Controlled Karaoke: An Intro To Japanese Roots Music
Japan Probe posted a small write-up about Japanese roots music. It’s a nice little introduction to the type of music (one I’m woefully ignorant of, so this is especially great), so give it a read.
Japan Probe posted a small write-up about Japanese roots music. It’s a nice little introduction to the type of music (one I’m woefully ignorant of, so this is especially great), so give it a read.
Kyoto’s Native Rapper excels when it comes to the small details. Last year’s triumphant Mass Maker EP hit immediately for its celebratory mode centered around netlabel artists, but subsequent listens also reveal a release full of strange little details and sudden vocal twists. This latter point feels more pronounced on Keep It Real, an album…
Let’s get technical for a second – “indie pop” should refer to a very specific type of sound. It’s the sub-genre overflowing with “jangly” guitars and a general “sunny” theme. It’s still pretty vague, but not nearly as “twee.” Twee is a state of being, almost a choice…indie pop doesn’t necessarily need to be twee,…
This post comes with a big disclaimer – Radio Friends are very much a young band, the sort that shouldn’t be tossed into the musical wilderness before they are ready, the type that shouldn’t play a live show until they feel really ready to instead of forcing something that could make them look bad. Their…
Tokyo’s LLLL is prepping the next installment of the Chains series for a December release, and “For F” shows a continued commitment to the shadowy but ultimately hopeful sound that has defined the bulk of this project. The music here comes off as among the heaviest things LLLL has created as part of this series,…
I’m in Singapore for the next three days! I wasn’t going to post anything, but my phone is charging and this Daoko song is alright so…why not? I’m going to break one of my self-imposed rules and admit this is one where the video is way better than the song — though, really, that is…
Nagoya’s House Of Tapes has tried out a lot over his career — and now comes something resembling a tone poem. “I Can Not Say Goodbye To You” finds the producer sing-speaking a melancholy set of lyrics against a discombobulated (but never overwhelming) electronic backdrop. While it isn’t as suffocating as their older material, their…