Maltine Records – for the people. Besides offering all of their releases for free online, the netlabel is not afraid to theme compilation albums around things open to everyone. Shimin Poolside translates to “community poolside,” which is to say this isn’t music meant for the elites lounging around some ivory-fenced swimming hole. Nope, this is…
It sometimes feels stupid to describe a song as being “perfect for Summer” (or any specific time), like it’s a cop out in regards to poking deeper into a piece of music. Even when the artist advertises it as so! Yet here I am, confronted with Osamu Ansai’s “Woman,” a Maltine-backed track, that really begs…
This last year has seen a handful of electronic-heavy acts, outfits unafraid to mess around with vocals and tempo to create something that a few have labelled “future pop” because of how left-field it sounds for something capable of topping charts. English acts like AlunaGeorge and Disclosure, Scotland’s Chvrches and Canada’s Purity Ring have been…
Try listening to the latest Maltine Records release while dozing off. Doesn’t matter if it’s during a lull in the work day, or right before bed, or even after taking a handful of cold pills and a cup of Nyquil (ahem). Something interesting happens when you just let this play, taking your eyes off the…
Over the past week, prominent Tokyo netlabel Maltine Records has released two excellent (and free!) releases worth more than the 30-some seconds they take to download. First came the imprint’s 117th release – Carpainter’s hyper-colorful Double Rainbow EP. Maltine describe this one as sounding “future,” and they are certainly onto something – the four songs…