Make Believe Melodies Logo

Category Archives: Music

New Tatsuro Yamashita: “Reborn”

Posted on by

Partially, the charm of “Reborn” comes from how it bucks current movie trailer trends in Japan. Following Radwimps massive success with the Your Name. soundtrack, a slew of similar songs have shown up alongside coming attractions, ranging from Bump Of Chicken, Sekai No Owari (who, let it be noted, totally had their lunch eaten when Radwimps got the nod for an existential teen drama anime over them…that’s their whole thing!) and most recently Daoko and Kenshi Yonezu, which is turning into Daoko’s mainstream breakout moment. Quality for each is all over the place, but a definite sameness is emerging. Tatsuro Yamashita’s contribution to a new flick set in the ’80s moves away from this trend, opting for a more skeletal, glowing number that isn’t all sonic fireworks, but something more subtle. The time period of the movie obviously shaped this a bit — those drums! — but it’s nice hearing something different.

The other reason this is so welcome is because Yamashita is among Japan’s top musical carpenters, making sure every drum machine salvo and word fits just right, wasting no space. What could have been melodramatic cliche — this is for a Japanese drama film, after all — turns into something more melancholy and ultimately hopeful under his watch. He’s just damn reliable in every form. Listen above.

Omoide Label Presents Juke Shiyouya ~ILLMATIC SCIENCE~ Featuring 1NDV, Lotus Echo And More

Posted on by

Think of the Juke Shiyouya series as a pleasant come down from the grittier Atomic Bomb Compilation. Whereas the latter uses juke music as a way to warn about the dangers of nuclear power and weapons — often by taking a darker, at times doomsday-ready tone — Omoide Label’s ongoing collections simply gathers tracks from producers invested in the style, and often their contributions bend towards sillier constructions. 1NDV slices up Street Fighter 2 into a fleet-footed dance track, while TEACHI goes full on traditional Japanese with a song centered around old instruments and vocal samples. This is a comp book ended by skits! Yet between, the artists also get up to all sorts of other things, from Hiroki Yamamura’s utilization of Kanye on the hypnotic “Aleksandros” to Lotus Echo’s robo-boogie on “Let’s Do Juke.” Dive in, and find your flavor. Get it here, or listen below.

New Mukuchi: Party (Lonely) People

Posted on by

Singer/songwriter Mukuchi excels at making bouncy bedroom pop, featuring a wide variety of sounds ranging from synthesizer notes to toy instruments. Her playful voice ties it all together, and she’s even gone as far as to create a new (at least to my knowledge) genre called “seagaze” to describe it. Don’t let shiny tags on Bandcamp get you clouded though — Mukuchi’s charm lies in her kitchen-sink pop, and Party (Lonely) People offers the perfect intro into the world. A lot of the songs included her have popped up online in some capacity, but gathered all together they reveal just how varied Mukuchi’s songs can get. The opening digi-clicks and piano melodies of “Paradise” set the mood — playful but also deceptively intricate, offering up the right backdrop for her singing. From there, she ventures into plinky-plonky techno-pop, wonky piano sketches and Earthbound slow burns. Nothing better than stepping into an artists own little world. Get it here, or listen below.

New Amunoa: “Smmr”

Posted on by

Producer Amunoa excels at turning small moments into anthems. “Smmr” is poised as, well, a summer jam from the frantic artist, featuring a warm disco vibe and some sweltering synth work. The real hook of “Smmr” is the vocal snippet rippling throughout — it sounds like it was recorded through a talk box, but rather than turn into a crutch, the way it repeats brings out a new sound to it, and matches the song well. Listen above.

New Carpainter Featuring Onjuicy: “Pam!!!”

Posted on by

The artists in the Trekkie Trax universe have been inching towards more songs featuring vocals — or at least tracks suitable for someone to sing or rap over. Masayoshi Iimori’s work has seen Dotama rap over it, while Carpainter has co-worked on songs by budding Avex star Daichi Miura. For the most part, these have worked, even if they feel more like the main artist eyeing a little bit of underground dance music shine than a real, broader shift towards anything. “Pam!!!” feels natural. Carpainter teams up with Japanese grime MC Onjuicy for a song that finds the two artists working in tandem, playing off of their strengths to create a natural combination. Onjuicy darts over Carpainter’s sweltering beat, never thrown off by the little twists the producer adds in, and he gets out of the way when the song goes crystal in the middle. Get it here, or listen below.