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Category Archives: Music

New MPEG-7: Rain Grain

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Space is a critical aspect of producer MPEG-7’s latest song, “Rain Grain.” Not silence, as sound is present at all points of the song, but MPEG-7 lets skittery beats and keyboard lines hang out exposed early on, slowly letting more elements creep in to the fidgety electronic number. Eventually, the song bursts open, thumping ahead with every element eventually clicking (and with one sparse passage to boot). The release comes with a handful of remixes from various other producers, along with a separate song featuring a “poetry reading,” which as you might expect places the emphasis on words. Get it here.

Softly Spoken: Shiwashiwa’s “Blue”

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Many newer women rappers (but not all) in Japan today operate in a whisper-like voice, a topic most certainly worthy of an essay or two (quick aside: I mostly come back to MCpero telling me that she wishes she was a man, to rap better). Beyond thinkpiece-ready topics, it also means a lot of it starts sounding alike, and it takes something more to stand out. Shiwashiwa’s “Blue” is on the muted side, with the verses delivered in hushed tones, but they flow over well over the squiggly synth backdrop, and it builds up to a hook where the voice rises up a touch…adding a little oomph, without throwing things too far off wack. It’s sort of relaxing, though the near-secret quality of it also makes it intriguing — I can listen to this and feel chilled out, but also drawn to the sparseness. Listen above.

24 Rainbow Gold: Estl’s “Mars”

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This is as simple a track you are going to see around these parts, but done so well as to transform it into a big, gooey gumball of a song lasting for just about two minutes. Yokohama producer Estl takes parts of Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” — particularly a few notable vocal yelps from Mars himself — and throws them onto Rainbow Road. Everything gets sped up a little bit, while the music surrounding Mars’ singing are synths that sound slippery, squiggling across the song and adding a nice up-tempo vibe to it. Again, pretty simple approach, but it sounds so sleek and colorful to become irresistible. Listen above.

New LLLL: “Mahou”

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The latest from Tokyo’s LLLL moves away from clearly identifiable vocals in favor of playing around with the human voice as instrument. “Mahou” is a rumbling number featuring the synthesizers the project has long fancies, the sort that add a sense of melancholy to the track as a whole even when everything drops out for a second. The detail that makes “Mahou” work are the vocal sighs, which add a jittery vibe to the song. Whereas as previous numbers by LLLL have featured more dramatic vocals, the little hiccups here highlight a nervousness — sometimes leaning optimistic — and subtlety. Listen above.

Double Serving: Cor!s’ “Firefly” And AZUpubschool’s “Sakuragai”

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Both members of KiWi shared new songs tonight, a nice reminder to anyone who enjoys the duo’s Adam’s Family EDM that both are accomplished artists in their own right. Cor!s’ “Firefly” is a sweet number doubling as a floor-filler, the lyrics considering the transience of relationships and what it takes for something to last…but backed by a shifty beat and quick-hit electronics that never get too hard, but know when to pick up the pace. Throw in some strings, and you have a number that will get your mind turning while moving. Listen above, or get it here.

On the other size, AZUpubschool makes a slightly breezier electro-pop number in “Sakuragai.” It still has a lot of the fluttery elements that pop up in “Firefly” too — the pre-chorus bits where voices start getting especially lithe, to the point of sounding like this w-inds song — but instead of plunging forward come the hook, it just speeds up a bit and features some stuttery vocals. The energy, though, remains high. Listen below, or get it here.