METOME – SALAMANDER

Ah! Oof! Shit yes! Do you know what I mean? That's basically the sound of someone enjoying a spot of music. Namely, it's me. But it's weird to think that I would never, ever have this kind of reaction in everyday life – I'm quite reserved really, in general. SO I CAN BE MAD WHEN I WRITE. AND WHAT MAKES ME MAD IN A GOOD WAY? SUPER GOOD MUSIC, THAT'S WHAT.

AN EXAMPLE (ok that's enough) an example of some super good music is the inexplicably talented Japanese producer Metome. My love affair with Takahiro Uchibori (the real name of Metome) began last year, with his incredible fusion of deep house, lounge and funk in the sample-heavy 'Water Cycle' – if you have never heard it, I supremely urge you to check it the hell out. This was followed up with the ultimate in sultry lounge romance: 'Take This Love' – which in turn was followed by more and more and more (JUST check his soundcloud).

But right now, Metome's latest track 'Salamander' has got me going. More overtly dance-oriented, it's the kinda thing that could whip a crowd into a foaming frenzy in just a few seconds. Hear why by listening to it with your ears.

Characteristically full of samples, the song is a stuttering machine-gun rattle of sounds, an assault of pleasure in the form of popping, juddering samples and a beat that follows it; a hail of holographic candies that burst all over your brain with all the same vibrancy that explodes in an abstract Kandinsky painting (for instance, a single snapshot taken at some point in 'Salamander' could easily look like this) – shapes and lines and colour! TRUE EXCITEMENT; this wild repetition leads into thick-curry-rich sparkling synth chords to slow things down, epically aligned, before jumping back into the fighting-grasshopper lightning tangle of sounds. What more can I say?

• For more fun with Metome, why not check out this Y/N Lazy Interview in which he was kind enough to partake?
• Salamanders are not reptiles, they're amphibians.

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Metome on… → Facebook • Soundcloud • Bandcamp • official site • Twitter

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METOME – SAMPLE CHAIR [FREE DOWNLOAD]

It's only been a few weeks since we heard from prodigious Japanese producer Takahiro Uchibori, aka Metome – in the form of the moody 'Rainmaker' and its ominous video – but already there's something new for us all to savour. Yep, he's as prolific as he is good. And this time around it's something a bit different to the norm; usually Metome is all sumptuous post-lounge with free-flowing jazz instrumentals and rapid-fire sampling— usually.

But the oddly yet somehow brilliantly named 'Sample Chair' is a sketch of something different, a foray into a different set of sounds, an experiment with wide synths that seem to have been given off by some distant space ship somewhere, a far-flung space-disco orbiting a planet where we'll arrive hundreds if not thousands of years from now. Perhaps that's the case. The other possibility is that Takahiro's mind is as elastic and frenetic as his sounds, and hence the seeming strangeness of 'Sample Chair'.

That of course is not say that it isn't good. It's great! Irregular bouts of keyless almost atonal synths pop up unexpectedly, bouncing around as if being thrown and somersaulted in low gravity; here the virtuosity isn't in the notes themselves, but how the notes are manipulated, how they are placed with regard to rhythm, or maybe more accurately with no regard to rhythm. Organic kicks and claps and clicks occasionally pop up; the melody whirlwinds at times in a frenzied storm; high-register vocal samples chirp in the expansive galaxy of the blissful chords.

There is almost no reverb at work here at all, invoking a heavier sense of silence or rather the space between sounds than previous Metome tracks, which often were hazed or lightly breezed with soft and pretty reverberating sounds. It's experimental, taking the essence of glitch (look at the track image for instance) – which is to create glitchy sounds – and using it to instead twist and manipulate his sounds in natural, real-life, less digitised ways, as if his synths are putty that he simply plays with.

• Discover a lil more about the lovely Metome w this lil interview he did for YES/NO

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METOME BLACK BLACK

Seriously. Seriously. If you don't already know about this guy, then please get to know him and listen to all his music - I mean, if you like this song, there is really no reason why you wouldn't like all of his other songs. If you do know him: share his music with everybody! Play it in your car, play it to your friends - for instance, the sounds of Metome are like, the staple of late night chilling & drinking with friends. This Japanese producer totally deserves more exposure.

