[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4cDnjt88_8″]
A more cynical person would hear that Cornelius offered up the music for a new Muji company commercial and say “what a sellout.” Thankfully its 2010 and the concept of selling out via ad opportunities went away long ago unless you are in high school or something, but to this imaginary naysayer I raise three points:
1. Of all the companies Cornelius could have given music to, he chose a pretty cool one. Read about Muji here, and keep in mind how absolutely obsessed with brand names most Japanese consumers are. A business committed to being minimal and as un-brand like as possible deserves praise in this increasingly logo-obsessed world.
2. The world of advertisements sorta makes perfect sense for Cornelius because his brand of fidgety, all-over-the-place rock has always been tied to motion. Just peep his live show – him and his band play songs in perfect synchronization with images created just for the show. These motion-rich videos play a vital role in Cornelius’ music as it almost seems like they are conceived alongside the songs themselves. So matching music to an ad isn’t that crazy a stretch for an artist who does it all the time.
3. The song backing up the Muji ad sorta rocks. Like a lot of his best work, it sounds like elements ripped from a bunch of other numbers being copy-pasted into a new creation, one that happens to be a lot more chilled out than his usual material. Steel drums, horn toots, bell chimes…it’s incredibly peaceful music that never gets lazy, always remaining interesting. This would make the ultimate background music for the Wii select menu.
Thanks to Tokyo’s Coolest Sound for mentioning this find first!