New Boogie Idol: Ongaku Yori Tooku

Boogie Idol sits across the way from Pasocom Music Club when it comes to Japanese artists finding interesting new ways to play with the sounds of the past. And if this year’s Park City showed how music from a bygone era (and, like, malls) could be refashioned into something new, Boogie Idol’s latest Ongaku Yori Tooku shows just how much is possible using a palette that, at first brush, seems limited to elevator rides. This has always been core to what Boogie Idol has done — and explored by other artists too, such as Lullatone — and his latest via Datafruits shows just how much is possible with his set of twinkly synth notes. He brings familiar neon bouncers that hide quite a bit of intricacy, such as opener “Blue Sky Blue” (listen for that piano line…and then be wowed by the organ) and “Misty Misty.” But the intrigue lies in numbers like the title track, which finds Boogie Idol subtracting from his music and stretching out what he normally does into something that’s ever changing. Or how about something teasing enka (or at least enka as imagined by a sentient karaoke machine)? Or straight-up para para music, referencing ’90s SMAP characters? Boogie Idol shows so many possibilities here, and it all sounds so good. Get it here, or listen below.