Tag Archives: house of tapes

Might as well end a banner year with a bang, right? Tanukineiri and House Of Tapes both had strong years – and they’ve basically been tied together in 2013, House Of Tapes being one of two obvious candidates as the label’s major musical representative (the other is May.e). So, for the Nagoya producers third album, why not put out a digital release that actually seeks to make a little money too? Release it on iTunes, Amazon and even Spotify (no excuses, non-Japan readers), and now Tanukineiri is making strides beyond being a simple netlabel. That’s Warped Colors from the imprint’s side.

For House Of Tapes, this is the final proof that the project has moved beyond the black-hole-conjuring beats making up the bulk of his first two albums. Warped Colors features the aggression that has earned him attention, but it also finds House Of Tapes trying out some new sonic twists. “Mellow Days” is practically two different songs stringed into one, full of twinkles and (a few) gritty synth drills. Vocals…whether shrouded in mist (“Twinkle”) or scrabbled messes (“Mass”)…appear more than ever before. Most importantly, House Of Tapes is really experimenting with structure – before, he was making pure sonic battering rams. Now these songs have lots of twists and turns…along with a physical edge…and Warped Colors is a very rewarding listen. Get it on iTunes, Amazon or stream it on Spotify.

It took some time, but Nagoya’s House Of Tapes has been starting to push himself into more interesting sonic directions as of late. The project started out as a noisy thing taking conventional dance-music structures and seeing just how heavy he could make his take on floor-filling stuff. This meant a lot of four-on-the-floor beats grinding up against steely synths, all with the volume turned up significantly. Recently, though, House Of Tapes has been moving beyond just pure loudness, and recently uploaded song “Warped” offers the best example of this shift yet. Don’t get it twisted – it’s still LOUD. But there is a lot going on now – noises bounce all over the place, seemingly nothing but a crystaline synth line deep in the mix bolted down to the floor. It is House Of Tapes at his wildest and, at first glance, seems like a total rejection of form altogether. But then he pulls a fast one – “Warped” is his most thought out song to date, as it goes through various sections, from down-low hip-hop beat to barely there interlude. There is plenty of fury along the way, but this is some complex chaos. Listen below.

https://soundcloud.com/house-of-tapes/warped

That Nagoya’s House Of Tapes’ debut album Trip Science is an enjoyable experience at all is a small miracle. That sounds harsh, the darkest shade one could throw, but I don’t mean that in a dismissive or ironically surprised way. House Of Tapes’ music has always sounded like a sonic endurance test, the dance-music equivalent of being forced to watch every Gasper Noe film in succession. He’s always categorized his music as “house,” but that has always ben too simple a description. This music is heavy, blasted-out stuff that often sounds crushing.

Yet Trip Science works as an album, mostly because of how committed to his often pummeling sound Hose Of Tapes is. It’s not entirely a heavy affair – bell chimes pop up on “Chaos Tape” while late track “Faint Light” is the one moment on the album where House Of Tapes opens the shades a bit – but the bulk of this release focuses on hard-hitting beats and electronics that sound like they are being sucked into a black hole. Previously released songs like “Starting Point” and the appropriately titled “Noise Attack” still carry the same impact they did when they appeared last year, but now sit comfortably within Trip Science’s frame. This is challenging stuff, but not a challenge to listen to. Get it here.