Controlled Karaoke: Jim O’Rourke Sings Enka
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIzPi4JcJ84″]
The audio seems kinda weird and doesn’t always match up with the video…but whatever, here’s Jim O’Rourke singing an Enka song.
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIzPi4JcJ84″]
The audio seems kinda weird and doesn’t always match up with the video…but whatever, here’s Jim O’Rourke singing an Enka song.
Nagoya’s House Of Tapes releases music at a fast clip, but credit to him for also keeping listeners on their toes. His latest album, Nu Tears, moves away from his recent return to crushing noise to embrace something that, while still cacophonous, hides something more dynamic within. Nu Tears mixes more earnest, soft moments with…
This bubbly beat comes courtesy of Tokyo’s Yuichi Nagao, and it is a nice bleep-blooper full of bouncy details (the way those synths intersect with one another! how hopeful this sounds!) and just a fun little groover. Listen below.
Nakanojojo and Toccoyaki exist in the same world as cotton-candy-bright dance-pop from the likes of Snail’s House, Yunomi, YUC’e and more. It extends beyond the fizzy, maximalist electronic pop both make, as they both share an interest in anime-as-cover-art and a general positivity flowing through their music. “Kagami” brings the two artists together, and the…
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF12h19h5uo”] March 11 is coming up, marking the one-year anniversary of the earthquake/tsunami. I wrote an article for The Atlantic about music after these disasters, and it features all sorts of names you might know – EXILE, Neon Cloud, Goth-Trad, Rankin’ Taxi…list goes on. Read it here, and make sure to watch all the videos…because…
This one got lost in the New-Year’s-eve shuffle, but two weeks on it still goes strong so…Osaka’s Ryuei Kotoge created a lot of great music in 2014 (including the just-outside-our-top-20 Undo, Redo), and he closed out a productive 12 months with this six song set. It’s an affirmation of what he’s been doing for a…
Sendai producer Suguru Ohtaka crams a lot into “Closer To Me.” It stands out from the other tracks posted to their SoundCloud, and not just because of the presence of a singer/rapper in the form of Nao Nanba. Other creations either lean into what appears to be a heavy interest in emo rock, or are…