unconventional vocals and lyrics of any band capable of releasing a top-ten album in Japan. Not to mention a singer shrouded in mystery…the band famously doesn’t allow photos of them to be taken, especially at live shows. Their lead singer looks like she would rather be anywhere else than on stage. I saw them at a music festival summer and both of these points rang true…yet people still went wild for them. They are a bit of a strange band.

In 2013, though, more and more newish acts were starting to sound like Sotaisei Riron. One was fledgling Harajuku-tied pop star Hanae, who pretty much bit everyone of her moves from Sotaisei Riron…except for the part where her music is straight-up derivative drivel. The other act was Passepied, who have been around a bit longer but had a bit of a breakthrough year over the past 12 months. They are a bit tricky to write about – they are good band, but much of their previous work struck me as a bit too safe, a bit too much of a case of some kids taking cues from Sotaisei Riron and running with it a little too closely to the source material. The guitars were birthed from the same Showa-era records, and the vocals had the same whispery quality. Lots of good ideas, but not quite there.

Their new single, though, is a breakthrough through them stylistically. They haven’t reinvented themselves entirely, but Passepied sound way more confident in themselves here. The vocals show a bit more variety – and seem to now be taking cues from Shiina Ringo a bit more closely too – and their are great details, like the secondary voice that joins parts of the chorus like a cheerleader. And even moments where the lead singer’s voice approaches abandon, more than Sotaisei Riron ever have. Nice to see these guys leap ahead and be something more than just a trend. Watch above.

Ano(t)raks Has A New Compilation Album, B.D.V.A., Download It Now

Netlabel Ano(t)raks has gotten into a good groove of dropping a new compilation album every few months, using the format as a way to touch base with more established acts and as a chance to introduce new ones to the country. The nature of these various-artist works means they are far from perfect – and the compilations the indie-pop label has made available this year have been all over the place in terms of quality – but newest entry B.D.V.A. is one of the stronger collections they’ve put out yet. It opens with a surprise – whereas Ano(t)raks mainly deals in jaunty twee or gooey synth-pop, B.D.V.A. starts with the a sparse instrumental from Terukuni Makino, just some piano notes and a slowly building synth leading up to a lovely finale. It has more in common with drone music than indie-pop, and it is a fantastic curveball for the label. There are a few more breaks from the usual here – the label’s decision to bring Buddy Girl And Mechanic into the fold was great, as they always make things a bit more unsettling, while Sayoko-daisy contribute a hoppy little number sung entirely in Russian. And it ends with a rap song (not as hot). But where this shines is courtesy the indie-pop, some of the tightest to appear on an Ano(t)raks’ release this year. Usual suspects Post Modern Team and Foodie do what they do best, but the highlights come from less talked about outfits. The group noid turn what sounds like some front-porch folk-pop into a sparkling chorus, while mamayo constructs a laid-back song perfect for the group’s lead singer to sing-talk over…until hitting the chorus, and it just becomes pretty. The whole thing is good…get it here, or listen below.

New Carpainter: Gravity Fails EP

The real news hook here might be that electronic artist/awkward-pairing master Idiot Pop has a record label. The first mp3 release on his titular imprint comes from the fantastic Carpainter, already responsible for one of the year’s finest EPs, and now back with two new songs on the Gravity Falls EP. His two originals are both fidgety tw0-step numbers propelled forward by bubbly synth, Carpainter not wasting any room on both “Eureka” and the especially rollicking “Give Me Five.” The album also comes with two remixes…well, one finds “Eureka” being turned into a pop song, the other being a straightforward remix. You can get it on Japanese iTunes…if you can access it (grrrrrrrr). Otherwise, you can listen to the songs below.

New Perfume: “Koi Wa Zenkeishisei”

I did not like Perfume’s “Sweet Refrain” at all. Well, the video is cool…but I think the song itself just isn’t particularly good. What makes that song interesting (at least in theory) is how it sets the bass-wubs of brostep against a relatively skippy pop melody. Whereas most pop songs around the world featuring Skrillex-aping sounds let the drop stick out like rotting wood, Yasutaka Nakata was weaving the sounds of American dubstep into a song without disrupting the flow.

Problem to me is he’s played around with the sounds of EDM in much more interesting ways over the last year. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s “Invader Invader” wasn’t as subtle as “Sweet Refrain,” yet Nakata deliberately matched up the meatheaded electronics with what sounded like a kindergarten class playing recorders. It made…STILL makes…for a great listen, a legitimate subversion. Perfume’s Level3 has these moments too – many of the songs on that album tease typical EDM structure, but always defy it. “Sweet Refrain” wasn’t as interesting as any of that – it comes off as Nakata using EDM as a way to spike a rather hum-drum pop number, leaning on the “nowness” of the sound rather than doing anything interesting with it (especially compared to all the great stuff he’s already done with it). “Sweet Refrain” isn’t much better than Koda Kumi’s “Go To The Top.”

B-side “Koi Wa Zenkeishisei,” isn’t nearly as complicated (or trying too hard), and it definitely makes this “Sweet Refrain” single worth it. It is easy-breezy, and a bit of a departure from the sound dominating the arena-friendly Level3. The vocals are muted, and the bit right before the chorus where Perfume’s voices overlap with one another is particularly lovely. It isn’t blazing any new ground for the group…it features that synthesizer sound post-chorus that is the same sort of “Digital Love” loving sound Nakata has been loving since the mid-2000s. Yet this song is also unconcerned with anything trendy – no forced-in EDM, no wubs, no concerns about having to serve as theme music for a TV show – and, in a year where Perfume has been trying to figure out who they are moving forward in 2014, a nice moment of pause. Listen here.