New Tomggg Featuring Bonjour Suzuki: “Tick Tock Skip Drop”

Tomggg isn’t an immediate contender for “most influential Japanese electronic producer of the last few years,” yet looking over the sea of SoundCloud players and Bandcamp offerings tagged “kawaii” reveal he might just very well be worthy for consideration. Powered on by songs such as “Popteen” and (especially) “Butter Sugar Cream,” his cutesy take on bass music — loaded up with chimes and bells, but also ready to transform into a rush at a moment’s notice — has trickled down to a new generation of producers who pop up on Fogpak compilations or share music coupled with anime avatars. The seeds of last decades biggest netlabels are starting to sprout, and Tomggg’s sound has proven to be deeply vital to a lot of younger creators.

Well, he’s still going too. Tomggg has a new album called Art Nature out on May 18th, and for the first taste of it he has teamed up with another artist known for a kawaii side, electronic artist / rapper Bonjour Suzuki for “Tick Tock Skip Drop.” The cuddly touches remain — jangles and pastel-colored synth swoops and Suzuki’s airy vocals — but it is also a bit more dramatic in construction than many of his earlier number. This one starts like a skipper before turning into a jet coaster, complete with drop. Befitting of someone who has shaped so many artists in the country, he’s already zipping off into a new direction. Listen above.