|

New Perfume: “Flash”

ByPatrick St. Michel

Sharing a “short version” of anything feels like cheating…why not just wait a week until the full video hits YouTube…but we’ve bent the rules for Perfume before so why deviate from that path. “Flash” is the first non-single to emerge in the run-up to Cosmic Explorer, out worldwide in about two weeks, and finds the group bridging the gap between the electro-pop they’ve long been associated with and global EDM tendencies (this has something resembling a build-drop). It isn’t the festival-sized drama of “Pick Me Up,” but rather a more elegant mid point between electronic styles, one that Yasutaka Nakata has been trying to bridge…with various levels of success…since 2012. Listen above.

Similar Posts

  • Pitch Shifted: Winona Hyper’s “Promise”

    ByPatrick St. Michel

    この曲は日本のインディペンデント音楽としては決して珍しいものではないでしょう。TaquwamiやSeihoのような素晴らしいアーティスト達を皮切りに、ヴォーカルのサンプルをピッチシフトするプロデューサーは2012年に多く存在し、活躍していましたから。でもWinona Hyperの”Promise”に至っては別件として捉えてほしいです。ヴォーカルのサンプリングを決して多くは使わずに、抜けが良く、かつ曇った音世界を表現しています。この”Promise”で最も特徴的なのは遅められたり速められたりするボーカルサンプルだというのは否定出来ませんが、本当に大事なのはそれ以外で何が起こっているか。Winona Hyperが奏でる美しいシンセはTaquwamiのBlurrywonder EPを彷彿とさせつつも、このグループが足す独特な輝かしさを持つ音が、この曲を愛すべき心地の良い曲にしています。このような作曲法もまだまだ追求すべき点が多いと認識させてくれました。試聴は以下から。

  • THE DIM

    ByPatrick St. Michel

    THE DIM play garage rock covered with bloghouse signifiers – their songs revolve mostly around guitar and drums, but the four-piece pushes in dashes of synths worthy of Hipster Runoff. Not much info about this band exists and they only have three songs streaming over at their MySpace, but the trio of tunes are pretty…

  • Self-Promotion Plus: Maltine Records And MacDonald Duck Eclair

    ByPatrick St. Michel

    Two more articles in the Japan Times this week. One focuses on Maltine Records, which I’ve written about a bit ’round these parts. The other, though, touches on a group I’ve never written about on this blog – MacDonald Duck Eclair. Read that one, a review of their new album, here. I actually don’t have…

  • New William Wilson: “Hito Tsubu Nomi Hose”

    ByPatrick St. Michel

    The semi-mysterious (but probably just because of a general lack of information) William Wilson project has a new, weekend-worthy track out in the online wilds. Called “Hito Tsubu Nomi Hose,” it is an easygoing number prodded on by a gentle beat and some porch-side guitar playing…though a slight electronic presence whirs behind it all, adding…