I don’t know what it is about UTAU synthesized vocals themed after weather, but they always make for such a great instrument in electronic music. Snow-themed singer Sekka Yufu has been central to mus.hiba’s creations, and now Yokohama-based producer Gaburyu offers up a strong set of numbers based around the rain-referencing Eru Amaga. TokeruGet it here, or listen below.
The bedtown sounds of i-fls always sound appropriate for walks…that is, after all, the activity you’re most likely to engage in when living in a suburb and have a lot on your mind. No Start Point / Earphone Song presents a swifter version of the dreamy Garageband symphonies the producer has been making over the last few years. Their albums have featured plenty of speedy cuts, but something about the three songs included here feel quicker, i-fls seeing if the same melancholy powering their more meditative creations can come through in a faster setting. And they do, from the almost-literal “No Start Point” (indeed, the song cold-opens before stopping…and then just revving up again without warning) to the pulsing “Earphone Song,” the releases’s best and sweetest moment. And it even features a softer landing, ending with the more mid-tempo “Stressful.” Get it here, or listen below.
I will not bore you with the details of how I missed last week’s Anthem event at ageHa (but if you must know…not finding buses in time and having my socks ruined by rain). But I did, and it was a personal low point for 2017 (which, all things considered, isn’t too bad). Thankfully, Picnic Women shared a new EP, so I can just loop these two songs and pretend I was right there. The title track darts ahead, featuring helium-inflated vocals that give way to a heavier portion featuring snippets of “I Feel Rave” spliced in. The next song, “Up And Down,” veers closer to what Picnic Women excels at, taking Evelyn Champagne King’s “Love Come Down” and pushing it towards juke (and acid) boundaries. Get it here, or listen below.
Aiming for outright catchiness in the summer is too easy. Sapporo-based electro-pop duo HelloHowLow released a song caled “Menhera Girl” about a year ago, and it’s an upbeat bouncer featuring digitally manipulated vocals, the sort of catchy number that fans of Perfume probably can get into easily. Yet it’s also a little too breezy, save for a late-song spoken word segment which adds some welcome goosepimples. For summer 2017, though, they’ve gone and made a “summer nightmare mix,” and this decision improves on the song immensely. The brightly illuminated singing of the original turns into something splitting at the seams — think The Knife — while the spoken word parts now pop up throughout, seemingly at random, making the uneasiness ever-present rather than confined to one stretch. Given the theme central to the song — facing down mental health issues — this “nightmare” mix makes everything feel far more urgent. Maybe not a summer jam, but something more interesting. Listen above.
I often feel an exciting rush of confusion when listening to Foodman’s music. How can those sounds be turned into that!? How did he make that noise?! What’s going on???? Given the whirlwind and wonky nature of the Yokohama-based artist’s creations, it’s a fair reaction, but sometimes the sheer WTF-ery happening across a song blurs out just how gorgeous his songs can get. He constructs them from unlikely sources, but the way every piece slides into place can often result in downright pretty (albeit fragmented) melodies, not far from what Cornelius has been doing since 2000. “Nanika” serves as a great reminder of this, loaded up with stray guitar plucks, soothing synth washes (serious Software vibes) and horn blurts. Yet Foodman corrals everything together just right, to create a disorienting but ultimately beautiful track. Listen above.