Make Believe Mailer 31: Bandcamp Friday Special December 2021
The Last One (!) (?)
I used to write a feature for Otaquest rounding up some Japanese recommendations for Bandcamp Friday. I’ve decided to keep doing that for the remaining installments of this campaign. Here’s the December 2021 edition…which might be the final one, as this is the last scheduled Bandcamp Friday??? What a journey we’ve been on!
Ableton Sisters — Sewing Machine 003
Dance trio Ableton Sisters have been one of the best new Tokyo electronic projects to emerge this year, with their Sewing Machine EPs showcasing each member of the trio’s perspective on club-ready material. They’ve closed out 2021 by completing the trilogy — Sewing Machine 003 allows space for catharsis via the surging “Animal Chakra” and the damper dubstep of “Lazurite,” but the bulk of the release leans towards the more contemplative. Samples ripple like lake water and guitars offer the gentlest bridge to synth melodies, tracks more interested in carving out space to chill than chase ecstasy on the floor. It’s a fitting landing strip for the year — they’ve already offered up plenty of bangers, “Ginger Ale” is still on my tongue — and a fine closing moment for Ableton Sisters first 12 months together. Get it here. And add this single track with it.
Chip Tanaka — Domani
One of, if not the, most accomplished video game composers of all times continues to remind that you don’t need to be staring at a TV, controller in hand, to appreciate 8-bit sounds. Chip Tanaka is a virtuoso songwriter who just happens to prefer cartridge-born bleeps and bloops as his instrument of choice. Domani reminds of how much sonic possibility exists in this palette, especially when left to a master. Get it here.
Hiroki Yamamura — Millenium / Topaz
The 2010s produced so many fantastic Japanese electronic artists, it’s understandeable that a lot of them got lost in the post-netlabel mix of SoundCloud, Bandcamp, subscription streaming, rave-only CD and convention rarity. Hiroki Yamamura is a name I haven’t thought about in quite some time, but he’s got some fantastic songs to his name — “Frosty Cake” should be archived as a decade highlight — and now he’s back, with two new ones for Bandcamp Friday! Little has changed though, as he’s still making heart-skipping dance built around sliced-up vocals. Like we never had a digital goodbye. Get it here.
Yolabmi — Before Your Past Lives
The familiar sounds of the natural world, soon crushed underneath electronic sound. Tension captured in nine parts. Get it here.
Yosuke Homma — Quatere EP
I don’t know why this month is so heavy on electronic music, but I’m not complaining. Coming out of Hokkaido, Yosuke Homma’s Quatere EP is a busy set of songs letting themselves burn up over their run times, making them ideal for those looking to lose themselves in club-ready sounds (even if they still aren’t quite ready to miss the last train to spend a night in a poorly ventilated spot). Get it here.
Serph — Psychic Music
Part of me just wants to put down Noble’s description of the album and leave it at that — “Please listen to Serph's new work "Psychic Music", which will later become an OOPArt. We promise you a next-level pop experience, similar to witnessing the moment when your soul comes out of your body.” Like…damn, most albums provide you a download link, this one offers a spiritual reckoning. I’m sad to say my soul remains firmly caught inside its pudgy prison, but Serph has delivered…a really above average Serph album! This is jittery sample-sliced dance pop in the vein of friend / collaborator De De Mouse, with the attention to detail Serph bring to how they stitch everything together to create a whole work that’s heart racing. Get it here.
Milk Talk — “Transistor Lover”
The Hair Kid and Q.i’s Milk Talk project has been a solid source of retro-tinged pop with winking modern twists — fitting, seeing as their early collaboration “Plastic New York” threads this particular needle perfectly — and “Transistor Lover” continues that blend. A step more relaxed than previous singles from the pair, it still features the synth flourishes and glowing vocals that have defined them up until now. Get it here.
Ni Mariko — The Parallax View
Whether because the pandemic or just the inevitable reality of a digital future, more rock projects in Japan lean into computer technology to create their songs. Ni Mariko, formerly of the band HOMMヨ, embraced “desktop music” for The Parallax View, her debut solo album which retains the spirit of her old crew but uses touches provided by computers to create a more unsettling, immersive experience. The songs here rumble and at times lurch forward, with Mariko’s voice holding them together as uneasy as they get. Get it here.
Carpainter — Super Dance Tools Vol. 2
When I listen to releases like this — pure dancefloor adrenaline, somehow even more geared towards the pleasure connectors of my brain than the non super dance tool Carpainter releases, which are still on one — I wonder how much of a fool a younger version of myself would have made hearing this during a night out. While hardly a hooligan, I could certainly go a little too hard about a decade ago…like, I saw TNGHT in 2011 and had access to a “special VIP area” (read: a separate bar line that wasn’t even faster than the regular one) and I remember waking up on the floor of a Tokyo Metro train. Anyway, these songs make me feel that old itch, though thankfully I’m mature enough to simply shuffle around an office chair while listening to it. Get it here.
XTAL — QUIET SPACE FOR QUIET LIFE Part.1 & 2
A necessary comedown after all the raging above. Get it here.
hirihiri — duckweed
The initial attraction to this special release from hirihiri is the chance to hear hyperpop production minus the vocals, which are such a central part to this niche of music that hearing them suddenly absent feels like a revelation. Until realizing said realization is that…this is kind of what electronic music uploaded to SoundCloud sounded like from 2012 to 2015. No knock there though — it’s important to be reminded of the history shaping the sounds of now you love, and hirihiri makes sure these songs are fun, including some very welcome nightcore. Get it here.
Aunt Sally — Aunt Sally (1979)
A reissue most important because it chronicles the starting point of Phew, but even stripped of its significance for the Japanese experimental timeline…great album! It’s a set caught between the emerging nerviness of new wave Japan (Aunt Sally emerging at around the same time as The Plastics and P-Model, but before this corner of rock truly established itself) and the slowly fading folk of college campuses. That tension…one only heightened when you do allow yourself the future spoiler of knowing where Phew went…makes this a riveting listen, even 40 years down the line. Get it here.
Probably will write a longer speel on this later but…Make Believe Melodies is now on Ko-fi! This newsletter will always be free, but just in case you want to offer up a tip, here’s a way to do that. Maybe some day they’ll be some kind of perk? One step at a time though.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies