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New Stones Taro: “Insane” EP

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It feels like Stones Taro has been keeping busy in 2019, releasing on all kinds of labels and generally just delivering quality each time. The Insane EP comes from Italy’s Bellissima!, but follows in the footsteps of the tracks he’s put out via Japan’s NC4K. These are slightly loopy house tracks teasing a little bit of that “lo-fi” sound but never indulging in novelty. Stones Taro sticks to a club-ready bounce on the title track (and the acid-smeared remix that follows), letting the vocal sample handle all of the hazy feelings. Get it here, or listen below.

At Long Last, “Delicious Beats 4 Sale​!” Compiled Completely

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Over the past year, Kool Switch Works’ Delicious Beats 4 Sale​! series has been giving space for artists both frequently present in the country’s footwork and ghettotech communities, and those often working outside of it, a chance to share new tracks. It hasn’t been just limited to those styles, as they’ve also given artists such as Foodman room to explore his sonic take on what an oyaji sounds like (like someone vomiting, it turns out) and Limited Toss the chance to go really long. Going through four comps isn’t too daunting a task, but Kool Switch Works just made it much easier by bringing all the songs together on this complete set. Get a great overview of dance music over the past year below, or get it here.

Fantasy Maker: Lil Demotapes’ “Wanna Be Your Idol”

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There’s a delicate dance going on “Wanna Be Your Idol.” Lil Demotape — the team of Valknee and Ryopichi — isn’t an idol project exactly, seeing as those involved lean closer to rap than anything else. Yet “Wanna Be Your Idol” embraces the cheery pace of idol pop, if not quite adhering to that corner of J-pop totally. Valknee still raps over the house-inspired bounce, and the whole number sounds closer to Tomggg channeling RIP SLYME than anything from Dear Stage. Yet the pair nail the bubbly energy, and most importantly craft a really great hook for this one. Get it here, or listen below.

New Ayumiko Featuring Nozaki Rikon: “Yako”

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The latest from Aymiko works best when simply conjuring up a dream-like state. “Yako” swirls about, giving space for Aymiko to deliver lyrics that unfold at her own pace, everything surrounding her adding a certain tension. Guest Nozaki Rikon proves to be a hit-or-miss addition — as someone adding a few spoken-word dollops of creepiness behind Aymiko, he’s great. That rap at the very start though derails the atmosphere and can’t end quickly enough. Thankfully, it does, allowing the focus to return to those involved really making this one stick around. Listen above.

New tofubeats: “Keep On Lovin’ You”

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This one’s taken a few plays to really wrangle with, but the latest single form tofubeats works when zooming in on the details. Taken as a whole “Keep On Lovin’ You” offers up some easy-going pop that imagines a best-case Maroon 5 circa turn of the century (OK, a far better comparison would be a group like SHE IS SUMMER, who create straightforward but catchy cuts touching on city pop that aren’t so obvious about it. This is actually pointing towards a greater trend, but more on that some other day). The best parts, though, come by zooming in to see tofubeats’ approach to putting something like this together. His vocals remain a nice splash of character — he’s fully embraced his digi-soaked singing, allowing himself to be the center rather than guest vocalists, which has been one of the biggest triumphs for tofubeats in recent years — while individual moments like his voice rippling off in the distance leave a mark. The guitar loops sound apt for summer, and when he lets those flutes come in after the first chorus, that’s some heavenly stuff. Listen above.