Saying that, I really definitely missed out on writing about his last song. (Well, not entirely because I managed to cover it - name: 'Bshop's Ring Sun' - for Dummy magazine). Not to worry. Because he's literally just uploaded a new track called 'Black Black'. It's marked with what typifies a regular Metome (real name Takahiro Uchibori) track - smooth sampling, dynamism, definitive groove - but this one seems even more polished, more minimalist, deeper. I'm not altogether sure because each Metome song, despite their similar elements, sounds satisfyingly different.

Taking low-register vocal samples and spreading them over a bed of vinyl crackling and slow-moving swirls of clouds, the song starts in a chilled fashion, captivating and tranquilising with its ambient ataractic atmosphere. Always one for unexpected movements within his music, however, Metome turns up the heat and starts to fry us up with a delicious medley of flavours. With the samples till taking their lead position, he casually tosses in unmistakably funky slap bass - with the treble way up for for maximum raw twangs - providing foundation for occasional piano and synth chords. Dancing in and out of these delectable sounds is the intensely skiffling beat, noodling hi-hats sometimes shearing into the spaces between sounds.

Sometimes a bit of sub-bass bulges in like a mysterious deep-sea creature. What is an interesting addition to the fold is a bit of saxophone (at least, I THINK it's saxophone), jazzily tearing its way through the naturally resounding, porous space that Metome has left in his wake. That's one element that I think he never does away with: jazz. Jazz-inflections, jazz-spirit, jazz-improv. It's often in his songs in one way or another and it's a very unique way to present the genre; yeah, it's like electronic jazz. But it's not at the same time. Kind of undefinable, don't you think? I'll try again... electro-chill-jazz-step, perhaps. If you like this, share it with everyone. Oh, and Metome is currently working on an album, so I think it'd be safe to assume that 'Black Black' is taken from said album. Isn't it exciting?

Hey, here's an interview that I did with Metome — please have a read!

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Visit Metome's official site
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LAZY INTERVIEW #9: METOME

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← #8: SPAZZKID #10: STARLIT EVERGLADES →

Ever since I first heard, and thereafter frantically and gushingly (yuk?) wrote about, Metome's 'Water Cycle' I've been hooked by his sound. Hooked ON his sound. Real name Takahiro Uchibori, he's a Japanese producer and DJ who makes some pretty sumptuous music. And when I say pretty sumptuous, I mean downright delectable.

He is a complete whizz-kid at chopping up vocals samples and creating different rhythms with these truncated vocals, often caught mid-breath, mid-word and often unintelligible. He uses them like an instrument, making the noises glitch and stutter to create a new and alien language that winds alongside smart, sometimes-clinical beats. 'Water Cycle' was like this, if you need an example. He creates blissful atmospheres, not always chopping up samples, but taking lines of sung vocal or instrumental samples and letting them breathe organically - for instance, his 'Take This Love' (also written for Dummy magazine) is just perfect in this case. As is the stunning atmosphere of 'Rain Comes From Clouds'.

What's clear is that he is a very talented guy. Already making waves in Japan, notably in the Tokyo electronic scene, there is no reason that - given a little more coverage from larger publications too blinded by the general proclivities of well-established acts - he couldn't be rather a lot bigger and better known than he is. However, these things take time I guess. Anyway, Mr Metome was kind enough to fire back some answers for the Lazy Interview series - so have a quick read and learn a little bit about what makes him tick.

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Who are you? Where are you from? What do you do?
　Hi, I'm making music as metome and live in Osaka, Japan.

Why did you decide to start creating music?
　It might be quite recent that I intended to make music by myself.
　Till then, I made music vaguely. I think it has been 3 or 4 years since I started to make music as an artist.
　I think that music is the most personal thing compared to other creative things such as music, fashion, architecture, etc.

How would you describe your sound? What makes you and your style stand out?
　It might be a little hard to explain my sound.
　It doesn't mean my music is hard to listen to, because I think I pick up a lot of different music and mix it up to make my music.
　If it isn't talking about a genre of my music such as electronica, jazz, funk, bass, rock and more, then I think my music is pure and romantic.

