There’s a stretch of maybe 90 seconds where I am trying to figure out where the sample on Soleil Soleil’s newest song “If I Could” comes from. The Osaka producer has turned to samples frequently in the past — sometimes from Akon — so it seemed natural to think he was once again playing around with some vocals, pushing and pulling it like chewed-up gum amongst all those synth sparkles and the pounding beat. Then it clicked — “that’s not a sample at all.” It’s actually Bob from Osaka indie-pop outfit Ice Cream Shout/Cloudy Busey/Outdoorminer, who has been quiet for a while (or I totally blanked on something he did), but shows up here to deliver a great vocal that (mutated or not) matches up well with Soleil Soleil’s music. Listen above.
Tag Archives: Soleil Soleil
Soleil Soleil Remixes Rhye: “Open”
Rhye are, weirdly, one of those inescapable outfits in Japan. I’ve heard songs by the group in supermarkets and in McDonald’s, and their stark “Open” was on rotation at Starbucks Japan last month (where do you think half these posts get written?). I’d like to think that Osaka house producer Soleil Soleil similarly found himself surrounded by the song while buying groceries, and realized “hey, this is begging to be turned into a floor filler!” Well, whatever the inspiration, he’s done just that, taking the spacious original and jacking it up significantly. Listen above.
New Soleil Soleil: “Miss You”
Not to dwell on 2014 too much…the new calendar is out, we are all trying to forget the past 12 months happened…but Osaka producer Soleil Soleil’s Sense collection came pretty close to bum rushing our personal top-20 album list, probably existing at like, 23 or 24 for those who love specific rankings. He’s off to a strong start in the New Year with the beach-ready “Miss You,” a skittery bouncer built for slow-burning summer sunsets. Soleil Soleil grabs some vocals from an Akon song, putting the spotlight on the juiciest snippets (“you are the apple of my eye”) while bending other samples into pure sonic sweetness. Listen above.
That’s One Way To Launch: New Label Neo-Mo-De Records Releases New EPs By Kai Takahashi And Soleil Soleil
A new label…whether they be net-centric or capable of producing physical object…isn’t a particularly newsworthy development. Imprints start up all the time, so Kyoto outfit Neo-Mo-De Records initially look like yet another bunch of people with wi-fi and musical ambitions, even if they are planning an event in Yokohama this January. Yet Neo-Mo-De demands attention with their first two offerings, from two names in the Japanese indie-electronic community always worth checking out. Their debut release is by producer Kai Takahashi, the three-song Soda Pop. Takahashi has kept busy in 2014 – he released the Sweet Vacation Part 1 album, and he’s the lead singer in the afternoon-breezy group Lucky Tapes – but this trio of songs highlight everything great about his style. His earliest creations were mostly colorful creations, which is how these songs play out, albeit with an extra dash of splayed samples ala bo en or Wave Racer. “Party Talk” takes a De-De-Mouse-ish approach to vocal samples, before going full playroom bounce. “Be Crazy” is the best song here, built off a a vocal hook backed by head-nodding beat and splashes of colorful synth. Only the title track finds Takahashi himself singing, and that one has a heck of a shiny finale. Listen to it below.
Their second outing comes courtesy of Osaka’s Soleil Soleil, with the finely titled Love Is The Greatest Refreshment In Life EP. The title track is a slow-burning bit of tropical house featuring Kyoto artist Littlebear providing vocals, made all the sweeter by flute samples and some fantastic steel drum. The rest of the EP is solid enough – Boys Get Hurt offers a solid remix of the title track, and Littlebear swings by for the other original song, the more fidgety “Don’t Matter” – but “Love Is The Greatest Refreshment In Life” is the young label’s strongest shot yet. Listen below.
New Soleil Soleil: “Shine”
Look, I’m watching the second half of this Japan-Colombia World Cup game and it is stupid stressful, here is a new song from Osaka’s Soleil Soleil, it’s good. Back to sitting all scrunched up like seeing if Japan can score two goals….