我々の”favorite songs of 2012 lists”のような年末特集を組むのは非常に難しいです。限られた数を選ばなければいけないので、結果選べないアーティストもいるからです。去年でいうと”My Aquamarine/Spinning Wheel”をリリースしたElen Never Sleeps。このシングルは素晴らしい曲を２つも収録した、ENSがアーティストとして急成長した作品です。そして2013年を迎え”Silver”をリリースしたENSは、今年もさらに彼らしさを発揮させています。新曲”Shine On Me”は去年の”My Aquamarine”を彷彿とさせるものの、ビートがENSの今までの曲の中で一番ダンサブル。コーラスの部分では、風変わりなボーカルやストリングスを始め、さまざまな音色が飛び交っているものの、互いを殺しません。こういった細かいこだわりが光ります。
One of the tougher parts of putting together a year-end feature – like our “favorite songs of 2012 lists” – is cutting it down. This means some really great stuff gets left outside…and last year, one of the toughest omissions to make was Tokyo murmur-pop dude Elen Never Sleeps, whose “My Aquamarine/Spinning Wheel” single featured two great songs and marked a jump forward artistically for Elen. It’s looking like ENS won’t be facing a similar dilemma in 2013, as he’s just released two tracks in advance of his new Silver EP, and both find the solo artist making further artistic strides. “Shine On Me” initially resembles last year’s “My Aquamarine,” but features a livelier beat that is the closest ENS has ever come to being dancey. The real development, though, is greater attention paid to sonic details – the most catching element of “Shine” is the almost-meowed noises that make up the chorus, but equally as strong are the strings that rise up throughout the song.
The title track from the EP, meanwhile, is more reflective, but features ENS adopting a slightly deeper voice for most of the song. It’s the less daring of the two tracks, but refines the Elen Never Sleeps sound further. Listen below.
I’ve already written a bit about one of the three new songs to appear on Osaka idol group Especia’s latest single, and now you can hear all three songs over at SoundCloud. Let’s focus on the pair I haven’t had a chance to virtually blab about yet. The titular track, “Ya Me Te,” is a…
This month’s Music Alliance Pact has arrived! As always, MAP finds 30-plus blogs from all over the world sharing one song from a domestic act with the rest of the bunch. Make Believe Melodies represents Japan, and this month we are putting the spotlight on ultra-pop specialist Yoshino Yoshikawa and his “I Feel You, I…
Cokiyu’s recently released Haku EP is a pretty collection of songs, highlighted by a collaboration with Los-Angeles-based-artist Baths. It is a collection very much worth your time. That said…the Tokyo mood-maker’s once-unreleased-but-now-released song “Vapor Doll” is the best track to emerge from the Haku period so far. It’s a collaboration with Tokyo-based sound artist 34423,…
This month for the Music Alliance Pact, Make Believe Melodies is putting the spotlight on Kobe-based electronic outfit Cosmosman and their “Unique Fun Fiction.” Listen to it…and a bunch of other great songs from around the globe…below. Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an…
Young Osaka imprint/party Perfect Touch…featuring heavy involvement from various INNIT originators, primarily Erik Luebs otherwise known as Magical Mistakes…just wrapped up a tour behind Sweatson Klank, an electronic music maker out of Los Angeles. I wasn’t able to hit up the Tokyo leg of the tour because I had to go watch Rock In Japan…
Tofubeats already has one great album and a handful of well-produced singles for other artists under his belt this year…and, welp, he has another gem now with “Don’t Stop The Music.” Here, the Kobe producer embraces a more laid back structure compared to the often manic tracks on this year’s Lost Decade, letting the music…
