Long-running Japanese beatmaker Daisuke Tanabe has teamed up with Mumbai independent label Knowmad Records to release Cat Steps, a set of sparse tracks that see him splattering sound about and seeing what sticks. He elevates beyond lo-fi hip-hop by keeping these numbers in constant motion, adding in surprise elements that send ripples through the music….
It would be a little silly to give Especia unearned influencer points for the state of Japanese pop music today…but the now-defunct group were way out ahead on the current city-pop-revival that has carved out space in the mainstream. And unlike a lot of the Tumblr-esque recycled moods of bands now scoring theme songs and…
Following up on this year’s tense, rollercoaster of an album Plateau, “Vacillate” finds Miii letting off a little more steam. There isn’t really a build or slow creep towards release — it bursts out with skippy percussion, accented by, uhhhh, some very British sounding vocal samples, which eventually skip over themselves en route to a…
For a band capable of such laid-back numbers, Mitsume’s music relies heavily on movement. Many of their songs chug along like a car doing the speed limit on the highway. “Sedan” almost takes this literally, with the title for one and references to just wanting to go…somewhere in the lyrics. But the best Mitsume numbers…
Big Love Records’ artist Anna hasn’t filled out her music anymore since last year’s sparse debut, but she’s gotten better at making all that room count on Tonite. The title track rattles forward, turning into something outright joyful when the drum hits gallop alongside the guitar just right, but all made a bit chillier by…