☟YES/NO☟: Takumi Kawahori

Showing posts with label Takumi Kawahori. Show all posts

Thursday, 15 August 2013

CHELA ROMANTICISE (BOYS GET HURT REMIX)

So I'll start this one by saying that I haven't actually heard the original of this song. Usually with a remix I like to hear the original version. But in this case, since I can't do that, I won't do that, and I'll just judge the song on what it is. A song, in and of itself.

It comes from a new EP, Romanticise, by Melbourne-based artist Chela released on freewheeling endless-2005-honeymoon French label Kitsuné. And as they often do, they've put a lot of remixes on the album too. Which is nice because it's a way to prolong the tastiest elements of an enjoyable song without just sticking it on repeat and risk damaging its freshness - plus it's also nice to give some exposure to those lesser known producers who "do" the remixes. In this instance, it's Japanese duo Boys Get Hurt.

Labelling themselves as emotional dance music - even "sea disco" - they create some really nice tracks that evoke sunshine and romance with a hint of nostalgia. I've even done a Q&A with one half of the duo, Yuki Abe. Their remix of Chela's 'Romanticise' exhibits that same brand of fresh, comfortable indie dance which first attracted me to them.

There's nothing really futuristic about it. Like I said, they seem to inject a sense of nostalgia into their tracks and this one's no different, despite being a remix. Perhaps it's that tropical vibe of theirs. Is that nostalgic? I suppose its of a certain time - mid-1990s, but then again what do I know. There's a beach-destined melody on the xylophone counterpointed with a marimba kinda sound that floats playfully within the beat, the new-pair-of-trainers-squeaking-across-a-polished-floor synth sound that bwips and bweeps, the bongo drumming that tribalises the atmosphere at the start. It's all delicious and catchy.

The vocals from Chela sing out with catchy emotion, moving from stretched high to low and confidential; they follow a nice stop-start pattern in the chorus that Boys Get Hurt have followed with a combined synth chord/bass off-beat rhythm. A slice of the vocal has been sampled and lowered, appearing towards the end, alongside a variously scatty hi-hat pinging - falling finally to reverberating piano chords, a shaker, that glockenspiel sound, and a clap. How else could you have wished the song to finish? It's nice. A real sunset ending.

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Tuesday, 28 May 2013

YUKI ABE (BOYS GET HURT) INTERVIEW

Who doesn't like dancing? You don't have to be a dancing freak to be classed as someone who likes dancing. You could dance once a year, love it, and be called someone who likes dancing. You could dance once a week. Whatever whatever, you get the point. Like it or not, it's actually quite a big part of society. If it wasn't, there wouldn't even be such a word as 'dance', nor a kind of music. But to actually make music that makes people dance, that must be pretty exciting.

That is certainly the vibe I get from Yuki Abe, Tokyo-based electro-dance producer, and one half of dance outfit Boys Get Hurt alongside Takumi Kawahori. I've written about both him, under the moniker Body Fantasy, (song: 'In In') and Boys Get Hurt (song: 'b e a c h') Yuki was kind enough to answer this lazy interview, much to my happiness and gratitude. Read on and learn a little bit.

Who are you? Where are you from? What do you do?
Yuki. Born and raised up in Tokyo.
I do Boys Get Hurt and some music producing.

Why did you decide to start creating music?
When I was a teen, I started hearing some different genres.
I thought I could mix it up better than usual.

How would you describe your sound? What makes you and your style stand out?
Boys Get Hurt is just emotional dance music.
I think we mostly influenced by "The Get Up Kids".
Now our musical style is called basically Nu Disco, Sea Disco.
Our DJ/Label friends are mostly based in LA or French.
So we feel it's not major.

Is there a perfect time and place for listening to your music?
Beach-side air controlled inside a club in Hawaii.

What inspires you most when writing a song?
When I get hurt by good music.

What is your most memorable musical experience?
08/10/2011 "Summer House" @ WOMB
Our party's 1st time in Tokyo.
It's mid weekday but massive, people dance around.
Awesome experience.

What are your favourite three songs at the moment?
Moonboots - Love Strong

Para One ft. Irfane & Teki Latex - Every Little Thing (Plastic Plates Remix)

Jacques Greene ft. How To Dress Well - On Your Side

Who do you most admire in the music world?
Death Cab For Cutie

In your opinion, what is the future of music?
Always repeating to change.
Gonna melt with other stuff. eg. Visual, Environment, Smell or something, to become new package.
it's time to get through from old system.

What's the future of your music - what do you hope to do next?
We will keep collaborating with many talented guys in the world.
Release from the label, remixing the stuff, touring, etc.
We keep doing the party in Tokyo.
Keep fresh and comfy. :)

What, aside from music, is most important to you?
Coffee, movies and trips.

Well, there you have it. That's Yuki Abe and Boys Get Hurt. (Sea Disco is kinda retro 90s dance with modern flair btw just so you know). I like very much the idea of "repeating to change", and I like even more the idea of keeping it "fresh and comfy" - what a nice sentiment! Anyway, the people of Tokyo are lucky for having such a talented guy, along with Takumi, right on their doorsteps to play them very fresh and chilled sunshine disco for a very good time indeed. THANKS YUKI!

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Like Boys Get Hurt on Facebook
Listen to Boys Get Hurt on Soundcloud
Visit Boys Get Hurt's official site
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Check Boys Get Hurt on Tumblr

Listen to Yuki Abe (Body Fantasy) on Soundcloud
Follow Yuki Abe on Twitter
Check Yuki Abe's blog

Thursday, 9 May 2013

BOYS GET HURT B E A C H [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Really quite enjoying this song at the moment. Like more than enjoying - loving, even. It's got a fantastic vibe that kinda gets into your head and almost forces you to get on a pair of bermuda shorts and go do some jumping jacks on a beach interspersed with dancing like a kind of madman/sultry person. Maybe I'm only thinking beach because the song is called 'beach' or 'b e a c h' if we want to go with the stylised version, which is the way it's written down so maybe we should go with that. It makes the 'beach' l o n g e r , y o u s e e ?

Anyway, this song can be half-credited to Yuki Abe - whom I wrote about a few days ago - and it can also be half-credited to Takumi Kawahori; together these two make up the producer/DJ duo called Boys Get Hurt and they make some pretty nice music together. It's thanks to this pretty-nice-music-ness that this post exists because I do believe that 'b e a c h' is a very very nice song indeed. Please listen to the song below under the bottom of this paragraph.

Just here.

The clean melodies that trip in time above the perfect house beat are tasty - you can almost feel them on your tongue, those blippy synths. They're layered with light xylophonic sounds that tickle your ears, but not too much otherwise that would be well uncomfortable. Thankfully nothing about this song is uncomfortable. And the sample... aieee it's great! Justin Timberlake's girl-sensualising tones from 'My Love' are sampled to great success. The 'beach' part of the lyrics is what gives the song its name, I think. Makes sense. Anyway. Big dancey housey vibe that I really like.

Warm as the sun, cool as slathered sun cream.

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