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.
Sapphire Slows’ has a new album out in November called Allegoria, and here’s the first track to come out from that album, “Dry Fruits.” It’s a slinky number, a reminder that she comes from a scene every bit as interested in dance music as they are more shadowy sounds. Just listen to that particularly wet…
In his relatively brief career, Tokyo’s Taquwami has explored a lot of sonic ground. He’s made maximal sounds, fragile songs, sample-heavy dance numbers and heady tunes that sound like holding a particularly trippy seashell up to your ear. And that’s not even counting the directions he’s splintered off with his Occult You project. His latest…
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…
“Well, it is April,” writes Moscow Club in regards to new song “Lizaveta.” Works for us! “Lizaveta” finds the Tokyo outfit reaching a happy median between the two styles that have, up to this point, defined them. If you started listening to the group in 2012, you wouldn’t be blamed if you thought they were…
Not content with one of the best J-Pop tracks of the year, Kansai idol unit Especia have another new single out before the calendar turns over. “Our Sp!ce” is released in cahoots with the music retailer HMV, yet the group don’t settle for anything here. Production unit Schtein&Longer keep Especia honest, crafting a whirling song…
Vocaloid-user mus.hiba has been teaming up with a lot of folks recently – first, Bo En and him came together for the cut “Winter Valentine” on the English music maker’s Pale Machine release. And now he’s bringing the syllabic sounds of Sekka Yufu to the late-night sounds of Irish producer Harmful Logic’s chilly “Whispery Voice.”…
