Make Believe Melodies’ Favorite 2019 Japanese Albums: #20 – #11

Make Believe Melodies’ Favorite 2019 Japanese Albums: #20 – #11

#20 Chelmico Fishing Take a moment to appreciate how timing really is everything, and how many artists could have shot down a different path entirely if you wind the clocks back or forward just one year. It’s not hard to picture a reality where Chelmico are closer to idols like Lyrical School or Rhymeberry if…

New Native Rapper: Trip

We’re firmly in a post-netlabel world. Everything is “internet music” now, and the idea of online as a potential alternative to existing lanes of music has vanished as major players crowd up what seemed like new alternatives. Sure, corners remain for artists to develop their own world, but they are getting blotted out by the…

New Batsu: Half Self

Osaka’s Batsu gets reflective on Half Self. The electronic artist’s latest offers up a fragile set of tracks that often tease going over the edge, but always hold everything back, aiming for something more melancholy than moshing. Not to downplay how springy Batsu’s creations can get — check the zero-gravity “Confess,” seemingly using melodies from…

Mixjam Teams With LANCHR For W – Western Japan Compilation Featuring Native Rapper, Black Lolita And More

Kansai’s music scene has witnessed all sorts of significant changes over the last decade, from the re-implementation of the fueiho laws to their subsequent phasing out a couple years ago, to the migration of many artists from Osaka to Tokyo because…well, trends in living. Yet the W – Western Japan Compilation made between rave-born label…