The Breezesは２００９年に幼なじみ同士で結成された4人組のインディーロックバンド。サイケデリックで浮遊感のある音世界が特徴的で、ロックバンドとしてのフォームを取りながらも、いきなりシンセサイザーを用いたインストアルバムを制作するなど、型にはまらない柔軟なスタイルを打ち出している。以前Private Dubでもインタビューしたので、こちらもどうぞ。
Osaka’s beatmaker Takuma Hosokawa’s solo project, Avec Avec released a free new EP “Oshiete” from the net label Maltine Records.
I first encountered Hosokawa performing at 2.5D with a friend on the way home from Hostess Club Weekender Vol. 1. I remember being really struck by what he was wearing. There’s a rumor that most of his clothes shopping is done in old mom malls in Osaka.
But about this 4 song EP. The title track, featuring female vocalist MOMO, has a beat that drifts around while scattering the scent of good, classic city pop all around. The way the sound seems to expand throughout the universe with radio ready pop, I wouldn’t say it’s dissimilar to AlunaGeorge. And the track “kanashikute yarikirenai” also has a little feeling of James Blake" “Love What Happened Here”.
MakeBelieveMelodies will agree with me when I say this, but for Avec Avec and for Maltine Records, this is probably one of the most put together records we’ve seen in a while from them.
NAOHIROCK and pikey graphics got together to make a music video for “Oshiete”- the result is below. The video has the theme of a city at night, pretty much like I thought it should.
僕がAvec Avecの音楽に最初に出会ったのはHostess Club Weekender Vol.1の帰りに友達と2.5Dに寄ったとき。彼の独特のファッションには度肝を抜かされたなあ。なんか大阪のおばはんが買うような商店街でこしらえているという噂。
４曲入りのこのEP。表題曲にはMOMOという女性シンガーがフィーチャーされていて、浮遊感漂うビートに古き良きシティーポップスの香りが所々に散りばめられている。彼の宇宙遊泳するような音像とラジオ・レディーなポップの融合はなんとなくイギリスのAlunaGeorgeにも似たところがあるな、と思ったり。いや、「悲しくてやりきれない」はJames Blakeの『Love What Happened Here』を彷彿とさせる部分もあったり...。
If you read our Focus corner you may remember the Tokyo electronic unit we introduced a while back, LLLL. The group is so wrapped in mystery it’s still unclear even how to say their name (though I think four-L should be probably right).
After dropping their “LLLL EP”, they have started to find international attention, receiving mentions on The Fadar and other blogs across the world. More recently, they have even been featured in the Guardian’s “June's best music from across the MAP”.
And LLLL have just posted two new songs to their Bandcamp: “Spider Web” and “Drafting Still”.
The unit has once again decided to go with “Name Your Price” for the songs, so give them a listen and figure out their value to you.
Just to get it out there, I honestly don’t have a very clear understanding of the differences between “Electro”, “House”, and “Techno”. I decided to do a little Wikipedia study before introducing Osaka’s Bob Willey to you. Given where it’s from, of course, I don’t know how reliable any of this is, but...
First, electro. Wikipedia says the genre comes from a fusion of American funk and European electronic music popular from 1982-1985. Electro is an abbreviation of “Electro Funk” or “Electro-Boogie”. Ok, so trying to make funky music with electronic sounds is electro.
Back to Bob Willey. Bob puts up a lot of music online through several different projects that casually switch back and forth from the genres mentioned above. One of these projects is Outdoorminer.
"Outdoorminer is me making more beat kinda shit. not pop, something in the same spirit as detroit techno is my aim."
So then, what is techno? Let’s ask Wikipedia.
“Techno is a form of electronic dance music originating in Detroit, Michigan… contrasting with the breezy, optimistic feel of house music at the time, techno aspired to reflect harsh reality with songs of a more political or ideological nature.”
Ok, I think I get it. Now that you mention it, original techno wasn’t about alcohol and fun dance parties, it had a more serious image.
Here is Outdoorminer’s new techno-infused song, “Just You”:
It's a simple, repeated beat with a ghostly vocal sample drifting above. Yet, somewhere, human presence is felt in this nurtured piece. And perhaps the dry quality isn't too far off from Hot Chip, you could say. Wiley himself explains the music as “Maybe not techno by anyone's definition but it's a reinterpretation of the classic definition "George Clinton and Kraftwerk stuck in an elevator".
Another project of Willey goes in the opposite direction with bright, club-ready tracks: this too is just a temporary adventure for Wiley, who says he prefers not to get stuck in one genre.
House? Let's go borrow the definition from Wikipedia.
“House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the American city of Chicago in the early 1980s. Often simply called “house”, it first surfaced in the gay Chicago discotheque 'Warehouse'.”
Hmmmmmmmm ok. House is mainly 4/4, upbeat songs. Short notes and melodies repeated over and over are what keep the songs at such high energy. Techno is said to have been born from house, and as the two look similar in places, it’s common for them to be confused with one another. More than just techno, there are tons of other genres that have their roots in house. Enough to make you dizzy.
Here is “who says the love you”, a song Willey recently released under the name Cloudy Busey. You’ll catch some Latin breakbeats around the midsection.
Cloudy Busey has announced a debut album to be released in the near future to look forward to.
