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Category Archives: Music @ja

Special Lazy Sunday Afternoon Post: New Madegg And Metome

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Two Japanese electronic artists having swell years released new tracks over the weekend. First up, Kyoto’s Madegg, who shows off his range with latest song “R Beams.” It opens with some very unelectronic sounds – there is guitar playing, and a woodwind. Some electronics tumble their way in soon after, but the heart of the first half of “R Beams” is very acoustic (with a piano joining in too). It becomes a bit more menacing in the second half, yet this is one of Madegg’s most refined tracks to date. Listen below.

Also out of Kansai, Metome has a new song perfect for everyone sitting put inside as it rains this Sunday afternoon (or maybe that’s just me). “Vital Signs” is a relaxed number built around chopped-up vocals and some jazzy keyboards, the whole thing zigging and zagging about but never coming off like a whirlwind. Listen below.

New Turntable Films: “Honolulu”

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This is not the first time Turntable Films have been infatuated with the Rainbow State. On their 10 Days Plus One album from 2011, the then-quartet wrote a song called “Hawaii” that was a lazy appreciation of beach-bum rock. It was slow, full of whistling and could have been a Jack Johnson jam in another life. It, like most of the album, felt a little too content (a problem fixed on last year’s still excellent Yellow Yesterday). Fittingly, as the now-trio have grown musically, their return to Hawaii ends up sounding a lot better. “Honolulu” certainly retains the tropical flavor of “Hawaii” – the same touch that made it too obvious a song, like Sufjan Stevens doing the soundtrack to an in-flight magazine – yet balances out with some unpredictable elements. There is a country twang here, Turntable Films embracing the band they’ve become over the past few years (a folk-pop outfit) and not giving that up for novelty (though we still get bongos). Yet what really pushes “Honolulu” forward is also what made Yellow Yesterday…especially “Animals Olives”…such a blast. “Honolulu” also has a psychedelic side, one where the guitars aren’t afraid to trail off a bit and make this one sound more exciting. Listen below.

But So Nice!: Shigge’s Naughty

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We got to get Bandcamp to have a wider selection of tags, because Fukuoka producer Shigge tagged his new album as “hip hop,” “instrumental” and “beats.” Those aren’t inherently bad things…most of the time, they are amazing!…it’s just that the Japanese music scene has become so over-saturated by these beat albums that I’ve gotten into a habit of skipping over them because I can predict how they’ll go – some dude trying to be Dilla, and unless it comes from the INNIT/Day Tripper/Perfect Touch circle of music, I’m probably OK moving on.

But Shigge’s Naughty…this is so, so much more than a typical beat tape. This is a detailed, entrancing work, the sort of album that comes out of nowhere and floors you. It manages to be both hyperactive – it’s loaded with chopped-up, pitch-shifted vocals hiccuping out over manic beats and – while also being meditative. The opening track on Naughty is the wonderful “Come Into Yourself,” a spacious song featuring vocal samples drowning in vocal effects and a general twinkling-ness that brings to mind a Legend Of Zelda soundtrack. Shigge’s interest in sounds…of not just making a beat, but letting each individual sonic element get a chance to stand out…is what really elevates this album. Like how each part of “Sada” manages to stand out, from the the lonely synth to the shouts of “I love you.” It’s both manic and relaxed, as is album highlight “Abide By It,” which turns sliced-up voices into something deeply lonely…with the whole song still being danceable. I don’t know what I’d tag this, and that’s part of its charm. Listen below, or get it here.

New Yucca: “Summer Emotion”

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Everyone seems to be in a summer mood as of late…yesterday, POP-OFFICE were brooding about the end of summer, and now Yucca are getting all melancholy thinking about the season. “Summer Emotion” is a sparse tune that sorta just hangs in the air – I’m surprised this lasts only three minutes and 45 seconds. The guitars never constrict those airy vocals, which are barely there but add emotional impact to the song. Also adding to the fluttering nature of this sound – chiming sounds and a bridge anchored by some bum-da-bumming. A lovely song to get lost in this afternoon. Listen above.

New POP-OFFICE: “End Of The Summer”

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I mean, not quite yet…we still got a few weeks to go. But whatever, willing to overlook that because this is a new song from excellent Nagoya outfit POP-OFFICE, who I haven’t heard much from in quite a while. “End Of The Summer” opens with something this outfit has been known for since they debuted – noise. After a little build, POP-OFFICE rocket into a feedback-heavy intro that soon gives way to…whoa, their pop chops. The bulk of “End Of The Summer” is a really melodic, catchy thing that’s probably closer to indie-pop than hard rock (or, like, less woozy shoegaze). It’s very Yo La Tengo-ish in nature, albeit it manages to cram everything that New Jersey trio tend to do in seven minutes into a slightly more concise package. Listen above.