Mid Air: Hideo Nakasako’s Time Passes

Hideo Naksako hails from Osaka, which over the last few years has become the central hub for Japan’s burgeoning beat-music scene. That city – along with the surrounding Kansai region – has been home to many producers putting their own stamp on the beat style, plus a community helping one another out in making music and getting ears to hear it. Nakasako fits into the tradition wonderfully – his new album Time Passes, out for free on On Sunday Recordings, is a hell of an introduction to the music maker and one that highlights what he brings to the country’s crowded field. What sets him apart is the graceful, ambient edges of his songs. These aren’t Windy & Carl-ish celestial beauties, but rather beats draped in very pretty cloth. The title track lays it all out almost immediately, as the song opens with burbling noises and strings playing aimlessly in the back. It’s extremely pretty…and then the beat drops in, as those strings keep playing in the back. The best songs on Time Passes explore the contrast between clattering beats and softer backdrops – besides the title track, the jazzy “moments” and the Burial-esque darkness of “avy” stand out. Though Nakasako also finds time to just wild out, as on the near-techno of “changes.” It’s a strong album from a city that has produced a lot of ’em. Get it here, or listen below.