Nostalgia comes up a lot in discussions of music around these parts, because looking back and drawing (or straight-up using) the past has felt pretty central to a lot of music / culture globally in recent times. Synth-pop quartet Hello, Wendy! offer up something closer to a history lesson. At least partially the idea of…
The compilation album is where indie-pop netlabel Ano(t)raks shines brightest, gathering artists from all over the country to share a song highlighting their take on one of the most overpopulated genres in the country. Yet, critically, the label knows how to spot diamonds, and Azur features a strong set of indie-pop, from straight-up guitar numbers…
Leave it to Japan’s juke scene to deliver an album inspired by Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition. Skip Club Orchestra’s latest — released on New Year’s Eve, making this (I think) the last 2017 collection I needed to catch up on — features 20 songs, all of them hovering right around the three minute mark….
The title track to producer Hylen’s latest EP, via Omoide Label, is a solid enough bit of energetic dance music. “Suiren” features helium-injected vocal samples, splashes of both traditional Japanese instrumentation and Lil John samples, and a general no-hesitation rush forward. It is solid, but b-side wins the day, as the real highlight and the…
Released earlier this month, the VREATH VOL.1 compilation features songs merging the digi-singing of Vocaloid with EDM. This isn’t a breakthrough by any means necessary — ever since the idea of a drop reached wide-spread visibility, producers have been trying to work synthesized singing under the umbrella term — and for the most part this…
In which OMEGABOY hits on my ultimate sonic pleasure – sounding like the battle music that plays during the fight segments in the video game Earthbound. There is more going on in “Parallel Dance” than just Super Nintendo days – it’s one of the more claustrophobic tracks the Osaka producer has created yet, every sound…
Tokyo’s Ningen OK are a group that demand to be seen live. I lucked my way into seeing them this past weekend, knowing nothing about them, but leaving thinking this duo put on one of the better live sets I’ve seen recently. They play surrounded by what appear to be homemade white pyramids. Guitarist Takurou Yamashita stands in front of a board littered with effects pedals, while Ken-ichi Sakaguchi looms over a drum kit which he soon hammers away at. They play very precise, wordless rock that always seems an inch away from tumbling into chaos, but always manages to hold together. Between songs, Sakaguchi leans towards a Vocoder and creates trippy segues featuring his robo-tized voice. Then they launch off again. It’s captivating stuff.
Their music manages to still sound good away from a live house – “Taion No Yukue” highlights Ningen OK’s precision-centric nature while also introducing elements of chaos (listen to that radio feedback). Listen to that below. It comes off their recently released first album of the same name, which is also probably full of good moments. Still, Ningen OK seem like a live band first, one that you should certainly make time for. Bookmark this page.
It’s about being surprised in the best ways possible. This, Metoronori’s third album, finds her continuing to occupy her own little, strange corner of the online music world. She creates fragile little sonic worlds…whirring synths, the occasional glance of something a bit shinier, a very annoying timer sound on “III”…that could seemingly collapse from a…
There is no shortage of home-based producers in Japan today…and here are two more. It’s tough to really put a name to what Waver Friends does, mostly because I STILL am not sure what the ultimate definition of “vaporwave” is. I am leaning towards calling this at least “vapor inspired,” as it is a faded-sounding…
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…
