At this point, trying to pin Japan’s booming indie electronic scene to one specific geographic region besides “the Internet” seems silly. Osaka – and, really, Kansai – used to be the go-to place, but now new branches of this community have sprung up everywhere, from Fukuoka to Hiroshima to Sapporo. It doesn’t really matter that Imdkm hails from Kyoto because his album Fischblut popped up in the ether that is Bandcamp. This artist appears to be tied to no one and just sorta showed up. And uploaded a really solid collection of electronic music in the process.
The actual sounds here are just as all over the place. The opening title track takes cues from footwork music but never really turns into anything that could be classified as that. Instead, it builds on that style’s rapid-fire beats, but tries out different things around it. Same goes for “Blast,” where all sorts of stray synths…some of which sound like they were recorded off a cheap toy laser gun…zoom by, making for a dizzying listen. “Flow” and “Seventy Four” imagine what i-fls’ homemade electronic music would sound like if it were transformed into dance music, the latter boasting actual sampled voices. The highlight…and the reason Imdkm warrants this post…is “Butter And Jelly.” It’s the album’s most uptempo number, one stuffed with bright electro details that make it absurdly fun to listen to. Listen below, or get it here.