Wherein Satanicpornocultshop let their freak flag fly. The New Fuck EP finds the long-running outfit bringing their skittery style to some slightly sleazier material, highlighted by the title track, a sliced-up take on Disco D’s “Fuck Me On The Dancefloor.” The bulk of the EP finds the group trying out ghettotech, using ample amounts of Vocoder-soaked samples come through clearly on the title track and on late jammer “Knob & Slider.” But they let the rhythms themselves do most of the work on the middle part, no words appearing at all on “Slave Teacher” and the vocal tied to the pulsing “What Do You Want To Be” surprisingly PG (fitting, since the sample comes from a Calvin Harris pop number). But the urges underneath come through clearly. Get it here, or listen below.
Chai hasn’t sounded as direct at any point as they do on “Choose Go!” Not all of their songs delve into metaphor and clever fake outs, but more than most do, whether poking at the concept of “kawaii” in modern Japan or simply turning a love song into an ode about dumplings. “Choose Go!” though doesn’t mince words — it’s a song about chasing after the goals you want, complete with motivational passages about how even failure just leads to more chances to try, which is beautiful in its own way. This directness carries over to the sound, which features one of the more direct melodies and bouncy beats they’ve put down, knocked off balance letter in the song but ultimately staying together. It’s fitting for a song about persisting, that it always stays locked in, pushing along like the words demand. Listen above.
“Spring” isn’t Cairophenomenons preferred season, it seems. The latest song from the group finds them taking a less than rosy view on warm weather and cherry blossoms, directly stating a distaste for this stretch of the year while also slipping in plenty of ennui for something else lost along the way. But they mask it well, wrapping “Spring” up in a jaunty guitar melody that gives it a far more upbeat feel. Listen above.
More Tomatoism means more chances to encounter anime samples I don’t know, which is always good for the ol’ noggin. Cute Moments 2017 – 2018 loads up on said vocal snippets (and, uh, Beastie Boy clips jammed up against Kyary Pamyu Pamyu cuts), but this collection of unreleased and deleted tracks also offers as a nice snapshot of Tomatoism’s growth as a producer and all-around skills. Early cuts such as “Right Eye” and “Kouma Hop” load up on neck-twisting bass drops, but then Tomatoism pivots into punishing hyper-speed pop mutations and funkot epics. While speed tends to be prioritized, songs such as “Mikuru” shows a slightly more laid-back style, while “Cat Food…” uses space (and constant song-breaking stops to play out anime dialogue) to create one of the stranger hard-edged bangers to come from a Japanese producer in a while. Get it here, or listen below.
Tofubeats’ Hihatt imprint functions as an ideal artist-lead label. It’s a space where he can put out slow-burning dance sputters that probably make the higher ups at Warner Music sweat if presented for an album under their watch, and offering a chance to highlight other creators doing good work (see last year’s Rubber Band EP by Hajime Iida for one prime example). Ice Do Haus by the project Ice — details hard to find about just who this is — might be the best example of what is possible through this avenue. The titular song, particularly the one with vocals, is a wild bit of acid house constantly on the verge of malfunction. And then the singing comes in, wild and fuzzed over, adding an extra unhinged energy to the rollicking track. Get it here, or listen below.
While we’re here…I wanted to do a post about Tofubeat’s cover of “Plastic Love” by Mariya Takeuchi closer to when it came out, but completely failed on that front. Partially because the story behind what has happened recently with the “Plastic Love” upload that helped turn it into a meme gets complicated: the original upload was taken down due to a copyright claim made by the person who snapped the photo featured in it, which created a vacuum for different “Plastic Love” uploads to enter and…it’s a mess! Tofubeats’ cover, then, signals the chance for an official version of the song — from the same label Takeuchi is on, even! — to enter and pick up some of the fragmentation. It helps that Tofubeats finds the right balance between reverent cover (those horns!) and update for 2019 (digi-touched vocals, especially for the final stretch). Listen below.
