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Cheating But Whatever: Maltine Records Releases New Album From Meishi Smile mYSTERIOUS sUMMER vACTAION
The guiding principal behind Make Believe Melodies, ever since I founded it all the way back in 2009, was to focus exclusively on music from Japan. Truth is, though, I have certainly broken that guiding principal every once in awhile – I’ve written about Japanese artists who currently reside in other countries, and have even…
Homemade Escape: i-fls
最近ツイッターで村上春樹についての会話をよく目にします。激しい議論の中、支持する人は彼の表現する「美しい日常」を絶賛しているようですね。確かに村上春樹特有の、ありふれた日常をいかに美しいものにするか、という表現は素晴らしいと思います。私もそのような感性は好きですし、日本のアーティストのi-flsも普通だったら忘れ去られるようなテーマを音楽を通して表現しています。物やサービスがテーマだったり(“Twitter,” “Vocaloid,” “Family Restaurant”)自然がテーマだったり(“Summer Breeze,” “I Saw Raindrops”) 女性の名前が含まれていたり(“Satomi,” “Chiaki Gazed You,” “Yui”)。Garagebandで作られたボーカルレスな楽曲達は、驚く程少ない数の楽器から構成されていて、短くもノスタルジック。まるで気持ちをスケッチしたかのような。i-flsはここ数ヶ月だけでも数多くのリリースをしているのですが、Enhanced GardenというEPに収録されている、飛び跳ねるような”No Adventure”、幻想的な”Stardust”、そしてまるで好きな女性が自分を見つめているような気持ちにさせてくれる”Chiaki Gazed You”がオススメです。”Chiaki Gazed You”は嬉しくも不安なあの気持ちを上手く表現できているのではないでしょうか。i-flsの楽曲はまるで日記のようにシンプルで、日常を美しいものとして表現しています。
Bright Lights: L.E.D.’s “Kara Mizu Ni Naru” Featuring Salyu
J-Pop singer Salyu deserves two superlatives: 1. Best voice in J-Pop today 2. Most misused voice in J-Pop today Salyu’s voice is a thing of wonder, part Bjork-ish while also being able to hit high notes a bit better. Yet for the majority of her career, she’s been saddled with songs meant for traditional J-Pop…
Neon Cloud Remixes Blue Foundation’s “Describe,” We Are Mostly Pumped Neon Cloud Are Back
Neon Cloud Neon Cloud Neon Cloud Neon Cloud! Sorry for the excitement, but this is the first new output from the mysterious Tokyo project since 2011’s excellent (and only getting better with time) Knit EP. This isn’t quite an original work, but what Neon Cloud does to Brooklyn outfit Blue Foundation’s (really good on its…
New Cuushe: “I Love You”
Flau recording artist Cuushe has a new album out this summer, and she has a European tour going on…right now. This is all great news, as Cuushe most certainly deserves it following the heck of a 2012 she had. But I really just want to talk about her new song “I Love You,” especially the…
Sailing The Seapunk: Umio’s “ゆのっちと$∑ÅφÜ燔 (“Yunoochi To Seapunk”)
Seapunkは本当に良い音楽を追求したジャンルなのか、一部のアーティストの集まりが楽しむ為のジャンルなのか。ツイッターのハッシュタグにおいてもそんなに目立っていなかったSeapunkですが、ジャンルの持つ個性的なサウンドに魅了されたアーティストも勿論います。ここ日本で活動しているUmioもそんなイルカ好きの一人で、新曲のタイトルも”Yunoochi to Seapunk”といいます。水の音など使われているものの、そこまでSeapunkというわけでは無いような気はするのですが、興味深い曲なのは確かです。アニメと思われるサンプルから始まり、若干こもりがちでゲームチックなシンセが入ってきます。曲が進行するにつれてドラムンベースから調のパーカッションや、ニューエイジ風の展開も。アヒルのオモチャを握りつぶして音を出したようなこの曲は、何と呼べば相応しいのかも難しいところですが、新しい発見のある貴重な5分間となる事でしょう。試聴は以下から。
New Elen Never Sleeps: “Slow (Neu)”
“Slow” originally appeared on Moscow Club’s C86 compilation back in the spring, but has now been touched up a bit (hence the “Neu” in the title) and sounds a lot crisper than Elen Never Sleeps’ original version. Well, it sounds as crisp as something so hazy can sound – the song title is almost an understatement, because “Slow” practically crawls, the guitars and drums sounding glacial. It’s all intentional, though, a decision meant to match up with Elen Never Sleeps repeated cries of “but you slow down/slow down/slow down,” delivered in a dejected-but-pretty voice that this project has gotten so good at utilizing. The original version was good, but this slightly fleshed-out version shows what can happen when an artist spends time perfecting their creations. Listen below.
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New Seiho: “Peach And Pomegranate”
The first time I ever saw Seiho play — and talked to him at all — came at the very end of 2011, at an EDM party in Osaka. He wasn’t making bass-heavy whiplash music, though, but rather cosmic-leaning stuff that would have slid in well within the LA beat scene. Since, he’s explored many…
New House Of Tapes: “Not Eternity” And “There is No Encore”
Two new songs from Nagoya’s House Of Tapes emerged over the weekend, both highlighting different sides to what the electronic producer — one of Japan’s more prolific independent electronic acts — has been up to recently. “Not Eternity” finds him in a particularly dreamy space, his singing muffled but surrounded by bright synth pings. Ultimately,…
Fuji Rock Also Announces Some Artists, And It’s Crazy Good
Gotta do this quick because I HAVE WORK but a few of the highlights of the Fuji Rock lineup: – Arctic Monkeys – Deerhoof (!) – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (!) – Warpaint (!!!!) – Atari Teenage Riot – Wilco – Yellow Magic Orchestra – Mogwai Full list here.
Appropriately Wistful: Teenagers In Love’s “Magic”
I have been staring out a window facing a countryside neighborhood for the past six hours. It’s a wonderful view…nice weather means the sky is a perfect blue, and there is a mountain covered in trees only a few miles away…and I’d stare at it endlessly if I could, except I’m sitting here working. Niigata’s…
New Wednesday Video: “Why You Love Me”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87RinkXCNxc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=ja_JP&feature=player_embedded&fs=1] Wednesday rock out on the top of a helicopter landing pad for the video to one of their excellent debut’s best songs. Watch and listen above.
Trance Out: Shinji Masuko’s “Woven Music For Silver Ocean”
Boredoms’ guitarist Shinji Masuko’s solo song “Woven Music For Silver Ocean” doesn’t sound particularly similar to the noise rattled up by his main gig, but both end up doing the same thing to me. Masuko multi-tracks guitars over one another on “Woven,” the loud noises created by his instrument blurring together into one hypnotic horizon…
