The debut song from Dove finds a space between daily life happenings and dreamier escapes. It is the first release from Pure Voyage Records, and the number is written and composed by Le Makeup, a fact that comes through clearly in most elements of “Femm.” The music sounds suitable for Hyper Earthy or other releases from their electronic documents of the everyday, featuring vocals often just out of reach and a slightly faded backdrop often interrupted by more dynamic bits of percussion (see the bridge). But the voice at the center is different, Dove providing a different perspective than Le Makeup releases, while still being captivating in how it captures everyday feelings and longings. Listen above.
New Lucky Kilimanjaro: “Hitori No Yoru Wo Nuke”
For a second there, it looked like Lucky Kilimanjaro was going to become the new Give Me Wallets. That outfit got some buzz with retro-tinged electro-pop material, and quickly found a way in to writing J-pop songs for artists like Yuki. A solid career choice and one resulting in good pop, but it also meant the original project just kind of stalled. Lucky Kilimanjaro has been working behind-the-scenes for major labels more in recent times, including for Tokyo Girls’ Style (with Haru Nemuri!), which…again, cool. But could result in less of what they do.
But they are back, with the bright conga-bounce of “Hitori No Yoru Wo Nuke.” Like their best songs from the past, the power of this one lies in how unrelentingly upbeat it is, the verses skipping along before ratcheting up to a big neon burst come the hook. It’s really pretty simple, but Lucky Kilimanjaro nail the part where you need to keep the pace up and make those moments of wonder hit hard. Listen above.
Inheritance: Ace-Up’s Footworkers’ Delight
It’s important to remember that a large part of the footwork community in Japan (and beyond…especially in Chicago, where it all came from) revolves around dancers. From my living room, it is easy to just focus on the music side, but whenever I go out to an event (even the ones that aren’t billed as giving space to juke proper) you see folks showing off their foot work. Footworkers’ Delight by Ace-Up is a pretty straightforward set of tracks, and while it’s fun to focus on the wonkier mutations of the style, a set like this reminds that the basics can be just as enjoyable and important for the style at large. Jazz gets flipped around on “Desert” while “Flying Heat” delivers one of the most uptempo cuts of the year in this corner of dance music. Voices pop up, sometimes to be looped and other times to be pitch-shifted into new forms. It’s a solid set, and one that serves a greater function well. Get it here, or listen below.
New Paellas: “Weight”
Sparse suits Paellas well. Rarely would I choose to describe the Osaka group as “maximalist,” but “Weight” (if it isn’t fixed by now, I assume the spelling on the video is a typo, based off of streaming site info) strips it down even more, to the point where this sounds like Paellas embracing the whole “modern City Pop” thing that gets tossed around. This is romantic, light guitar strumming rubbing against some vapor-thin electronics, all allowing the sweet nothings of lead singer Matton to come through clearly. Yet all that space isn’t played as pillow talk…this still feels like a late night stroll with a lot weighing on someone’s mind, but maybe with slightly less menace lurking around. And that melancholy still comes through clearly. Listen above.
New (Kinda) City Your City: “Chain”
Update: When you rush to get something up you just saw on YouTube, you’re gonna make mistakes! “Chain” came out a while back, so some of the below is a bit off. But the video, above, is new. Make Believe Melodies regrets the error, and thanks to @nsilvias for the heads up
City Your City have a knack for coming to sonic trends and putting their own warped spin on them. “Chain” dips into the (now passé?) tropical house sound, loading this one up with style-specific details (the main melody, mostly, plus the percussion come the chorus which…like that sub-style, is less about singing and more about the music taking over). Yet it also doesn’t sound particularly tropical, and it leans closer to unnerving territory with the way all the sounds jumble together, and how City Your City’s singing lurks in the back. Yet still, come that hook, something joyful crawls out. Listen above.