LULU + MIKENEKO HOMELESS – WATERMELON

三毛猫ホームレス or Mikeneko Homeless (that's "homeless tortoiseshell cat") is a musicmaking duo from Tokyo composed of Tokinori Kakimoto, a double bassist and composer who also makes music as mochilon, and Masahiro Oba aka hironica. These two have teamed up with singer Lulu to come up with the instant infatuation of 'Watermelon', a supremely bouncy and immediately likeable musical morsel that speaks of … how funny; I was just about to write that it speaks of crisp autumn days and the continuance of the early days of a developing romance, a tale begun and spun during the hot and humid hours of summer, when I read in the description of the track on SoundCloud: "Where you and me will be when autumn comes?"

And really, since this sort of sentiment is what came to mind when listening to the song – even without understanding the lyrics – you can say that the trio have achieved certainly asked the above question with their music.

In fact, it is a story told in different parts; firstly beginning with a cascade jazzy synth chords and tumbling rapid-fire acoustic guitar arpeggios; secondly launching into a jaunty upbeat chorus with fluttering synths soaring up to meet it, playful vocal melodies skipping over the dop-dop-dop-dop of chipper chords; thirdly we skim into a part where chords cushion a scorchingly modulated bleepy solo melody, the beat slow and evocative with virtuoso hi-hat rolls; fourthly, the realisation part – where perhaps what went before in summer will not carry on as days become chilly and leaves curl and crisp, falling orange and red – Lulu's melody is slower, emotional, the chords softer, gentler, rippling vacant and numb, you especially notice it in the song's final part, with Lulu singing wordless "ahhh-aa-aa…", a slight lament at unforseeable futures, unpredictable circumstances.

Even without paying this much attention, this is a sumptuous slice of electronic-flavoured, atmospheric, sunny-meets-chilly atmosphere-summoning music, the vocals by Lulu compelling, subtly harmonised at times, flustered with romance and uncertainty against the virtuoso nu-shibuya-kei city pop vibe effused from Mineneko Homeless; it seeps into your head, inspiring happiness as much as a pang of doubt in the heart.

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☟ Lulu Social Media Presence ☟
SoundCloud • blog • Twitter • Tumblr • Instagram

☟ mochilon Social Media Presence ☟
Facebook • SoundCloud • Myspace • Last.fm • Twitter • YouTube

☟ hironica Social Media Presence ☟
SoundCloud • site • Twitter

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TOMGGG POPTEEN EP

How do you stumble across new music for thee? Let me count the ways... well there's Twitter, SoundCloud, Spotify (namely under "similar artists" which are good because the similar artists bit on Spotify is actually quite bad, but it means that you can find really varied people), getting stuff sent to me, listening to the radio, and lastly there's people telling me about new stuff IRL via the mouth method of communication. Suffice to say, there's a few ways.

The way I found out about this new release was just a simple tweet from Spazzkid, an LA-based producer I've chatted quite a bit about now (if u don't know him check him out). It's easier than ever these days to unearth some really interesting sonic gems from all over the place, so if this clunky blog aids you in any way I'm honoured – it's really quite superfluous to the other discovery methods, plus blogs are like so 2 years ago.

Anyway. This is a little 3-track EP called Popteen, and it comes from a Japanese musicmaker known bizarrely as Tomggg – but maybe it's an acronym; his real name is Tatsuya Fujishiro and he is from Chiba. 'Popteen' is the first song from this release and it's a wonderful track. Moving through varying different sounds, it's a bustling tune that's driven along with the percussive bristles and attitudinal kicks and snares of a juke beat – something that is very popular in a lot of Japanese music I've heard recently. I could be wrong though, so don't take my word for it. About halfway through the tone changes, and to lounge-esque synth chords the volume cranks up and the song explodes, leading into its unintelligible, vocoder'd refrain. By the end, we're caught in a downpour of frenetic bleeps that soak you in energy, the kind that makes you think you can dance like a demon (even though you probably can't).

Into the more chilled atmosphere at the beginning of 'SO-EN', whose ghetto beat supports soothing chords that gradually surge forward and climax into a frantic collection of syncopated chord stabs. These themselves whisk you away into something that, yes, is juke, but just has a dirtier sound to it so we'll call it 'ghetto house' or 'footwork' (for variety's sake) – but for a moment it's just the beat, booming out. How he gets from here to the last third of the song is genius. It's an exercise in building tension, drenching the synth chords in ever-whooshing reverb, adding sounds until we're at the peak of the song, a chaos of candy-coloured clouds that then fades out...

