I’m not sure whether Diorama Books are a bookstore or an independent book publisher (or…both!), but they have somehow made a collaboration between Kansai producer Okadada and the lead singer of the band Skirt a reality. It’s a nice bit of 80s-indebted pop, Okadada giving the song a warped electronic feel courtesy of his keyboards,…
Talking City 1994 are one of those outfits that is constantly releasing new music, uploading new songs to SoundCloud at a very fast clip and forcing anyone interested in them to always be on their toes. It can oftentimes feel like they are just spitting songs out into the online void, without much cohesion. Plenty…
This didn’t need to be fucked around with. Producer Oven Toast Jam could have played this song straight, just crafted a beat orbiting around that acid-smeared throb and those ghostly vocals in the back, also letting those occasional piano notes float to the top. It would have been a more than serviceable beat. Thankfully, Oven…
Kindan No Tasuketsu has a new album out this month, and although our interest was peaked from the announcement alone, it is now even higher thanks to “Tonight, Tonight.” Nothing at all like The Smashing Pumpkins’ song, this is a throbbing bit of electro-pop, unreletning save for a very very brief break late in the…
Diane Halls don’t release too much, but when they pop back up on the radar, it’s always with something pretty solid. “A Pain That Is Felt” offers a pretty good hint of its mood from the title alone – its a guitar-centric drifter featuring very, very little vocals (the ones that do show up mumble…
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.
It’s weird to think that Madegg has been creating richly textured dance music for, oh, at least six years now. And yet, it doesn’t feel that long ago he was the opening act for a Brainfeeder showcase in Osaka, or simply one of many now-notable names crowding the bill at an INNIT event. But he’s…
As it has for the last four years, the Atomic Bomb Compilation arrives on August 15, the day marking the end of World War II…days after the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed using atomic weapons, a first for humanity. Spearheaded by producer CRZKNY, this collection of electronic music has long been part memorial,…
The funny part about Metrotune’s brush with blog hype this past year is how they got nabbed all that attention behind the strength of their most “chillwave” song but carry way more depth than just another bedroom start-up. The latest batch of tunes presented to the world by the mysterious project show off just how…
Young Juvenile Youth’s debut album mirror arrives today, and to celebrate the electronic duo shared a sparser cut from the album. “Her” moves away from the more delirious dance-pop of “Slapback” in favor of space. “Her” revolves around seasick electronics, a slowly mutating beat and some squiggly electronic touches lurking beneath it all. Yet the…
A quick check in from Tokyo’s White Wear, one of the artists falling under the CUZ ME PAIN umbrella. And it is a brief check in with “A Witness,” a just-over two minutes featuring a distorted vocal sample, some clattering and a general atmosphere of unease. Listen above.
Is it too early to start talking about “labels to watch in 2010?” If not, I present the cassette-only (OK, they also plan on putting out 8-tracks) label Scotch Tapes for your consideration. They have a heck-of-a-lotta bands on their roster and recently got mentioned on Gorilla Vs. Bear. For this blog’s purposes, Scotch Tapes…