Make Believe Mailer 48: Bandcamp Friday Special September 2022
A Summer Catch Up
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 September 2022 edition…which comes after a three-month-ish break, during which I wrote about no shortage of Bandcamp releases in the weekly round-up posts. You should go through those too, give me the views to boost my ego!
I’ll avoid revisiting releases already featured around these parts — though go download newest from Guchon, Noah, i-fls, MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS, Carpainter, Gimgigam, Rave Racers and many more — and focus on some overlooked offerings and newer releases. Enjoy!
Fuji Chao — yay
Two albums from this year I have no idea how to write about:
1. Yurufuwa Gang’s GAMA, a towering accomplishment to being both focused and constantly distracted, with the duo zooming all over the sonic world and remixing the present in near real time. A 2022 heavyweight where I have no idea how to navigate.
2. Fuji Chao’s Yay. A longtime favorite, the bedroom creator has long exemplified for me the thrills and possibility the act of creating in your own private space can bring. Her music is at times incredibly earnest and painful — the opener here finds her screaming under a layer of reverb and sampled string screeches, expunging a year’s worth of wait in seconds. Yay features a lot of tinkering, with multiple versions of the same song out on display, though each one carries plenty of differences both sonically and emotionally. Everything retains a handmade quality, from the drum machine sprayfire to the synth palpitations of racing through “Uraraka.” It’s one of the year’s finest, but like all of her work before it, so personal as to feel like you’ve walked in on a room you weren’t meant to see. Get it here.
upusen — Birds
Ready-to-indulge nostalgia can feel so easy. Producer upusen occasionally trots into the cliche on Birds when getting too enamored with the analog vibes of songs like the title track, itself feeling like a Xerox (remember that!?!?) of earlier retromania exercises. Yet when upusen lets the edges fray and the easy melodic pleasure turn into something a touch more unnerving — “Kangaroo,” “Data Hugs” — the whole project becomes much more intriguing. Thankfully, the bulk of Birds is more unsettling — or at least unhurried, evoking chillwave in all its melted-popsicle wonder — and as a result a much better listen to soak in. Get it here.
T5UMUT5UMU — “Möbius”
Instant teleportation to the dankest corner of some Shibuya club, the kind that could spring for a smoke machine but can’t get the floor properly cleaned. Heavy, crushing and definitely apt for later in the night. Get it here.
Worst Taste — Akumu Ni Warae!
Rollicking and raucous, the first album from Kaita Tanaka’s Worst Taste project in ten years gleefully dives into myriad styles over its runtime, from straight-ahead rock to mutant surf to…like, songs from a band booked from a really twisted wedding. Everything is spiked with an unpredictable energy and love of noise, adding extra intensity and surprise throughout. Get it here.
pandagolff — Sweetie sweets medicine
Not nearly as trippy as all the presentation would have you believe, duo pandagolff’s Sweetie sweets medicine is better understood as a case study in wringing great melodies out of noise. The pair certainly get messy — “KOREDEWAKARU” wants you to think it’s going to burst open within its first few seconds — but everything here, from the stomp-and-holler “Dropping the bottle” to the metallic dance-pop of “Dance & A,” has a catchy phrase or passage at its core. It makes it that much more enjoyable a listen, matching weirdness with something irresistible. Get it here.
PellyColo — Cover On The Stinky
Cover on the stinky, hell yeah.
PellyColo is a hell of a revivalist, but the artist also has creative ambition that gives their releases big-screen appeal. Their latest full-length offering opens with synth glaze and string plucks worthy of a planetarium feature film, and only grows larger from that point. What’s impressive, though, is how this biggie-sized image melds so well with the music…the run times of songs are longer, but “Machine Funk” and the titular cut don’t lose any of their locked-in funkiness. Get it here.
DJ Obake — Emptied
Long-running producer DJ Obake (formerly of Her Ghost Friend…presumably the ghost half) continues to tinker with electronic production on Emptied, a nice dip into how someone goes about creating a sound. Get it here.
uami — r-i
The ever-busy Fukuoka pop oddball uami dissects sound Jenga-like on her latest release. Always lurking in shadows, she steps out a little on r-i, letting her vocals be a little more direct. The music, though, leans minimal, from simple piano melodies (“mf”) to light thumping (“imr”), continuing to create an air of intimacy albeit with new methods this time around. RIYL: Flau artists Noah or Cuushe. Get it here.
Mei Ehara — To Fu To So To No No Ryo At nostosbooks
Fans of “Japanese ambient” and Muji in-store music…a must! Mei Ehara penned two tracks for a book store in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward, and now you can experience the joys of wandering up and down the aisles! This is pretty good BGM though, revealing a new depth to Ehara, primarily how she plays with depth in her tracks (and, like, can make something enjoyable without her knockout voice). Get it here.
punipunidenki — Sogyo
A best-of collection and/or a gateway into the work of one of Japan’s most talented creators going. Leans into their jazzier and funkier side, but that includes some towering moments like “Kimi Wa Queen” and “Neon Ocean.” Get it here.
Naoki Morimoto — Kotoba
Ending with one that’s more “pleasant” than memorable, at least for now…but the latest from Naoki Morimoto has become a recent favorite for concentration, which has been useful, at least as of late! This might be pure focus fodder, but I’m willing to give it a little time, and nod to it for now. Get it here.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies