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Tag Archives: MADEGG

New Madegg: “Paper Plane”

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1. Madegg releases so much music nowadays that keeping up with every new upload has become a fool’s errand. I could devote an entire blog just to his output, and end up with a pretty healthy amount of posts over the course of one week. The tracks come so quickly…and also vanish just as fast…that covering it would be pointless. So I’m only going to write about his significant releases, whether they be EPs, albums or really really really good songs. Everything else can be found at his SoundCloud. We know the kid is good, you don’t need me to tell you that with every single release.

2. “Paper Plane” is really really really good, and shows growth from the Kyoto producer. It comes in at 11-and-a-half minutes, one of his longest works yet, and Madegg makes the most of each minute. It starts simply enough – some refined keyboard playing, a bit of knob-twiddling and what sounds like vinyl being scratched by a needle. It’s Madegg at his most peaceful, the sort of music you expect to hear being played in a Zen rock garden. The really breathtaking part happens in the vast middle section, though, after he introduces percussion. For seven minutes, Madegg adds and subtracts sonic elements without ever disrupting “Paper Plane’s” flow, this section feeling more like one well-put-together mix rather than a song. Everything flows together wonderfully – the beat changes constantly, including appearances from Madegg’s kitchen-sink percussion, and the synths overlap carefully. The final portion ditches any hint of drums in favor of celestial escape through some Aurora-like synths, a musical passage that sounds like elevation after all that came before it. Listen below.

3. Madegg has a new album out on Flau! It’s called Tempera, and it’s actually a t-shirt that comes with a download code. You should buy it. Like right now.

Kansai Update: Madegg, TalkingCity1994

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Time for our weekly stop by Madegg’s place to see what’s new…surprise, new music! I’ve had small debates with people about the Kyoto producer’s decision to flood SoundCloud with so much music – they say it goes too far, to the point where keeping track of EPs and other releases becomes an extremely difficult task. I think that, though the dude does release a lot, he manages to make his EP and (forthcoming) full-length releases stand out, the stray songs surrounding them being treats in advance of the main meal. Here, then, are some snacks fresh out of Madegg’s proverbial kitchen. Well, “snacks” may not be the right word, as “Fall” and “Winter Minder (Extended Version)” are some of the longest tracks in Madegg’s ever-increasing collection. “Fall,” which you can hear below, is especially impressive, a moody piece incorporating natural sounds.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/44966981″ iframe=”true” /]

TalkingCity1994 also aren’t strangers to releasing a lot of music, so “Common Song” springing to existence on a random Wednesday isn’t surprising. What is a bit of a jolt – how catchy it ends up, especially given the vocals sounding like they were filtered through a broken kazoo. Yet TalkingCity1994 still manage to hit on a catchy melody that makes the rougher touches easier to swallow. Listen below.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/44952020″ iframe=”true” /]

Madegg Update: “Yesi” And “Wolfgang”

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Kyoto producer Madegg releases new song so quickly that writing about them all as they come out would be a fool’s errand. Sure, it would make my job a little easier, but would be a bit of overkill even coming from one of the best young beat makers in Japan today. Instead, I’ve resorted to doing occasional updates about Madegg, dropping by to have a cup of coffee and see what’s new. With Madegg, he always has a lot to share.

The paradox of Madegg, though, is that even though he posts new music online all the time, his creations have been getting longer. He’s becoming more content to stretch out his sounds and get lost in them, let ’em burn out instead of be capped off early. “Yesi” and “Wolfgang” are great examples of this, the prior clocking in at over five minutes and the latter going over the seven-minute mark. “Yesi,” the newer of the pair, starts off as a pretty typical Madegg work – kitchen percusion surrounded by drifting synths, before a more traditional beat settles in. By pulling the song out, Madegg is able to bring in sonic ideas that initially seem at odds with the original song but are applied so liberally they end up the defining characteristic. Video game noises and jazzy snippets bringing to mind Madegg’s past infatuation with dusty pianos abound.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/44168225″ iframe=”true” /]

“Wolfgang,” meanwhile, moves a bit more deliberately, every electronic gurgle building towards something that then builds to something else. Madegg isn’t so much using extra time to discover as utilizing the seconds to build anticipation for his next reveal. From someone so eager to post new material, “Wolfgang” is one of his most patient works yet.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/43854993″ iframe=”true” /]

Oh hey and in other news…Madegg plans on releasing his debut full-length for Flau in May. It’s called Tempera, and you can learn more about it over here. Here’s a lil’ “hell yeah” for that.

Make Believe Mix For March 2012 Featuring Madegg, DUB-Russel And Rapunzel8083

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[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/41754116″ iframe=”true” /]

March ended up being a bit of a strange month, at least by the looks of the mix. There are moments of straight-forward pop, like on TalkingCity1994’s “Long Hot Summer Remembered” and The Mari On The Beach’s “AM Boy/FM Girl.” Yet even those otherwise pleasurable cuts go through filters that turn them into stranger things. Elsewhere, Madegg acts like Madegg, while Tokyo’s DUB-Russel offer up a cacophonous number that is far more than just noise. Finishing the mix is Rapunzel8083’s constantly morphing “月光,” a journey all its own.

Below is a list of artists and songs appearing in this month’s mix, in chronological order. Click the links to read more about them and find out how to buy/get their music. All artists featured gave me permission to include their music in this mix.

TalkingCity1994 “Long Hot Summer Remembered” – From the I Can Feel Your Soul EP. Free download here.

Madegg “Zudon” – From the Teach EP, on Flau Records. Buy here.

The Mari On The Beach “AM Boy/FM Girl” – From Get Out Of Making Music. Buy it here.

DUB-Russel “Choose Low” – From Prank Poles. Buy here.

Rapunzel8083 “月光” – Online upload. Listen to more here.

Kansai Update: Madegg, OMEGABOY And INNIT (Tessei Tojo, Ket-Suice, Mononomonooto And Fumitake Uchida)

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I don’t know how these kids do it, but the beat scene in Kansai has given rise to a group of young artists capable of just firing off tracks. So…here’s a collection of tracks from some of the best around. First off, Kyoto’s Madegg just doesn’t rest. Fresh off releasing a (very good) album on Flau Records, he’s posted several new songs, most prominent of the lot a long-banging number called “19.” Over the past few months, Madegg has tried on new styles like he’s buying back-to-school clothes at Uniqlo, and with “19” he takes a stab at dubstep. Not the bass-heavy drop-stravaganzas Skrillex makes and are talked about by anyone who reads Rolling Stone, but rather the dubstep of 2008. Madegg stretches “19” out to seven minutes, yet each one ends up mattering. Listen below.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/40986100″ iframe=”true” /]

A little to the south, in Osaka, OMEGABOY continues experimenting with his brand of bedroom-dance music. New cut “Homeo Kamoe” comes off as louder than some of his older releases, but the chaos blends into a cohesive track that is easy to get lost in. Listen below.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/40908395″ iframe=”true” /]

Finally, electronic-event INNIT posted a collection of four songs recently from artists who brought music to the last event in Osaka. The four producers selected – Tessei Tojo, Ket-Suice, Mononomonooto and Fumitake Uchida – certainly fit into the experimental-beat scene INNIT promotes, and each track is worth your time. I’m especially fond of Mononomonooto’s inclusion, which incorporates sounds of youth into the mix.

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