Is there a perfect time and place for listening to your music?
　Well... home, outside, club, or many places, but I choose music which fits the atmosphere of a place.

What inspires you most when writing a song?
　There are a lot of things that inspire me.
　It could be music of different kinds of genres or also it might be nature or love.

What is your most memorable musical experience?
　I just remember that there was a Japanese drum class at a shrine near my house and I joined it.
　I stopped going there after 6 months but it was my first time to play an instrument.

What are your favourite three songs at the moment?
　The songs that recently I've listened to are:

　John Coltrane - Acknowledgement
　Ryuichi Sakamoto - Bibo no Aozora
　Wayne Jones - Run For Cover

Who do you most admire in the music world?
　I respect all people who make their music having their own world views.

In your opinion, what is the future of music/your music?
　The future of music... Now different kinds of music all over the world are mixed through the Internet.
　I think we are gradually heading to the world where people are united more, or get closer to each other.
　However in this situation, it is a fact that music which focuses on or shows where it comes from or its own original culture gains acclaim.

　I have a feeling of worry and hope for the situation that things are heading into one union (integration) as much as possible through the Internet.

What, aside from music, is most important to you?
　What I care about the most when it's music is expressing myself; effort and love.

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It seems that Metome's style of music - that is, his knack for extracting samples from here-there-and-everywhere, mixing things together - is reflected in his view of where music is heading, and at a very basic level in the varying genres of his three favourite songs of the moment (jazz, orchestral, funk - respectively). It's a mix, all of it's a mix, and it's only going to get more and more mixed up. But as he quite sagely put it, there is certainly "a feeling of worry and hope" for the future of music, given the ease of sharing/stealing sounds thanks to the internet especially. But enough of tomorrow. In some ways, we can worry about it when it gets here. Mañana por la mañana...

As for Metome himself, it's obvious that he loves what he does. He talks about his inspirations being love; love being important to him; music being the most personal creative avenue you can go down. He may well be right. The loving way in which he treats his songs is evidence of this - I may have even said these exact words in reference to Metome somewhere else before. But that's just it. His is a labour of love, and often it turns out that those kind of labours yield the best results, not only for his own sense of achievement, but for the joy of his audience, for the contentment of our ears as his sounds caress them. Thankfully, there's an EP on the way so we have that to look forward to.

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← #8: SPAZZKID #10: STARLIT EVERGLADES → - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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METOME WATER CYCLE

It's uncanny, but do you ever get that feeling when you just start listening to a song you've never heard before - and about which you have absolutely no preconceptions - and within the first second you just know you're going to like it? Love it, even. I'm not sure whether it's more evident of an accepting and happily yielding mindset, or if it's proof of a song's quality and thereby the song-maker's talent itself. Perhaps it's a bit of both.

In any case, when I first started listening to 'Water Cycle' by Tokyo-based producer Metome (otherwise known by his real name, Takahiro Uchibori) this is what I felt. Beautiful from the outset. Smart and clean and fresh, like freshly washed sheets hung to dry, like a clear brook rushing from a spring, it is a lush balance of complex sounds that breakdances energetically in your ears whilst at the same time providing a ice-tea-with-mint-smooth stream of chill.

Yep, it's kinda deep house with a funky edge, provided in part by a bamboozling arrangement of vocal samples that sound absolutely gorgeous against the textured synths. Sounds like the below.

The melodious synth that starts this song reverberates all around, supporting a whispering wind of a sample that almost whistles in the background. Then we're treated to a solo from the vocal samples, which Takahiro handles with expert sensitivity, twisting, reversing and plunging them into spaces between the soft synth glitching out in a gloriously off-beat rhythm. The beat shuffles, invades your toes and head, infects you to the very core with the joy of movement.

A drop in the latter part of the song, which starts building up around the 3:30 mark, gives you an insight into the kind of musical energy this guy can create - yet it's not too much, it doesn't leave you aching for an end, striking just the right balance between stylish chill and electrically charged build-up. But the details are too much to talk about - the whole thing, this song, is wonderful. I love it. Metome has a new EP coming soon.

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