There's barely a chance to breathe before 'ViVi' storms in, snares rolling right through your veins till it bursts into life. The vocal samples here are nothing short of virtuosic, played in devilishly quick succession, sharing the limelight with a decidedly swinging rhythm that makes you want to clap along with it. It makes me think of Golden Saucer in Final Fantasy VII, or the general vibe of Nintendoland – almost theatrical in its heart-stopping speed, in its cutesy imitation of classical scores, at all times showing that this is a song to think fun thoughts along to. It's crazy, really crazy, but I like it.

I have no other words. I feel exhausted after listening to that – but in a good way, like my brain has just been rolled through bars, dancefloors, casinos, videogame worlds and ideal summer days, still now with the concoction of toy-like glockenspiels, hard beats and engaging synth work echoing in my ears. Wowee. A cross between juke, videogame music and the jazzy, hyper-pop sounds of nu-Shibuya-kei, this is mad shit but I like it. If you're interested: the art, this really nice little gif right here, is by Kazami Suzuki. And if you are interested in owning the Popteen EP from Mr Tomggg, then you're in luck: it's been released on Japanese netlabel Maltine Records and you can download it for absolutely FREE.

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Like Tomggg on Facebook
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Visit Tomggg official site
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Check out Maltine Records

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FORTUNE HOWL PAWS (BO EN REMIX)

Yo. Wow. This is good. Let's rush straight in. Rush we go. So, this is another one of the pretty damn awesome re-workings of the songs from Fortune Howl's Earthbound, collectively called Earthbound [Remixed]. I wrote about one of them - Bwoy De Bhajan's remix of 'Interzone Export' - the other week. And, listening through it now, there is so much talent going into these remixes that it's impossible for them to be bad. Or perhaps talent on its own isn't sufficient; each of these remixers has a definitive voice and style, making each one more than a remix - something closer to an original track.

There's XXYYXX's synth-heavy trap-leaning version of 'Echo The Sun', for instance, and also the lush, ghostly remix of 'A Terrible Machine' by Mister Lies. Likewise, London producer bo en sets off some seriously sweet fireworks for us in his remix of 'Paws'. Fortune Howl's original is a luscious, ballad-like number that swoons with vocal samples, warm synth waves and slow-dance drums. bo en's remix is very different.

Taking cues from a synth-heavy revival of Japan-exclusive genre Shibuya-kei (a mix of jazzy lounge sounds with traces of synthpop and lashings of pop energy), bo en - real name Calum Bowen - turns 'Paws' on its head and makes it his own. Beginning with a deliciously funky, 80s-themed intro, complete with some scene-setting slap bass, at once we're bowled into the nu-Shibuya-kei that bo en does best. Puffs of fidgety synth chords overlook a fast house kick as the original vocals float over in washes of reverb. At 0:55 he samples Yoshi's down+B move from Super Smash Bros. before launching into a candy-coloured world of modulating synths, squeaky bed sounds, claps, down-south hip hop snares and remnants of samples.

The rest of the song reads beautifully, a floating mist of the song's original vocals, a saxophone solo, wah-wah chords, samples of "Hey — hey!" all cradled by a rainy-night synth bassline and 80s drum machine beats. A classy yet magical finish, like a rendezvous with a high-class escort who turns out to be searching for someone to help her solve an existential, metaphysical mystery - you becoming the reluctant detective. It moves flawlessly between sugary sweet nu-Shibuya-kei and retro-infused sounds - a teapot brewing leaves of tea-breaks past - combining many different elements that on paper would seem barmy. Hip hop drums? A little known Japanese genre? Slap bass? 80s aesthetic? Videogame samples? Yep, all of that. But the way that Mr bo en melds these sounds into a cohesive, dynamic showstopper of a track that's as jaw-droppingly impressive as it is unabashedly enjoyable.

You should definitely check out Earthbound [Remixed] for your fix of totally fresh sounds. And a FREE DOWNLOAD. (The fact that the album and its original are named after one of my favourite ever games has no bearing on the matter).

Also, check out bo en's lovely debut album Pale Machine out on supernice Japanese netlabel Maltine Records - and download the whole thing for free.

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Like bo en on Facebook
Listen to bo en on SoundCloud
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