Producer Amunoa impressed in 2015 by jumping to lightspeed — highlighted by the relentless “Viber,” Amunoa made fast music that pulled listeners along with it, rapid but rarely alienating. “SnapShot” offers a less manic side of Amunoa, leaving the face-melting BPMs behind in favor of something (especially for Amunoa) a bit more relaxed. Floating in…
Ahhh, the 1980s…you hear about ’em? Plenty of Japanese artists have, and try their darndest to imitate them the best they can, to mixed results. Given the ongoing push behind “new city pop” and a sure to never set interest in neon-soaked keyboard lines, 2016 is sure to be chocked full of this stuff (along…
The first ten days of the year have already seen a handful of great Japanese releases, with the latest coming courtesy of long-running electronic producer Cherryboy Function. His Word In The Petals album arrived this past Wednesday, and he shared the chipper “Distopia (Inter-Tech)” the same day. The just-over six minute song is Cherryboy Function’s…
Maybe the best way to operate as a supergroup is to do your best to have everyone melt together. Metafive packs as impressive a line-up of Japanese artists as one could imagine — any fantasy team that can nab some of the minds behind Cornelius, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Denki Groove and more is going to…
Hoshino Gen had a breakout year in 2015, his single “Sun” racking up millions of YouTube views and exposing the singer (and leader of the band Sakerock) to a huge audience, culminating in him earning a spot on NHK’s Kohaku music show (Hoshino, don’t look at the ratings!). I’ve always thought his music touches on…