Producer Seiho has gotten a lot of attention for his more frantic productions, but he’s long been capable of more minimalist sounds too, such as his work with various rappers. His latest, “Pry,” finds him working with American artists Ehiorobo on a horn-accented little strutter full of water sounds (a nice reminder that Seiho is behind this). It’s a spacious number putting the focus primarily on Ehiorobo, who sounds mostly nice (not sure about the food rap, though I also dislike mayonnaise and tuna a lot). Listen above, especially while standing on a sun-drenched porch or deck.
Tag Archives: seiho
Familiar Faces Checking In: New Seiho And New Magical Mistakes Remix
Two songs from Friday, from two of the most talented artists out of Osaka. Seiho shared the “short version” of a song called “Naked,” which you can hear above. After a bit of a busy opening, the song solidifies a bit and is a nice thumping tune…albeit one where bird sounds still sneak into the mix.
Meanwhile, Magical Mistakes remixed the song “The Art Of Escape” by Australian artist Hein Cooper. Considering the original is a pained acoustic number, it is quite safe to say this is pretty complete sonic makeover — Magical Mistakes turns it into a burbling electronic number, although he doesn’t lose the emotional core of the original. Listen below.
Two Things Somewhat Related: New Olive Oil And Seiho’s Remix Of Lo-Fi-Fink
1. The first time I talked to Erik Luebs…who records under the name Magical Mistakes, it was for an article about INNIT, the party he and several other electronic producers (Seiho, And Vice Versa, MFP and more) were throwing in Osaka. At the time, he lived on Kyushu, Japan’s Western most island,so I asked him how the music scene was out there. He mentioned Oil Works, a collective featuring a producer named Olive Oil. I eventually listened and liked it…but I don’t think I ever wrote about them there.
Well, let’s fix that in advance of Olive Oil’s new album, out April 22. The music Olive Oil makes exists somewhere in the same space as Magical Mistakes, Madegg and And Vice Versa, a somewhat jittery electronic approach featuring samples, like a hip-hop beat gone scramble-minded. You can hear “Ki Me Mo Tengsight,” a short but nice preview of the new album above. Or the soul-sampling “Eye’m Gonna Make It,” a tempo trickster, below.
2. Japanese music is not cool now, and it probably has never been particular cool…and probably never will be. Still, there has been a shift in Western artists embracing J-Pop in the vaguest possible ways (a very different path than artists who know Japanese music extremely well and potentially suffer because of the association…such as bo en and Meishi Smile…and the people in PC Music, who I get the sense know their shit). Sweden’s Lo-Fi-Fink took a trip to Tokyo in 2012, and Harajuku pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu left a deep impression on them…according to an interview with Thump doubling as a post premiering new song “Pirate Radio,” which the outlet refers to as J-pop inspired. Now, Lo-Fi-Fink don’t say that…they hint at Kyary’s music helping to influence a cheery atmosphere, which is fair, though I’m not sure why one would have to bring Kyary up at all. Especially since “Pirate Radio” sounds like every Lo-Fi-Fink song I’ve ever heard…upbeat and catchy and pretty good.
Anyway, Lo-Fi-Fink seem earnest enough and they at least doubled-down on the Japan thing by having Seiho remix the song, which you can hear below. It is a bit wonkier…more tight bass slaps, more sudden shifts, more house sounds!…and ultimately more Seiho than J-pop, which is for the best.
New Seiho: “Taboo”
Lord, I can feel the sweat on this song’s back. Seiho has been exploring this terrain for quite some time – locking disparate sounds together in such a way that they sound natural for one another – but on “Taboo” he’s hit on something particularly steamy…like, how muggy a jungle can get. Maybe it stems from a manic hip-twister turning into a saxophone interlude transforming into a…bird-chirped-backed weather channel escape. But man, here Seiho really shows off how good he can be with the texture of sounds. Just listen to those bubble pops! Or those synths! This is a fidgety song, but also an incredibly physical and intimate one. Listen above.
Seiho Remixes Passepied: “Matatabistep”
The end of the year is creeping up on us, which means it is time to start thinking about the memorable albums of the past 12 months. One of the bigger surprises came courtesy of Tokyo rock outfit Passepied, who have been a perpetually pushed “next big thing” for the last few years, though none of their EPs or albums really delivered on the hype – they had their moments, but overall they seemed like an outfit that had a rough idea what they wanted to be (vaguely retro Showa-rock pop built for festivals) but weren’t there yet by a long shot. So this year’s MakunouchiIsm was a great development – anchored by three killer advance singles (highlighted by best-to-date-creation “Tokyo City Underground“) their latest saw them take their sound and get ambitious with it…while also coming across some killer hooks. It isn’t their masterpiece or even a real top-20-of-the-year contender…the biggest compliment and criticism of it is it solidifies Passepied as an outgoing SÅtaisei Riron…but it’s a huge leap in quality and has completely flipped my view on them going forward.
And now, new ambitions. They have a new EP coming out which finds them eyeing the English market…they’ve recorded thumper “Matatabistep” into English, and called up hip-as-heck producer Seiho to remix it for them. That rework is out now, and the Osaka creator turns it into a liquid-limbed Jersey-Club-ish slinker (!!!). It is fun as fuck, and a preview of their English endeavor (sounds alright to me). Listen above.