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Fantasy Land: Anemone

Producer Ninomiya Tasuki and artist Yikii work — based on available online data — over a far distance. The former is in Niigata Prefecture, while the latter is in China (and putting out pretty incredible stuff on her own, too). The two have come together to form Anemone, a “fairytale like music group” creating synth pop. Based on the songs posted thus far, Anemone feels like it can be slotted in the same general space as Metoronori and even Fuji Chao, artists creating their own pop world and letting lyrics drip out in all their messy glory. “Tablet” (above) is the most direct, at least for me, partially due to it being in English but mostly for a specificity the other songs hide (it feels like dreamy escape, until Yikii mentions “30 tablets” and it starts getting a bit darker). Whether she’s delivering the Lord’s Prayer over skittery electronics on “Requiem” or gliding alongside sparse piano notes on “Yumeutsutsu,” the pair work wonderfully together to create a fantasy with shadowy edges.