Intricate music isn’t always all that calming, but Sunamachi Sound System’s SI functions as an album that’s fun to listen closely too but also one equally nice to play while staring out a Starbuck’s window while turning thoughts over (guess where I am!). The project constructs songs from a pretty sparse set of sounds —…
Here’s a pairing we can get behind completely. Haruruinu Love Dog Tenshi and Dubb Parade come together for a slippery three-song release that fits nicely in the prior’s bedroom rap world, but with a little more flair around the edges. Songs such as the opener “Furu” combine wispy electronics with piano melodies to make pleasantly…
Plug in to social media, look for posts about Tokyo and you are almost certain to find photos of comparing the metropolis to the dystopian Los Angeles from the film Blade Runner. It’s an epidemic. What all these snapshots fail to do — besides add any depth to the city beyond “wow purple neon!” —…
Here’s a good case study in how to make a sample really work for you. Pavilion Xool’s latest builds itself around a sample from Ariana Grande’s “Forever Boy,” specifically a few lines that are mostly tightened up, with an emphasis on the breathing noises she makes between words. Yet Pavilion Xool builds a woozy, pitch-shifted…
Maison Book Girl making a play for international listeners is kind of unexpected, though fitting. They just wrapped up a tour of England, and are even signed to a new British labeled focused on Japanese music, and really if any post-BiS (version 1.0) idol group deserves that shot it’s the one with the most interesting…