While this article’s original intention was to explain the different genres of electronic music while talking about Bob Willey, I’ve learned that, like Wiley’s music itself, none can be so easily contained. Yet, how music can infinitely expand from one form is something very amazing. Now, I think I can understand better how people are intrigued by it.
Charli XCXはロンドンの歌手/キーボーディスト。彼女のファッションからも溢れるダークな雰囲気とローファイ感溢れるビート、そしてMarina And The Diamondsを彷彿とさせるポップネスをふんだんに散りばめた"Nuclear Seasons"と"Stay Away"で一躍有名に。今年はスウェーデンのガールズユニットIcona Popに激キャッチーなサマーソング"I Love It"を提供したり、いきなりフリーで楽曲をドロップしたり大忙し。RobynやGlasserのプロデューサー（Ariel Rechtshaid＆Patrik Berger）と今年のリリースを目安にデビューアルバムを制作中らしい。
実はこの子まだ19歳！今ロンドンのアートスクールに通っているんだって！
そんな彼女が今週「シネマ」をテーマにした２０分のフリーMIX TAPEをリリース。Goriila Vs BearによるとKILL BILLやAMERICAN BEAUTYなど４つの映画からインスパイアされた楽曲をピックしてカバーするというプロジェクトのようです。自身の新曲もいくつか含まれています。
以下のウィジェットからダウンロードできます。
こちらがトラックリストになります。
Charli XCX :: HEARTBREAKS AND EARTHQUAKES
Beyond the Black Rainbow 1) Champagne Coast – Charli XCX / Blood Orange
2) How Can I – Charli XCX
3) Grins – Charli XCX / Blood Diamonds
The Craft
4) So Far Away – Charli XCX / Paul White
Kill Bill
5) Dreams Money Can Buy – Charli XCX / Drake / Jai Paul
Cruel Intentions 6) Lock You Up – Charli XCX
7) Spoons – Charli XCX / Rudimental
American Beauty
8) You’re The One (Odd Future’s The Internet remix feat. Mike G) – Charli XCX
This time we'll be introducing Osaka resident Matt Aguiluz's Electro-Psychedelic unit "A Living Soundtrack". The band originally started in New Orleans (apparently).
Their newest release, "How To Grow A City", mixes acoustics and electronics to make what develops into a soundscape fused with rivers of nostalgic psychedelia. All songs are instrumental, accentuating Aguiluz's flexible arrangements (Aguiluz writes all the music for the band) as well as the dynamics and tension the band brings together. Track 5, "Video Game, the Movie", with its alluring chiptune sound is a noted highlight.
The name of both the band and the album give an overall grandiose feel to the work, not betrayed by the cross between the icy electronic sounds and the warmth from the acoustics: there is a strange familiar feeling, and the listener can almost see music sculpting a city. Please give the album a try. Each track may be listened to in the player below.
Upcoming show:
Frontman Matt Aguiluz will be doing a solo show/exhibition in Shinmachi Osaka, July 29th at Ands Cafe.
Aguiluz will bring 8 cassette players to use in a 30 minute performance. Each cassette will contain different sounds and melodies; all cassettes will be played simultaneously.
"It should be an interesting night. It's something unique that people may not get to experience very often."
Details:
Place: Ands Cafe
Date: 7/29
Time: 7:00 PM
Charge: 1000 yen (pays for 2 drinks)
今回紹介するのは、大阪在住のアーティストMatt Aguiluz率いるエレクトロサイケデリックユニット、A Living Soundtrack。もともとはアメリカのニューオリンズで結成されたみたい。
最新アルバム"How To Grow A City"では、生音とエレクトロニクス、そして懐古感が漂うサイケデリアを融合したサウンドスケープを展開。ボーカルレスながらも、全ての楽曲の作曲を担当するAguiluzの柔軟性のあるアレンジメントと、バンドならではのアンサンブルから生まれるダイナミズムと緊張感が味わえます。特にチップチューンの質感がたまらない５曲目の"Video Game, The Movie"は圧巻。
最近、Largo (L.A.のクラブ）でWatkins Family Hour Showの撮影をして、私はもう歌う準備が出来ていた。集中して感情を吐き出すことを楽しみにしていたの。とってもシリアスだった。でも、ワンダフルなPaul F. Tompkinsがホストで、曲の間にコメディをやるなんて気づいてなかった。彼が近くにやってきて私とジョークをやろうとしたから、私は「そういうのやらないから」って言っちゃってね。なんかビッチっぽいでしょ。でも口から出ちゃったのよ。本当は「どうやったらいいかわからないし、何か面白いことやるなんて知らなかった。」と言おうと思ったのに。無礼な気持ちになっちゃって、何週間か凹んだわ。そんなにヒドくは聞こえないかもしれないけど、本当に恥ずかしかったのよ。
その瞬間「あ、これはデモを作っているんじゃないんだ---これが完成品になるんだ。私とCharleyはこれからアルバムを作るんだ。」と言ったの。それからは楽しくなっていったわ。"Anything We Want"という曲で、ライブでは私はアホみたいなパイプの楽器を演奏しているんだけど、実際は机で、ハサミと薫製の杉のチップが入ったブリキの缶とプラスチックコップの音なんだ。何でもハサミで叩いちゃったから、杉がいろんなところに飛んでいったわ。
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