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Disconnect The Dots: OBUTSUDAN-SUMINO’s “Kaerou”
Here’s pop reduced to some very, very basic elements. Osaka’s OBUTSUDAN-SUMINO constructs something that’s both aching and catchy using a lot of space – the bulk of “Kaerou” is just him singing over a barely-there beat and some chilly synth splashes. At times the song whirrs and whoozes, but the bulk here is about space….
Jazz Aged: Supple’s Minato Tape
I do not profess to being a guy who knows much about Japanese hip-hop. I have about as basic an understanding of the scene one can get, but that’s it – I don’t know the intricacies or the regional differences or even, like, the fashions (I think Yankees’ caps are popular?). What I do know,…
Kyoto’s Hotel Mexico Break Up
Kyoto band Hotel Mexico announced on their website tonight that they have officially split up. It means one of Japan’s finest indie bands of the last few years – and one of the first to receive attention from Western blogs and music websites – is calling it a day. Hotel Mexico began in late 2008,…
New Taquwami: “Gossip 1” And “Gossip 2”
Think Taquwami is starting to fall for blog-platform Tumblr? Can we expect a barrage of .GIF files and essays about Degrassi? Probably not, but the Tokyo producer did go and post two new tracks to his Tumblr page over the weekend, “Gossip 1” and “Gossip 2.” The prior opens in a haze before pivoting into…
New Merpeoples: “Tinkle”
It has been awhile since we’ve heard anything new from Tokyo’s Merpeoples…last time was last June with the song “Silent Sleep,” a good tune albeit one that faded quickly. Looks the group are ready to give it another whirl, and they’ve got this blog’s full attention with the hopping “Tinkle.” Merpeople have always been good…
Valentine’s Day Specials: Neon Cloud, HNC, The Eglle, A Bunch Of People Covering Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”
Lots and lots to love today…so lets dive into all of it. Way better than chocolate, yeah? The biggest news of the day comes courtesy of Flau, who’ve released the follow up to mysterious outfit Neon Cloud’s stunning debut Knit. Scar finds the group…and it is becoming more and more clear Cuushe is involved somehow…
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 Caro Kissa: “Retake”
Main thing to understand with this one — it isn’t all retakes of existing songs from the indie-pop duo Caro Kissa. Only one number, closer “Perfect Dream,” is a re-imagining of an existing number from the group. That makes this short but sweet release all the better though, as listeners get three jaunty new numbers…
New Perfume: “Pick Me Up” And “Relax In The City”
Assorted Thoughts 1. I ultimately think PC Music is pretty great — most of the music released under that banner has been fantastic pop, and in general I side with any artist/collective who appears to have a genuine interest in Japanese music and tries to push it into the West (A.G. Cook samples DJ Kaori…
New Kosmo Kat: “Toki Ga Kinai Kotoba”
I have a really shitty body fever right now, the sort of thing that makes you move at half speed and feel like you are covered in Icy Hot patches. Tokyo-based producer Kosmo Kat’s newest song works surprisingly well given the circumstances…I feel like my soul has dripped out through my nose, and his woozy…
Yura Yura Teikoku Albums See U.S. Release
DFA spin-off label Death From Abroad recently released Tokyo psych-rock outfit Yura Yura Teikoku’s 2007 albums Hollow Me and Beautiful in America. The trio’s rock contains an edge of danciness to it, which explains why they’d end up on a DFA-related label. Pitchfork is currently streaming Yura Yura Teikoku’s “Dekina,” check it out. First you…
MySpace Punks: The Creams
As evidenced by all the twee music I celebrate on this blog, I’m not really a punk. I like plenty of “punk” music, but the kids wearing torn jeans always intimidated me in junior high. Which might be why the definition of “punk” has always seemed a bit elusive to me. Though I think a…
New Nujabes: “Homeward Journey”
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w09sqiYLMQo”] Still having computer issues, so “super short blurb week” continues! Late producer Nujabes certainly deserves to go the way of fellow dearly missed production legend J. Dilla, so it’s nice to see a stream of unreleased material starting to emerge. “Homeward Journey” is a peaceful little construction of piano, strings and all sorts of…
