インディー・ポップ・アーティストMemory Girlsによる”Our Freedom, Our Darkness”については、公開された２０１０年の６月に紹介させて頂きましたね。２年ほど経った今、なんとその曲がダブリンのThe Choir Invisibleとのスプリットとして、Dufflecoat Recordsからのリリースが決まったようです。なんで見つけるのにそんなに時間がかかったのかは分かりませんし、いつリリースされるのかも確かでないのですが、嬉しいニュースですよね。Dufflecoatのバージョンは確かに丁寧にプロデュースされているのですが、当時聴いた時と同じ気分にさせてくれます。「晴れた日にツリーハウスで聴くのに最適な、童心に戻らせてくれるインディー・ポップ」と紹介させて頂きましたね。
I have only seen one episode of New Girl in my life, but Annie The Clumsy sorta reminds me of the central character in that show (episode?) gone more blue. I don’t want to settle for any “manic-pixie-dream-girl” junk, but both exude a quirky charisma all their own that’s easy to appreciate. Annie The Clumsy’s…
It has been one of those weeks that has ended up being so busy, I have barely been able to pay attention to much new Japanese music this week. Thanks a lot work day! Anyway, next week will maybe be a bit lighter (and all things willing, this weekend can be a chance to hear…
It’s a nice occurrence that Tokyo producer Taquwami’s mix for the website SSENSE, featuring a new song called “Hate Winter,” dropped during a weekend that featured Spring-like temperatures in Japan’s capital. “Hate Winter” closes out his almost-40-minute mix and is a lovely comedown, a slowly unfolding track full of layered vocal samples and some nice…
We break a little bit from our year-end coverage for this month’s MAP, which features one of our favorite songs of the year – HNC’s “I Will Make You Sad.” Listen to it and a bunch of other great music from around the world below. Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs,…
Timothy Work covers a lot of ground in just four songs on their self-titled debut EP that dropped back in the summer. Which actually makes it surprisingly easy to overlook – 2012 saw all sorts of acts treating genre cornerstones as something meant to be thrown around, acts like Moscow Club touching on fragile indie-pop…
Bandcampから無料でダウンロードできるCassettevision Samplerは、決して音楽ブログから注目を浴びるべく作られた、レーベルのデビュー作品ではありません。レーベルは２０００年からあり、「不思議な魅力や毒、ひっかかるなにかしらがある音楽を紹介。」というコンセプトで、２００３年以降、数々のアルバムをリリースしています。このサンプラーはCassettevisionの歴史のような物で、過去にリリースした１３曲が収録されています。 Cassettevision Samplerの大半はミニマルなエレクトロニカで、冷ややかな実験性はありつつも、暖かくポップな印象が強いです。２つの作品を同レーベルからリリースしているLemの、”Story Of Surf For Young People”で聴けるボサノバ調のサウンドからは、とても温もりが感じられます。他のトラックはというと、engの作品は、跳ねるようなチャイムのような音やノイズ等、一見形のないように思えるサウンドを、ポップソングとして見事に再構築しています。Kiwako Kanedaの曲は、インディーポップやフォークにエレクトロニカが足されたような作品。Hot Fudge Sundaeの”New Walk”はストレートにポップ、Apartmenの”Hand Me Down”は直球ガレージロックなのですが、ちょっとしたクセや工夫が足されていて、レーベルのカラーを象徴しています。Cassettevision Samplerはミニマルなエレクトロニカが多く、レーベルのイメージを知るにはもってこいの作品と言えるでしょう。 cassettevision sampler by cassettevision
Indie-pop outfit Memory Girls originally posted “Our Freedom, Our Darkness” back in June 2010 – we wrote about it then (remember that design?). More than two years later, that lovely little song will be released on English imprint Dufflecoat Records, as a split with Dublin band The Choir Invisible. Not sure when the actual record comes out…or why it took so long for someone to notice the song…but exciting news nonetheless. The Dufflecoat version (listen below) sounds better produced than the song I remember from 2010, but still retains the elements that prompted me to write that the song was the “stuff of childhood naivety, skippy indie-pop perfect for soundtracking the construction of a treehouse on a clear day” a long time ago. Treehouses, really? Geez I hope I’m doing better at this now.
That collective attention spans have been drastically reduced thanks to social media is probably a net negative for society as a whole, but one small perk of this shift in how information comes and goes seems to be that musicians have to act a lot faster than before in putting music out. Pasocom Music Club…
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIzPi4JcJ84″] The audio seems kinda weird and doesn’t always match up with the video…but whatever, here’s Jim O’Rourke singing an Enka song.
The relationship between Trekkie Trax and Finnish imprint Top Billin has been fruitful, resulting in numerous compilations and singles. Here comes the latest, via producer Carpainter, called “Browser Crasher,” and it is a loopy little dance number teasing all sorts of directions and ultimately settling for none of them. Starting off on a vibe reminiscent…
This year is already feeling like a particularly strong one for Japan’s juke community, with plenty more to come. Yet Osaka outfit Satanicpornocultshop just went and dropped the first great front-to-back album of 2018. The Rise And Fall Of… doesn’t mark any massive departure from their usual sound, nor does it find them even pushing…
One of the best new(ish) names to pop up frequently this year has been Lovely Summer Chan. So far, she’s released a collaborative EP with producer Yoshino Yoshikawa through Maltine Records, joined up with For Tracy Hyde and now collaborated with Uchu Nekoko on one of the better shoegaze songs I’ve heard as of late….
Simplicity has always been central to what makes Have A Nice Day! standout from the pack. They find an emotion, grab some guitars and floor-ready electronics and just burrow into it until they get to the gooey core. “Smells Like Teenage Riot” is a celebration of youth and making the most of those limited years,…