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。
This one announces itself really well…after a few seconds of pulsating electronics courtesy of Kobe’s Cosmosman, a woman’s voice cheerfully says “Welcome to the future!” And then “Radio Menthol,” the first song off of Ananga Ranga turns into a bouncy cartoon number that seems like it should be soundtracking videos of dancing fire hydrants or…
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,…
新曲“Lizaveta”を説明するにあたり、Moscow Clubは“Well, it is April”と説明しています。この東京のバンドは彼らを形容する２つのジャンルを上手く融合させる事に成功したようです。このバンドを2012に聴き始めた人はきっと明るめのシンセ・ポップのイメージが強いはず。C86 コンピレーション収録曲とBradbury EPでは多くのシンセが使われていますが、それを除けば純粋なインディ・ポップ。ギターとドラムのみでアップビートかつメランコリックな曲を書いていた事もありました。“Lizaveta”はキラキラした星屑のようなシンセで幕を開けますが、Daisy Miller EPに収録されていてもおかしくないような曲へと展開していきます。Moscow Clubはシンプルなバンド構成をシンセによって上手く味付けできるようになったと感じます。加えて、南国風のパーカッションが心地良いです！視聴は以下から。
Batman Winks (formally Atlanta Girl) has been all about confrontation on the small amount of music he’s released over the past couple of years. Obviously taking cues from LA pop weirdo Ariel Pink (and not shy about declaring his love for the dude), his songs have often deliberately been hard to listen to or, at…
We break a little bit from our year-end coverage for this month’s MAP, which features one of our favorite songs of the year – HNC’s “I Will Make You Sad.” Listen to it and a bunch of other great music from around the world below. Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs,…
Whimsy might not actually be the right word for what Nohtenkigengo does. Sure, the bulk of the music this solo project creates involves the sort of instruments that make one’s twee radar go off like mad, including xylophone, accordion and all sorts of other cutesy sounds. This sonic choice…along with the voice singing all the…
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.
先週に大阪のTalking City 1994の新曲”Shine”を紹介したのですが、どうやらこの曲は先週末にリリースされたRoll Dance She TakeというEPのプレビューだったみたいです！３曲しか収録されてないものの、このバンドの新しい方向性をきちんと示唆した作品になってますよ。”Shine”からもわかる通り、Talking City 1994はファンキーなスタイルも演奏可能だと言う事を証明しています。タイトル・トラックはしっかりとしたベース・ラインと安定したボーカルが特徴的で、バンドの成長が伺えます。”Shine” のイントロ等に使われているシンセサイザーにもう少し工夫が欲しいものの、Roll Dance She Takeではより鮮麗されたTalking City 1994を聴く事ができますよ。試聴はこちらから。
Tonal Memory plucks a few songs featured on Tokyo duo Smokebees early EPs, and turns this into a great gateway into their intimate and at times energetic rock. That seems intentional — the pair have their first full-length album out later this year, and Tonal Memory works as a wonderful gateway into their world. They…
No rest for Osaka’s Paellas, even after releasing one of the year’s better EPs back in January. They are prepping a new double-side single, and shared new song “Pears” this weekend (the other one is called “Distance” — so maybe this one, back when they were a bit more fuzzy rock?). “Pears” is certainly of…
Here’s another album to get excited for in 2015 — DJ Obake, a producer who in recent years has become best known for being the production half of the J-pop duo Her Ghost Friend, will release his new album H on January 8 via American imprint Zoom Lens. The first taste of that one can…
Ano(t)raks is probably best known for being a destination for new Japanese indie-pop (or, if the term fits for you, city-pop inspired cuts), but the netlabel-turned-physical-label also has a long history of highlighting electronic music, ranging from Kai Takahashi’s 80s-brushed numbers (which eventually morphed into the lounge pop of Lucky Tapes) to the minimalism of…
I’m not sure how many more words I can pull out of my brain to praise “Take Me Out,” the nervous centerpiece of the pureness EP and a huge breakthrough for everyone involved in this song. It’s tough to capture this fizzy moment playing out inside somebody before anything happens in music, especially when a…