The artists on Wasabi Tapes go under a lot of names, but the label has developed a unifying sound that touches nearly all their releases, give or take a Nikkei. They wrangle chaos into something focused, using jarring samples and synthesizer notes smooshed together into something disorienting but fascinating (and, really, fun as hell). DJ…
No label does compilations quite like Ano(t)raks. This decade, their stuffed-tight collections have highlighted artists who have gone on too much bigger things in the Japanese market…and also highlighted some of the more interesting artists to stay in the indie world, too. Die In Pop is the label’s latest, and like previous efforts offers a…
It’s an easy come down for a Thursday, but one that’s also a touch more clever than it might initially lead on. Feather Shuttles Forever offer a very easy-going number in “Croquette Nanoni,” one mostly focused on pleasant acoustic guitar strums, soft vocals and whistling. It’s a soothing number with just enough of a lift…
Like a lot of projects in recent memory consisting of young women performing music written by someone else in Japan, Hamidasystem don’t bill themselves as idols even if everything about them is pretty idol-ish. Ultimately, that label is more important for a bunch of other matters — perception by fans and media, mostly — but…
Focusing on the cuddly side of Capchii’s music does a disservice to Memories. Sure, it features a lot of “kawaii bass” flourishes, and it has anime-style album art (seriously, this is pitfall number one!), and it does all of this well. But what makes Memories feel like a big step forward for the artist is…