宅録ミュージシャンのトクマルシューゴが、2010年の作品”Port Entropy”に続くシングル、”Decorate”をリリースしました。今までの楽しいおもちゃ箱のような曲以上を望んでいる人にとっては期待はずれかもしれませんね。今回も、遊び心に満ちた曲に仕上がっています。ベル、木管楽器とアコースティックギターが曲の多くを占め、目覚まし時計のような茶目っ気のある音も面白いです。彼のスタイルは全く損なわれていないです。視聴は上から。シングルを購入すれば、トクマルシューゴによる、かつてMTVで大ヒットしたバグルスの、”ラジオ・スターの悲劇”のカバーも聴けます。シングルカットがどうなっているかは知りませんが、ライブバージョンは以下から視聴できます。
“Electric” doesn’t even begin to describe this one. Kenie_T is a Tokyo producer who…well, we don’t know too much about. He’s friends with mus.hiba, and he’s released some fine material in the past. Yet his latest work, “Crystal,” is his most absorbing yet. His connection with mus.hiba also carries over to his music – mus.hiba…
Canadian cassette label Memory No. 36 Recordings is no stranger to showcasing great Japanese music flying under the radar. They released Elen Never Sleeps dreamy Silver EP earlier this year, and are working with Boyish on a new tape due sometime in the near future. They are releasing their first compilation this Friday (April 19…
The blockbuster comes later, but let’s start from the beginning. What hooked our ears to meeshiieee was actually a song the self-described “slovenely” songwriter labelled as a discarded track. “Umi E” is an incredibly simple song – a strummed acoustic guitar, singing, a few backup vocals – yet the delivery of this song is absolutely…
Seiho just wrapped up a tour of Japan with LuckyMe artist Obey City, and in support of that tour/because why not take the opportunity to do so the pair released a four-track album called Shochu Sounds. You should get the whole thing over here, but for now let’s focus specifically on the Osaka producer’s “Double…
In case you didn’t know, Make Believe Melodies also has a Tumblr, where I write a bit more about J-Pop and non-Japanese music. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Desire, the new album from Los-Angeles-based artist spazzkid. Read that here. For those who aren’t going to click it – Desire has jumped up to…
The career arc of Shiina Ringo isn’t like your typical artist’s. Ringo started her career as a solo musician, crafting some of the early 2000’s most forward thinking and best albums (of anywhere in the world). Yet she then decided she wanted to be part of a band and formed Tokyo Jihen who, despite having…
Bedroom-whizz Shugo Tokumaru has released his first glimpse of the follow-up to 2010’s Port Entropy in the form of new single “Decorate.” For those expecting his whimsical, toy-instrument heavy music to morph into something new by now, prepare to be let down because “Decorate” is another solid example of his playroom pop. Tokumaru’s usual assortment of bells, woodwinds and acoustic guitar dominates this song, and at one point he even works in the sound of an alarm clock ringing off. Also intact – the same sense of wonder the majority of Tokumaru’s tracks possess. Listen above. You can buy the single in stores now, and if you do, you also will get the chance to hear Tokumaru’s take on The Buggles’ MTV-launching “Video Killed The Radio Star.” I don’t know what the single version sounds like, but watch Shugo deliver a cutesy live cover below.
DJ LAKILAKI has, according to her MySpace profile, “love for Thaidisco,her tracks are filled with tropical flavors, but it still has Japanese oriental flavors to it.” This sorta of line drips with public relations sweat, the kind of mind-boggling prose a recent journalism school graduate cobbles together when they realize rent isn’t getting paid anytime…
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBLNNXFoem8″] The full version of Towa Tei’s robo-grope-tastic video for “The Burning Plain” can now be watched above. It’s a nifty little video, with a set that looks like it was made out of Lego bricks and other cool touches. Oh, and if you like watching women get cozy with big robots, boy you’ll love…
Tokyo’s MPEG-7 has recently been creating tracks leaning more on the beat side of things, which while sounding fine also come off like they are lacking something. They sound like a frame looking for one final piece to complete it (mainly: vocals). “Tokyo Neon” isn’t the same case. While clearly influenced by the hazy vibe…
The always-productive Boys Age just refuse to slow down. After releasing their first widely distributed album Calm Time, they released another album two months later…and have a third right around the corner. The duo have shared three songs from the forthcoming New Apocalypse, ranging from the surf-rock tinged “Justice” and the funk, warbling title track….
Before we get to this song…can we talk a bit more about tengal6? They are the six-piece rap-pop group sponsored by Tenga, a company making male-masturbation products. It is gross and weird. Yet they also managed to pull in some amazing producers to make beats for them – like Fragment and, especially relevant for this…
While I respect how so much music in the digital-and-streaming age can help people focus or get various chores done, I’m also a little hesitant of how frequently songs simply become background music. Besides often being boring, it just feels like a cheap approach to art, to reduce it to room filler. Yuri’s Nijuuichi Seiki…