Last time juke creator Picnic Women checked in, they shared one 14-minute-long number full of drama and space. With My Diary Of U.S., Picnic Women went and released five songs clocking in at just over five minutes. I’m all for it! The samples making up the DNA of this rapid-fire set come from familiar sources…
There is something almost haunted about Utena Kobayashi’s “En.” It’s already a sparse number, made up of some whirring electronics and sharp percussion and not much else, a backdrop that allows her speedy vocals to flow out free of bother, eventually tripping over themselves. “En” sounds like she’s singing from inside a big, hollow shell,…
I’ve been finding myself exhausted come the afternoon lately. Not sure why…if anything, I’ve been waking up a little later than normal, and mostly just sit in front of a computer and write…but around this time everyday, I’m beat. Well thankfully here comes Tofubeats with a bouncy dance number to shake me out of my…
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is celebrating her fifth anniversary in the music industry this year, and she (read: her management and label) are rolling out the pomp. A best-of album! A world tour! A train! If it feels over the top, well, it is, in the way all pop star celebrations of themselves inevitably are. Yet…
On the one hand…”Peppermint Escape Plan” makes you wonder just what Maltine Records is up to in 2016. What made the netlabel so exciting over the last few years was how it gave fledgling Japanese…and eventually non-Japanese…producers a chance to stand in the spotlight, Maltine serving as detective and megaphone all at once. So far…