Call this coffee house music, except it tries to break your focus from your MacBook Pro. Osaka’s Maokoto Murakami makes an extremely minimal type of dance music, the sort of thing not blasting out of any club I’ve ever walked by in the city. This stuff probably plays better on Sunday morning anyway, Murakami making sure to leave a little space over his pieces but never forgetting to gift them a pulse. The piano-heavy “Autumn Garden” avoids the house-centric move of turning the keys into a hook, instead crafting them into atmosphere well the laid-back drum pattern and slight warps to the surface ripple across. It’s an easy-going track that almost isn’t there. More impressive is “Silent People,” which edges even closer to the void. It reminds me of something that could have appeared on DJ Sprinkles excellent Midtown 120 Blues, bridging the gap between proper dance music and ambient swirl. All punctuated by a stuttering vocal sample and piano flourishes. Listen to both songs below.
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