I’m running out of ways to write about nostalgia and i-fls. At what point do I throw my hands up in defeat over my computer and decide, “screw it, time to dig into myself and write about the feelings dude’s music brings out of me!” Every time I play an i-fls album…and I’ve got a…
Here’s a nice bit of international cooperation. Japanese producer Canoooopy has teamed up with South Korean music maker Sima Kim for the moody “Tragicomical Sandstorm.” The track starts out subdued enough – just some finger-snapping percussion, some barely there voices and wisps of synths going by. Yet what seems like a just-drifting-by work suddenly blooms…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Hey, look nobody is perfect. Below is some text that originally appeared on the Make Believe Tumblr yesterday, as that’s where I first heard an mp3 version of this song. The video, though, came out today and, coupled with the fact there is not much else to cover, I’m going to repost what…
Honestly, I’m still not sure how this grabbed my attention. Was it the name of the band and song, neither of which really make any sense? Was it their minimalist Bandcamp, featuring just this one song and with a header that’s nothing more than an e-mail address? The track at the center of all this,…
The Fogpak compilations, albums collecting songs from independent electronic artists all across Japan, have been getting a lot longer with each new installment in the series. The sixth edition featured 33 tracks, and that already felt like a challenge to get through. Now comes the seventh in the series which ups the ante with 48…
Merry Christmas (close enough!) from Make Believe Melodies. We are going to relax…I SWEAR…until after the holiday, but before kicking back and opening our presents, let’s listen to some special Japanese Christmas songs! Producer De De Mouse sets the seasonal mood just right…using Vocaloid software. He’s booted up Hatsune Miku to tackle “Sleigh Ride,” and…
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.
One of the most interesting points about chillwave lost in the race to post new tunes to blogs is the idea of it being “recession music,” how the still-massive financial crisis coupled with all sorts of other bad stuff caused 20-something musicians to turn to bedroom-recording. That narrative often seems lost in 2011, replaced by…
Producer and roman-numerals-aficionado T4CKY created one of 2017’s more promising debuts in the form of XIX. Now they continue flashing their potential with two new songs. “I” is the one that is more readily available to all, as it is up on SoundCloud (and you can hear it above). It’s a touch more restrained, opening…
This is technically a remastered take on quartet The Navy’s “Borderline,” but it’s the first I’ve heard of it and I can’t find more info on when it might have first come out (have you tried Googling “The Navy”)…so it’s like it is brand new to me! And it sounds lovely, the band creating a…
Gotta do this quick because I HAVE WORK but a few of the highlights of the Fuji Rock lineup: – Arctic Monkeys – Deerhoof (!) – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (!) – Warpaint (!!!!) – Atari Teenage Riot – Wilco – Yellow Magic Orchestra – Mogwai Full list here.
Given how everything sounds vaguely tropical in 2017 — well, that or totally grey — it’s weird thinking back on how Osaka’s Soleil Soleil was so ahead of this trend. If he was outside Asia, he’d be Kygo! However, the Kansai artist is always a few steps ahead of the sounds clogging festival grounds, and…
For the past two days, I’ve been revisiting a lot of articles for another piece I’m working on about a certain famous pair of musicians who went supernova about two years ago. In these interviews, they talk at length about how computers can’t really be musical instruments, and how it isn’t the same man as…