Things the new Foodman EP Hamakko reminds me of: – A space-themed Hanna-Barbera cartoon playing from an old, broken radio…in another dimension. – Jazz generated by a malfunctioning Commodore 64. – Alternate world soundtrack to the Ocarina Of Time Water Temple. – Alien theme park announcements. – The weirdest/best open-mic-night. – A really strange plate…
Talking City 1994 is one of the Japanese bands having a really good 2013. After being quiet for more than two quarters of 2012, the Osaka band has come back strong, releasing a strong three-song EP and several great stand-alone tracks. They’ve come along way since when they first popped up, developing a more polished…
Ahhh Picnic Women, that jokester. The title to his latest collection of juke cuts comes off like the punchline to what he pulls off the title track, “II Women.” On that song, Picnic Women takes Mariah Carey’s and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” specifically the vocals from Boyz II Men, and pitches them both…
May.e has quickly become one of the artists I will always find a chance to gush about, and today I got to do some more praise heaping in The Japan Times. Go read that! In a nice coincidence, she also released a new song online called “Oide (Come On)” that’s another gorgeous cut from an…
It hasn’t even been a week since I went into a tizzy writing about May.e’s album Mattiola, one of the year’s most stunning releases and one rich in FEELINGS. Turns out May.e is a restless soul, and also capable of churning out high-quality music at will – you can hear a new song of bare-bones…
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.
Osaka beatmaker Ryuei Kotoge – early INNIT contributor, Day Tripper Records signee – has a new album out on the horizon. Undo, Redo comes out in early July, but he has shared the first track from it. “Arc” is a shifty, shuffling number featuring synth washes and nimble percussion. It is a great first glimpse…
Maybe because I just turned 28 last week and this is just what happens, or maybe I’m just stupid, but I swear I wrote about rap duo Chelmico earlier this summer. But, unless Google gobbled this imagined post up, I did not, which is lame of me! Chelmico consists of rappers MC Mamico and MC…
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…
Always nice to see two familiar names join together. Producer Dubb Parade has long been one of the most consistent producers juggling juke, house and techno in Japan in recent years, while netlabel Omoide Label has been a pretty reliable place for underground dance music. They team up for Sigh, a three track set starting…
Diskotopia’s Matt Lyne returns with a new A Taut Line song, and it’s a tad disorienting. In a similar vein to his sweat-soaked summer number “In This Heat,” “Clouds At Night” feels surprisingly claustrophobic, a series of dizzying electronics woozing around the song’s main beat. It feels like a bad dream wrapped around a dance…
Arbor Vitae, a new split album featuring Osaka’s own Luka Uemura alongside a handful of other artists, can be purchased as an immediate download…AND, if you act quickly enough (first 30) you can also get a “wooden branch USB” version of the album delivered to your home. This nice item (I can picture the Rainforest…