Last year in Japanese music, for me at least, was defined by the experimental meaning-we-do-not-need-no-meaning-here wonder of producers such as Foodman, DJWWWW and Toiret Status. Their chaotic but delightfully dizzying exercises in exploring sounds — regardless of how out there those noises got — crystalized the most head-spinning movement in the country going, and made…
#20 Cicada Formula It’s easy to recreate the past, as no shortage of Japanese bands borrowing from ’80s city pop and ’90s acid jazz have shown in recent years (and, really, globally…this is all Daft Punk’s fault). Cicada’s earliest work slid in nicely to this safe but oftentimes overly familiar space. But Formula decided to…
American imprint Squiggle Dot just released three albums from a trio (or, maybe 2.5, as one is a split with another artist outside the country) of Japanese artists, each hitting on different pleasure centers. Boogie Idol’s Mall Pop Hits is a great place to lead off, the Tokyo producer’s crystalline synthesizers and BGM-ready beats intertwining…
It has been a good year for Japanese artists creating catchy music out of chaos. DJWWWW (we will decide on the proper stylization one day, I swear) found beauty in the overwhelming world of pachinko, while Foodman taped together all sorts of sounds to create a wonky and absorbing wonder with Ez Minzoku. Isamu Yorichika’s…