Make Believe Mailer 81: Not-Bandcamp Friday Special July 2023
Uhhhh, round up one day
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….and, also, when it isn’t happening, I guess! Bandcamp Friday is on summer vacation until August, but that’s no excuse not to follow new releases on the platform and shout-out works from Japan deserving your attention. The July edition comes a whole day before July actually starts because…uhhhhh, lot of stuff coming up next week. We’re basically past the halfway point of the year, ya know? It’s all good.
andrew And NirBorna — Durian Needle
Using garage as a foundation, producers andrew and NirBorna craft a sweltering soundtrack to summer drawing from all over the map. Alongside the hectic pace both creators have played around with throughout their careers, the duo incorporate elements of amapiano, most clearly on the title track. They never try to imitate these styles, but rather see how it can blend with rollicking sounds they have long played with. Same goes for their solo tracks here, with NirBorna continuing to fiddle with the jazzier side of African electronic music while andrew dabbles in Dembow rhythms on his end. Get it here.
BBBBBBB — SHIN GOD
Sense? With BBBBBBB, get that out of here. Latest experimental splatter SHIN GOD finds the project transforming their voices into ripples while fucking around with tempo as much as they can on the title track, before dynamiting the whole thing with guitar at the end. Just for good measure, we get two short but sweet salvos of hardcore noise to wash it down with. Few groups in Japan have so much fun ripping sound apart and seeing what’s possible with it as these guys. Get it here.
Swimming Sheep — Science
Fukuoka composer Swimming Sheep tinkers with electronic sounds to create funky musical moments with just enough unnatural energy to appeal to a goofball like me. The songs gathered on Science hit my personal sweetspot for inhuman humanity, constructed primarily out of digital elements but exuding a real warmth through its twinkly melodies and vocal samples. Get it here.
Yuri Urano — Awawa
The artist formerly known as Yullippe has spent the last few years focused on field recordings, heading out into forests and the shores of Lake Biwa to capture nature. Awawa replicates the feel of venturing into nature, using familiar sounds — twigs snapping, bugs chirping, water rushing — wrapped up in wispy electronic drones to take listeners on their own trip. It’s just the right amount of sound mixed with the world around us to create an absorbing listen. Get it here.
Dayzero And WRACK — HYBRID SEEDS EP
A light theme running through this edition — electronic collaborations that find artists blurring their sounds just right with another’s palette. Similar to Durian Needle, the songs on HYBRID SEEDS take a lot of cues from modern African dance music, owing in part to WRACK’s appreciation and personal mutation of those styles. Dayzero is more blown-out, and here we get breezier melodies interrupted by bass burbles, making for a great tension. Get it here.
Fuji Chao — Cool Ni Kimete
A Make Believe Melodies’ favorite from the back end of the 2010s, Fuji Chao’s bedroom pop dispatches showcased a creativity and at-times-uncomfortable directness built from the sounds of the internet age, ranging from synth whirs to YouTube copyright-free samples to Steven Universe samples. She should be included in the wave of Japanese “new experimentalists” who really hit their stride during the same general period, using a very modern set of sounds to craft something sounding unlike anything else emerging from the PCs of creators around the world at the time. Well, what a nice surprise this is — a previously unreleased album from 2017, showing Fuji Chao in early operating mode, while still hitting on many of the elements that make her special. Get it here.
cicadelia — noma
Sometimes when researching for this installment, I’ll just put something on for a bit and see how long it keeps my interest. This album didn’t really do that if I’m being honest…because it excelled at just slipping into the background and making for a good soundtrack to working hours. That might sound backhanded, but that makes the moments of surprise all the better. Get it here.
Various Artists — Ashigakari Volume Two
Diskotopia sub-label Ashigakari returns with their second volume of club-ready groovers…just in time for a summer where they can work their magic in actual physical clubs, if everything goes according to plan. A good mix of more minimal tracks with outright house jams, making for a great physical collection. Get it here.
Various Artists — SESSIONS COLLECTION VOL.1
Speaking of dance tracks ready for the season…Tokyo Community Radio shared this compilation of highlights from individual artists appearances on the longstanding station. Doubles as a nice overview of how the country’s dance community has changed over the years, while also highlighting notable names to know. Get it here.
House Of Tapes — Open Your Eyes EP
Long-time favorite House Of Tapes usually gets me reaching for “constricting” and “claustrophobic” out of force of habit when they release something new…but wait, maybe those words should stay on the sideline! Open Your Eyes has heft to it, but the latest from the Nagoya producer utilizes space and sounds that aren’t instantly crushing to create something sweeter and more soothing, while still carrying a trippy edge to it. Get it here.
Boris And Uniform — Bright New Disease
Look, I get it…nobody wants to think back on the last few years. Just push forward. But it’s probably healthy to at least sometimes reflect back on those times, even if it’s just to be reminded “oh, right, doing better now!” Here’s a document of being frustrated during the pandemic, and pouring that pent-up energy into song. You don’t have to dwell on it…but it’s good to be reminded of how that all felt. Get it here.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies