Calling it a “trend” might be a stretch, but something that has definitely appeared more in Japanese electronic music over the past year is an embrace of traditional sounds. This probably goes in cycles — it wasn’t long ago Omodaka was doing this merger incredibly well, and it has popped up at times since (Seiho, for example, has played around with it) — but it feels a bit more prevalent lately. Artists such as KiWi, Foodman and FAMM’IN have played around with older Japanese instrumentation, combining it with contemporary electronic sounds. Yunomi has toyed around with it a bit recently too — the Hokkaido project’s recent work with Happy Kuru Kuru featured traditional touches, and now comes “Oedo Controller,” which makes them even more prominent. Featuring artist Toriena, “Oedo Controller” also brings in 8-bit sounds, an EDM-festival-ready drop and Technicolor syth, but it’s the traditional touches — from specific instruments to the festival-style rhythm of the chorus — that really sticks out. Listen above.
