Sprouting Up: Clone’s “Follow Me”

A part of “internet music culture” (for lack of a better description, here mainly referring to bedroom producers using SoundCloud as a primary ground to share music and connect with others) that’s especially interesting is the sources artists opt for, especially the ones leaning on samples from things that make up the details of their daily lives. Maltine Records acts, for instance, have featured lots of anime samples, simply because they like anime. Wave Racer, out of Australia, has worked in like, the sound of Yoshi, in his frantic creations. And then there are Jersey Club makers who grab the latest hot Vine and turn that into a banger.

Tokyo producer Clone went and made a rollicking electronic number using sounds from the video game Pikmin, the game where you cultivate little plant people and then collect treasure. The Pikmin sounds act more like a familiar seasoning, popping up at various times (and, in the most inspired bit, a cascade of Pikmin-related sounds make up the big rush part in the middle, the moment where “Follow Me” joyously flies off the rails). It’s a high-energy track that might hew a little too closely to what you expect “future bass” to sound like, but the Pikmin details add an interesting personal touch to the song and make it far more inviting (uhhhh disclosure, I really liked Pikmin in high school). There’s probably a line connecting this to “Tumblr culture,” but that’s a thinkpiece for another day. For now, Pikmin party music. Listen above.