[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nubsD1L5jH4″] This new cut from the late producer Nujabes recently released album Spiritual State finds rapper Pase Rock going over a suntan-lotion dabbed beat boasting bong percussion and sunset-ready piano. Nujabes’ actual production sounds breezy as a drive down Pacific Coast Highway, only the hard-hitting machine beats distracting from an otherwise floaty bit of work….
When talking about Friends, it’s usually easiest to say something about how this Tokyo-based group takes lots of cues from surf rock. I’ve done it countless times…see The Japan Times today…but the funny thing is Friends don’t just worship at the temple of Brian Wilson. They’ve covered The Suicide Machines before, and they’ve professed a…
Check out my review of Friends’ Let’s Get Together Again in today’s Japan Times. Read it here. Good album! Also, expect a a bit more about Friends later today…wish it was Friday so I could go for the alliteration but alas!
Indie-pop doesn’t strike me as the sort of genre that can be turned into a science fair booth. Though the actual music can often be described as “simple” (though it doesn’t have to be!), a lot of indie-pop group’s power comes from the at-times vague emotional side, like how The Field Mice’s combination of jangly…
Last Thursday, The Japan Times ran an article by Ian Martin about Japan’s current efforts to crack down on…wait for it…late-night dancing. Read it here. Here in Osaka, this has been going on for a while now and has been impacting all sorts of great events in the city…INNIT used to go all night, but…