One of the better stories to come out of the Japanese music landscape in 2010…especially from the Osaka scene, represent…would be bouncy outfit Ice Cream Shout getting some blog traction for the tune “Tattooed Tears.” This came with some bonus treats – the group’s 2009 album got some attention from blogs, and the various side…
Consider it closer to an out-of-body experience at a social gathering than a tune designed to soundtrack one. Ruby Lemon’s “The Party” takes its time unfolding, the Fukuoka-based artist letting the synth notes stretch out while her singing comes through at half speed in an electronic haze. It’s about mood over movement, and like her…
Another 12 months down, and that means it is time to have some fun and go extra-long for year-end content. Japanese music generally felt either too focused on celebrating the fading days of the Heisei era or on crowning new J-pop superstars for the next generation — or giving us truly left-field viral hits like…
November’s edition of the Music Alliance Pact – the monthly project where blogs from all around the world share one great track from their respective nation – is here! This month, Make Believe Melodies submitted one of our favorite electronic songs of the year for the world’s consideration – Osaka’s Avec Avec’s “Kuzuha No Sunday.”…
Could the world soon see another surge in artists relying heavily on video game noises? It’s possible…Crystal Castles just dropped a highly touted LP, and album-of-2010-thus-far Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus pushes 8-bit sounds into new far-out realms. So maybe chiptune raver 99 Letters can get a little attention from this could-be trend. He’s got another…
All good series have three parts! One and two here. Nagoya’s Tomatoism isn’t a completely fresh face in Japanese underground electronic scene. The producer contributed to this late 2016 compilation, while also releasing this anime-centric set under the name Tomato Chan around the same time. But in 2017 they started dabbling in a sound closer…
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.
大阪のインディーポップ・トリオ、Les Glass Glacéが、繊細かつ軽快な２曲をネットで公開しました。個人的にはハイライトな、”Sixpence Might Change Your Whole World”では、”ex-boyfriend couldn’t understand/ sixpence might change your whole world”という可愛らしい歌詞にそぐう、淡くポップなシンセを堪能できます。暖かい雰囲気は、曲の流れに沿ってさらにアップビートに。一方で、”Cute And Reliable”はどちらかというと取っ付きにくい印象。よりミニマルでスローなこの曲では、”he’s a really nice guy/let’s go see him”という歌詞のように少し現実的すぎるかも。でもリラックスしたこの曲に始まり、”Sixpence”が次に来ると考えると納得です。視聴は以下から。
Ahhhhhh, hip-hop beats that would actually be expert-level setting to rap over. Tokyo producers Lidly and Canooooopy aren’t strangers to the type of heady music that would leave even Lil’ B scratching his head about what to do with it. The two have teamed up for a new EP of heady stuff titled Geomysteric Psyborg,…
大阪のThe PaellasがEP Followingをリリース。素晴らしいタイトルトラックFollowingは今週のはじめにアップロードされ今回２曲を追加、EPの全貌が明らかになりました。Spiderはテンポ感の早いインディーポップの楽曲、もう一曲はThe Cleaners From Venus のカバー曲になっています。こちらはオリジナルよりも音質をこもらせスピード感を出した楽曲になっています。EP Following は日本のインディーポップをリリースするオンラインレーベルano(t)raksの第一弾リリースにも、EPは無料ダウンロードが可能なのでこちらからダウンロードもしくは以下から視聴を。 Following EP by The Paellas
東京のデュオ、LLLLの新しいビデオ”Because Of My Eyes”は、まるで週末に夜遊びしているかのような光景。眩しいライトやビデオエフェクトは酔っぱらっているような気持ちにさせてくれます。全て白黒で撮影されていているこの作品では、街を散歩したりクラブで踊ったり、気づけば女性がこちらを眺めていたり。J-Popからの影響が強いものの、LLLLらしい少しダークな雰囲気で日本のパーティーライフを体験できます。ビデオは上から。
Predawn’s music has always been ace at capturing the smallest details of life – on her last EP, she captured the span of seconds where relationships bloom and wither excellently – and new song “Keep Silence” does it again. It’s about a pretty common experience, waiting for someone to call you back on the phone…
Jemapur was just another Japanese electronic music producer, posting songs to SoundCloud and popping up at events sometimes. Yet, as more and more young music makers use the Internet as a platform to get their original production out, the field has become very crowded and standing out has become tough. Jemapur has made good stuff…
