General Overview [Boring, Factual]: i-fls is a producer working out of a suburban commuter community — a “bedtown” — somewhere outside of Tokyo. i-fls creates all of their music using primarily Garageband. Unlike everyone else doing that, i-fls’ music overflows with melancholy, bittersweetness and a nostalgia that isn’t limiting, but like actually trying to remember…
Plenty of Japanese juke music sounds dark — see a fair amount of what came out of the Ghost label, or the Atomic Bomb Compilation series. So producer Keito Suzuki — who records as KΣITO — fits right in with his two-song set Revelation. The title track rumbles to life, and features a skittery vocal…
Kyoto’s Toxxies get a touch slower on newest song “Satellite,” a drifting number highlighting the duo at a different tempo than usual. Similar to their hometown’s Emerald Four, “Satellite” floats along and isn’t afraid to let some space surround the song, with the verses featuring the slightest synth and beat, which allows the digi-dusted vocals…
Two producers who are fond of letters — AVV (And Vice Versa) and RGL (Rigly Chang) — team up for a split single released via fledgling label 4×0.2ss. AVV’s “The Forrest And Friends” shuffles ahead, featuring a mix of ghostly vocal details and a sturdy beat that makes sure it doesn’t get too unsettling. As…
The temperature rarely stops producers from putting out warm, summer-ready music, but now that the season actually reflects the sound, something like Tenma Tenma’s “Nettaiya” connects way more powerfully than if it was the end of February. The Osaka artist has put out some solid stuff before — see this winter’s Kitahama, though maybe that…