Voices have long crept into the music of Foodman, from discombobulated sonic touches to honest-to-goodness guests. Yet usually the humans joining the producer for songs clash with his wonky sounds — Ez Minzoku welcomed Bo Ningen’s Taigen Kawabe in to rap in a way that felt like it was trying to claw out of the music, while other guests offer similar mashings, serving as another off-kilter element to his music. “Clock,” from the highly anticipated (around these corners, at least) Aru Otoko No Dentetsu, shows how something more melodic and traditional can fit into Foodman’s world. The backdrop is Foodman operating in a sparser mood, percussion trickling down and subdued hoots emerging from what sounds like feet stepping on ice (it sounds familiar, but I’m blanking if this came out without singing before). Over this, Tokyo’s Machìna offers singing that goes from muted to right upfront…and it isn’t creating more cacophony, but rather working alongside the music. Turns out something familiar can sprout in these weird grounds. Listen above.
