今週日本のインディー界において大きな話題だったのはジャスティン・ビーバーでしたね。大阪のCloudy Buseyが曲をカナダのポップ・スターに歌わせたいと言ったのが発端で、今度はGive Me Walletsがジャスティンのヒット曲、”Boyfriend”をカバーしたみたいです。以下から視聴できます。Give Me Walletsはジャスティン・ティンバーレイクのようなミニマリズムを取り除いて、よりコンプレックスに、より速いテンポで曲を仕上げました。ジャスティン・ビーバーみたいなハイトーンは一切目指さない独自性がこのカバーを素晴らしい物にしています。
How do you go about establishing yourself in a music environment packed in tight? There are lots of electronic music producers scattered across Japan now, and standing out isn’t an easy task. Akoustik Shadow, on new album Cross Over, decided the best way to approach this tricky situation was…try out a bunch of different sounds….
Tokyo producer Eccy’s remix of Canadian duo Purity Ring’s “Belispeak” downplays the very sonic trick that those two used to become one of 2012’s most buzzed about new groups, and it’s a good move on Eccy’s part. Whereas the original song features manipulated vocals piling up on one another over a hip-hop-inspired beat, Eccy gives…
It’s probably about time to do a “stuff we missed: 2013 edition,” and one album I didn’t write nearly enough about is Kiko by Madegg. He’s still one of the most prolific electronic artists in Japan today, but also one able to backup all the output with talent. Kiko is his best full-length album yet…Kashiyuka…
If you happen to be in Tokyo Monday night (maybe some of you are, I don’t know!) and have no plans for Tuesday, which is a national holiday, you should go to this event at Unit. It features a lot of artists Make Believe Melodies, and should be lots of fun. Say hi to me!…
東京のインディー・ポップグループ、BoyishのSoundcloudにはもう一ヶ月程前から”Farewell Kisses”という曲が公開されていたのですが、今度は嬉しい事にビデオが公開されました。ギターの主張の強いBoyishらしい楽曲をお楽しみ下さい。
Kansai outfit Post Modern Team’s first song made available to the world’s ears was a little ditty called “Never Let You Down.” It was one of 2012’s finest tracks, a breezy song featuring one of the sweetest hooks to come out of Japan’s indie-pop scene – “never let you down,” they sang, like whispering into…
So looks like the big trend in Japanese-indie music this week is Justin Bieber. First, Osaka’s Cloudy Busey described his new song as something the Canadian pop star could sing, and now Tokyo outfit Give Me Wallets have covered Bieber’s song “Boyfriend,” which you can listen to below. Give Me Wallets replace the Justin-Timberlake-evoking minimalism of the original with an array of synthesizers and a higher BPM. This take imagines Bieber’s song as a technicolor disco track, and is a good (and smart…the lead singer never even inches towards Bieber’s high-note delivery) number.
A few months after releasing a cassette tape, Tokyo’s Wooman have a proper album out soon on Her Heads Record called Lost Love. It includes a lot of the group’s initial numbers, but also adds new cuts such as “Faint Dream,” a chugging number featuring the same unnerving, muffled vocals that defined earlier releases (and…
Zushi’s finest, Half Mile Beach Group, easily could have sat back on their wonderfully windswept debut album Park C from this spring, as that one is loaded up with slow burning songs apt for the warmer months (even if they sometimes lean on the melancholy side). Yet here they are, with a new seven-plus-minute number…
Welp, here’s my most anticipated Japanese album of 2011. J-Pop siren Salyu boasts an absolutely attention-grabbing voice, able to transform what should have been ho-hum J-Pop into something special. Musical tinkerer Cornelius creates forward-thinking pastiches, having released a handful of excellent albums and putting together one of the best (and precise!) live shows around. Tokyo…
A big theme we return to around these parts is how welcome energy can be in music — even if an artist isn’t really imprinting anything new onto a style, sometimes a really fast tempo is all that is needed to get us perked up and enjoying it. Producer Hirihiri’s first album Hirahira isn’t quite…
関西のPost Modern Teamによる初のリリース曲は“Never Let You Down”でした。2012年にリリースされた最も優れた曲のうちの１つと言えるでしょう。爽やかで甘いメロディーは日本のインディー・ポップ・シーンに衝撃をもたらしたのでは。彼らは“never let you down”と恋人に囁くように歌います。センチメンタルに始まるこの曲はその後の展開をより切なく響かせています。まさに“Heartbreak”や“She Does Something To Me”といった言葉が語るように。最近ではEP、Nite Life LoungeがAno(t)raksから発表されました！彼らがギターとドラムというシンプルな構成だけで美しい世界観を持つ優れた楽曲を奏でています。収録されている全３曲はPost Modern Teamが今までやってきた事と変わりはないのですが、シンプルな繰り返しの多い曲がいかに感情を強く表現出来るか証明してくれました。タイトル・トラックでは主人公がディスコで“good times”を過ごしているのですが、曲中で決断の時があったり。このドラマチックさはグループ史上でも異例なのでは。他の２曲はもっとストレートに感情を表現しています。“Fade Away”はシューゲイザー調の曲。“thinking about those high school days”や”before you fade away”といった文脈からは良い思い出を振り返っているのだなと感じさせられます。 “Betterdays”はタイトル通りの内容なのですが、曲の積み重なって行くような展開はPost Modern Teamの新しい一面と言えるのでは。（ボーカルがBuilt To Spillに似ているのも印象的でした。) ダウンロードはこちらから。視聴は以下から。 NITE LIFE LOUNGE. EP by Post Modern Team
South African indie-pop outfit Desmond and The Tutus‘ album Tuckshop saw release in Japan recently, and tucked away at the end of the album are a few remixes by some Japanese artists. Cubismo Grafico tackles the song “Old Girls,” while dance trio-soon-to-be-duo 80kidz get their hands on the harmonica-heavy pop of “Kiss You On The…