Producer Quarta 330 recently released a new EP via netlabel Sabacan Records, the first from the Hyperdub-affiliated artist in a bit. And it is a very welcome return, especially for those seeking a little calm from their burbling electronic songs. Opening track “Otome Landscape” is pure easygoing fair, a spacious keyboard number on the woozy…
Sometimes what you really need is a simple, super-catchy pop number to close out your day. Kumamoto-based “sound creator” Sanzashi offers just that with “Lucky,” which finds him teaming up with a singer named Marie to create a skippy number featuring one of the more subtly addictive hooks I’ve heard from a song in recent…
Maybe the golden days of Tokyo’s indie-rock scene aren’t quite over yet after all. Super VHS — who made a lot of solid songs and one masterclass in fuzzy longing — are finally rolling out their first full-length album, Classics, which is out on December 2. And they return after (what at least felt like)…
The burgeoning trend of “women, rapping!” in Japan has, as it starts creeping over to the mainstream via compilation CDs and special festivals, has so far focused on the more energetic and off-beat artists, with a healthy does of “idol rap” units who might very well be trying to ditch the lesser trend from that…
Food has played a central role in the music of many Japanese artists, from Cibo Matto to Shonen Knife to…well, many more (one more!). Tokyo rapper Itadaqi (formerly Canopies And Drapes) teams up with Tomobitch for their own entry into the culinary playlist with “Caramel Banana Combination,” a squiggly electronic bouncer devoted to the pair…