Over the past two years, a very specific set of sounds have come to define “tropical” music, popularized by producer Kyogo and absorbed by…almost every pop star to some degree or another. Summer 2017 marks the full arrival of this style to Japan, highlighted by popular tunes from the likes of w-inds to lol. Just…
Metome’s “Sathima” caught me off guard in how sad it sounded. Part further deconstruction of his style but also featuring more flourishes of his past work than other recent releases, “Sathima” bobbed along, but also struck me as wistful, looking back on something and coming off as a bit lonely (blame the vocal sample). “Passage”…
Visuals play a massive role in yahyel’s existence as a band, exemplified at this year’s Fuji Rock Festival. The video for forthcoming single “Rude” played during that set, and was easily the most unnerving part of the band’s set, and it remains just as creepy in an uncanny valley way on its own. It’s also…
This is familiar territory so I’ll just give the TLDR version — future funk on its own can often feel a bit lazy and forgettable, at least in the wrong hands. Yet as a base for something else — singing or rapping — the idea behind future funk can work quite well. “Step Into The…
Lovely Summer Chan makes her major label debut today, with the song “Fly Fly Fly.” Moving to a bigger company comes with some tricky baggage — check the video above, which transforms into a commercial midway through, straight from the Hoshino Gen playbook — but her music sounds unchanged, built on driving guitars and her…