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。
This month’s MAP is here, and we feature Buddy Girl And Mechanic, who put out one of 2013’s first great albums. Check all this stuff out ya’ll. *collapses from South By Southwest schedule* Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a…
Late last week, we wrote about how Osaka’s Talking City 1994 had a new song called “Shine” available on their SoundCloud page. Turns out “Shine” was a preview of a new EP the off-kilter released over the weekend, called Roll Dance She Take. It’s only three songs long, but the tracks here do show the…
Call And Response Recordsの新しいコンピレーションアルバム、”Dancing After 1 AM”は、我々の友達、イアン・マーティンのレーベルのものなので…探す手間が省けました。１８曲も収録されているこのアルバムには、日本屈指のロック・アーティスト達も参加しています。She Talks Silenceが陰のような美しいギターを奏でる一方で、The Morningsの”Fuji”は去年にリリースされた”Save The Mornings”に引き続き、彼ららしい作品。POP-OFFICE、New HouseやTacobondsなども参加していて、さすがだな、と言わざるを得ません。今まで紹介してこなかったExtrudersによる“Collapsing New Buildings”はミニマルで、呟くようなボーカルとギターの鋭いストロークが良い味を出しています。Puffyshoesも１分程参加しています。 “Dancing After 1 AM”が持つフックといえば、ニューウェーブ・デュオのMIRがこのアルバムでカムバックし、新曲を１曲提供しているという所。これからの活動も期待しているのですが、“Dance”は、このグループの過去のハイライトを５分でまとめたような曲になっています。シンセとビートが良いグルーブ感を出しているのですが、それだけで終わらないのがこのグループの強み。決してアップビートではない、ナイーブなボーカルが、この曲を独特にしています。このような悲しげな、かつアップテンポなダンスミュージックは中々探しても出てこないですし、巧みにひねりを加えた独特な楽曲が多いので、Dancing After 1 AM、オススメです。 List of where to buy the album here.
I’m usually not drawn to the acoustic guitar. Too often, it’s the tool of choice for snobs and hucksters, the preferred instrument of people doing acoustic covers of rap songs (ya know, because it’s not real music in its original form) and dorm-room Lotharios. I’ve heard countless covers of “Wonderwall,” and every time I want…
This year, Tokyo’s Moscow Club have been balancing precariously between electronic goodness and cheesy gloop. They haven’t abandoned the indie-pop sound that grabbed some attention last year – see the lovely “Radio Vietnam” – but their 2012 output has relied heavily on synths and keyboards, the band conjuring up a spacey, 80’s new wave vibe…
Tokyo Jihen “Sa_i_ta” It might be hard to tell given the number of live DVDs and best-of releases that have packed store racks this year, but Tokyo Jihen called it quits back at the start of 2012. Assessing the group’s legacy ends up being a tricky task – lead singer Shiina Ringo’s solo albums remain…
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.
Turning back towards the ’80s, when it comes to Japanese music, is (or, depending where you stand, still is) the in style. But the areas explored in Japan proper and abroad are very different. Outside of the country, there is a new-found embrace of Japanese ambient and neighboring sounds, highlighted by the recent attention given…
It’s easy to scoff at the term “major-label debut,” but here’s where ties to a bigger imprint producer real-deal benefits for a bunch of folks. Tofubeats’ First Album wasn’t actually his first album, but it was his first official full length from Warner Brother’s Japan label UnBorde, and it was a frantic, YouTube-hole-like trip of…
Perhaps this is kind of a put on, with the name of the artist and the general hyper-energy of the song being some sort of wry commentary on what the kids are listening to. More likely, this really is the work of a 17-year-old Japanese producer who fancies filling up every inch of their music….
These dudes, balls of titanium I tell you. That band name isn’t politely asking for a single wallet – they are demanding you give them wallets as if the average person has three extra chain purses on them at all times. The testicular fortitude doesn’t end at the aggressive moniker – new song “Amneasia” clocks…
It’s great that an artist can just throw recently completed tracks online minutes after completion and get attention for them, but still it’s nice to see actual albums and EPs pop up as well. Kyoto’s Madegg (looks like he doesn’t go all caps anymore, cool) has been posting a bunch of excellent single tracks to…
Producer Hiroto Kudo crafts something calming but with a little kick on latest song “Blink.” For the most part, it is a sparse number featuring synthesizer driplets and a fidgety (but understated) beat. Save for some voices floating by in the back, it is straightforward and relaxing. But Kudo knows how to turn all of…