日本でもネットレーベルが定着しつつありますね。今年の五月に創立したエレクトロ系レーベルのTrekkie Traxはご存知でしょうか？素晴らしいコンピをリリースしているので、是非お聴きあれ。八曲収録されたこのXYZというアルバムには日本中からアーティストが集められています。東京からはMiiiが参加していて、”Far Away (About Three Kilometers)”を提供しているのですが、これが非常に良い。Hudson-Mohawkeぽいシンセからモッシュが可能なダブステップまで広く影響を感じさせる曲は、単調になる事無く、聴く耳を離しません。XYZには他にもSeimei And Taimeiの”Drub The Floor” 、Carpainterの”Kick Back”とIsagenの”+o”がオススメです。ダウンロードはこちらから.
First, too easy joke – Nagoya dream-crafters Lullatone released an album devoted to the arrival of Fall on a day that saw some of the highest recorded temperatures ever recorded in Japan. Isn’t it ironic, etc etc. Lullatone in 2013 is not that radically different from the Lullatone of a decade ago, at least when…
First there was a duo called Colorado Coronado, who seemed to fawn at the recorded output of Bradford Cox (Deerhunter/Atlas Sound) and set out to replicate it live, resulting in a few fantastic songs. At some point, their sound shifted from the ponderous to the ramshackle, as Colorado Coronado seemed to switch idols from Cox…
The first Music Alliance Pact of 2014 has arrived! To kick off the new year, over 30 blogs from around the world have selected a track to share with the rest of the globe. For Japan, Make Believe Melodies is highlighting the fidgety “Bishop’s Rising Sun” courtesy of Osaka’s Metome. Listen to it…and a lot…
I’ve gotten way too old for nights out. A couple years ago, the idea of going to a club and getting silly until the sun came out sounded like a thrilling prospect, a chance for who-knows-what to happen. Nowadays, I’d much rather get eight hours of sleep and wake up with enough time to cook…
The May edition of MAP is here, and Make Believe Melodies decided to highlight one of the more intriguing artists operating out of Tokyo to surface in 2013. Yep, Shibuya’s Metoronori, who has released two great albums of heady, bedroom-assembled pop music. Also, welcome Drowned In Sound to the MAP team! Click the play button…
最近ツイッターで村上春樹についての会話をよく目にします。激しい議論の中、支持する人は彼の表現する「美しい日常」を絶賛しているようですね。確かに村上春樹特有の、ありふれた日常をいかに美しいものにするか、という表現は素晴らしいと思います。私もそのような感性は好きですし、日本のアーティストのi-flsも普通だったら忘れ去られるようなテーマを音楽を通して表現しています。物やサービスがテーマだったり(“Twitter,” “Vocaloid,” “Family Restaurant”)自然がテーマだったり(“Summer Breeze,” “I Saw Raindrops”) 女性の名前が含まれていたり(“Satomi,” “Chiaki Gazed You,” “Yui”)。Garagebandで作られたボーカルレスな楽曲達は、驚く程少ない数の楽器から構成されていて、短くもノスタルジック。まるで気持ちをスケッチしたかのような。i-flsはここ数ヶ月だけでも数多くのリリースをしているのですが、Enhanced GardenというEPに収録されている、飛び跳ねるような”No Adventure”、幻想的な”Stardust”、そしてまるで好きな女性が自分を見つめているような気持ちにさせてくれる”Chiaki Gazed You”がオススメです。”Chiaki Gazed You”は嬉しくも不安なあの気持ちを上手く表現できているのではないでしょうか。i-flsの楽曲はまるで日記のようにシンプルで、日常を美しいものとして表現しています。
Netlabels have become prevalent in Japan, so how does a fledgling outfit like electronic-music imprint Trekkie Trax (born in May of this year), grab attention? Release a great compilation album. Their XYZ EP collects eight songs from electronic artists from all over Japan. Our eyes zeroed in on a contribution from Tokyo’s Miii – his “Far Away (About Three Kilometers)” veers from bright, Hudson-Mohawke synths to more aggro dubstep moshing without ever leaning on one sound too much. XYZ features great contributions from names we’ve never seen before – Seimei And Taimei’s skittery “Drub The Floor,” the woozy flow of Carpainter’s “Kick Back” and the dim burbling of Isagen’s “+o” make this an overall great listen. Get it here.
I don’t know much about the dude named Donnis…the video for his song “Gone” opens with the Fool’s Gold logo, a nice little label which currently boasts The Suzan. Wikipedia tells me he used to be in the Air Force and was stationed in Tokyo, which you think would be a nice little hook for…
Make Believe Melodies is proud to premier the second track from the forthcoming Paradice: Revisited by Friends & Lovers remix collection, wherein various artists rework songs from Tokyo outfit LLLL’s Paradice album. This week, the spotlight falls on Kosmo Kat’s remix of that album’s closing song “You.” Listen to it above…and tune in next week…
Add one more band to the “Japanese groups that apparently made great music in 2009” heap. The appropriately named LSD March churn out glazed over psych-sludge rock that’s bleak and captivating. The fine folks at CMG listed the Himeji band’s Under Milk Wood as the 47th best album of the year, and listening to a…
It was only a couple of weeks ago that The Hair Kid shared “Hikikomori,” a Nakata-tinged twister. Now, the Hyogo-based artist has released two new songs via Maltine Records — packaged with four remixes as Plastic Inbox — showing off his funkier side. It starts off with “My Love Is Online,” a dazzling bit of…
These dudes, balls of titanium I tell you. That band name isn’t politely asking for a single wallet – they are demanding you give them wallets as if the average person has three extra chain purses on them at all times. The testicular fortitude doesn’t end at the aggressive moniker – new song “Amneasia” clocks…
Metoronori is back with a new song, her first of 2019 and a welcome return to the off-kilter pop world she has been constructing this decade. “Yoru No Hitobito” strikes a good balance between the unsteady and the hooky, opening (and weaving in throughout) with samples of what sounds like Italian set against synth starburst…