Moscow Clubは本当に素晴らしい。最初に我々が注目した”Daisy Miller Pt. 1″ は、ヘンリー・ジェームスの物語からの引用で、作品同様の感情的な雰囲気を醸し出しています。今回SoundCloudにアップされた曲は、”火星年代記”や、”華氏451″等を執筆したSF作家、レイ・ブラッドベリ（レイ、 数々の素晴らしい作品をありがとう。安らかに眠れ。）へのトリビュート精神が。Moscow Clubの新曲は”華氏451″の英語タイトル、”Fahrenheit 451″で、”Daisy Miller”の曲のように文学的に攻めるのではなく、あくまでレイドバック。悲しい過去の物語を語るのではなく、ちゃんとダンスフロアにそぐうように作曲されています。シンセが良い味を出しているこの曲はMoscow Clubの今までの曲よりも打ち込みがメインになっていて、この３分程の遊び心溢れる作品は、Toro Y MoiやKissesを連想させます。コーラスが実に美しい。試聴は以下から。
Tokyo-based guitarist Dustin Wong already had a strong first half of 2013, teaming up with Shibuya-kei staple Takako Minekawa to produce an album that took both artist out of their comfort zones. Now he’s primed for the rest of the year too, as he has a solo album (Mediation Of Ecstatic Energy) due out on…
Here’s a nice bit of international cooperation. Japanese producer Canoooopy has teamed up with South Korean music maker Sima Kim for the moody “Tragicomical Sandstorm.” The track starts out subdued enough – just some finger-snapping percussion, some barely there voices and wisps of synths going by. Yet what seems like a just-drifting-by work suddenly blooms…
Don’t expect regular updates until I’m back in Japan this weekend…but before savoring the last few days of vacation, I did want to post the new Sakanaction song “Eureka.” Watch the video above. The Kohaku TV show (a yearly program where some of the most popular singers from Japan perform on New Year’s Eve) and,…
I’ve already written a bit about one of the three new songs to appear on Osaka idol group Especia’s latest single, and now you can hear all three songs over at SoundCloud. Let’s focus on the pair I haven’t had a chance to virtually blab about yet. The titular track, “Ya Me Te,” is a…
ここ２年ほど前から、CUZ ME PAINレーベルのアーティスト達が暖めてきた、幻想的な空気感を持つダンスミュージックが、東京のシーンで注目を集めています。 このようなテイストは、Sapphire SlowsやLLLL等、同じように海外のブログで話題になっているアーティスト達からも見受けられるかもしれない。でも、CUZ ME PAINが放つJesse Ruinsの海外から受けている賞賛が大きな原動力となり、東京のインディーシーンを活性化させているのは確かです。 この夏にDead Funny RecordsからデビューEP、”Wisteria”をリリースした埼玉のデュオ、Fancy Booksのバイオグラフィーにも、CUZ ME PAINの名前が上げられています。 確かにオープニングトラックの”Twilight Memory”や”Ermine”では、シンプルなビートの上に温もりのあるシンセサイザーが渦を巻き混ざり合っていて、この比較も納得できるな、と感じます。 具体的にFancy Booksが、CUZ ME PAINのアーティスト達とどう違うかというと、”Wisteria”等で聴ける、ポップで楽しいボーカルがフィーチャーされている所でしょう。また、今回の目玉ともいえる”Sister Carry Stars” は、電子音やベースなどだけでも美しく表現できていただろうけれど、女性ボーカルが加わる事により、温もりのある、暖かいトラックへと見事に変貌しています。 CUZ ME PAINの中でもダントツにポップで聴きやすいJesse Ruinsでさえ、ミステリアスな世界観を演出する為にボーカルに工夫を加えています。しかしFancy Booksは”Sponge Boy”等で聴けるように、あえて自然なボーカルを導入する事で、新鮮さを出してきています。 “Wisteria”はCUZ ME PAINからの影響を上手く取り入れ、新しい可能性を追求した作品と言えるでしょう。 Fancy Books EPの視聴はこちらからまた、購入はこちらから:
OK, here’s the song to officially soundtrack the definite end of summer 2013, courtesy of Fukuoka outfit Shtreimels (who do not put much information about themselves online). “Yacht” is a downcast guitar number that certainly takes cues from New Jersey outfits like Real Estate and (especially) Ducktails, full of reverb and with lazily unfolding vocals…
Tokyo’s Moscow Club are literary buffs. They originally caught our attention with a song called “Daisy Miller Pt. 1,” (followed up with a “Pt. 2,” both on this lovely album) named after the Henry James’ story of the same name and nailing a similar emotional vibe as the novella. Now they’ve released what their SoundCloud implies is a tribute to science-fiction author Ray Bradbury (“Ray, may your soul rest in peace”), who wrote books like The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451. The latter also serves as the title to Moscow Club’s newest cut, and unlike the “Daisy Miller” songs, this one doesn’t conjure up images of books being incinerated or giant television walls. It’s really lose, a synth-powered throwback jam that’s made for the dancefloor rather than a dystopian future. It’s also the best electronic-focused song Moscow Club have released yet, one finding just the right groove to ride out for its almost-three-minute-long playtime, my snap-judgement bringing to mind Toro Y Moi or Kisses. Plus, THAT CHORUS. Listen below.
For almost five minutes, Baby Loop Code puts most mainstream J-Pop idols to shame with “Secret (Piano Version.” With only a solitary piano backing her up, the Osaka artist tip-toes her voice around the key strokes. She swings from quiet-as-a-mouse to nearly bubbling over, her singing slowly rising towards some sort of emotional climax before…
Holding just enough back can go a long way. Producer Kotonohouse certainly brings plenty of energy across their new EP But You Don’t, using slivers of vocal samples and quick changes in tempo to create a mood that practically forces you to move just to keep up. But what makes the four song set stick…
“Ultrapop” producer Yoshino Yoshikawa has always been a sucker for cute things, but “Les Chats” might be the closest he’s come to overdoing it. The lyrics — written by Cpnnn (@kittiesgalore, natch) and sung by Rionos — focus on cats, which is fine, I mostly just play Neko Atsume nowadays so no foul on the…
Was going to do a round-up of stuff that came out while I was on vacation, but life got in the way! So let’s do one at a time. Masayoshi Iimori exists on the aggressive extreme of Trekkie Trax…which is to say, he makes the sort of trap-inspired electronic pounders that make me feel ancient….
Osaka’s Onsen Records returns with Onsen Compilation #3, a relatively quick but solid collection of electronic music featuring a few familiar faces and new names. Label head U-Z takes a stab at “Hip-Hop,” a wobbly number featuring verses from Darrion Parker, while the back half of the comp leans towards instrumental hip-hop cuts, a hit…
Here’s a new track from CUZ ME PAIN artist :visited, last seen dishing out “Sweetest Things,” but now enjoying a marching life. “Parade Dream” lives up to its title quite well, a Rose-Parade worthy beat pushing forward while the usual array of CUZ ME PAIN synth flurries and scalpeled vocal samples act like sonic fog…