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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LAZY INTERVIEW #25: TROPES

← #24: BO EN #26: KERO KERO BONITO →

This is the next in YES/NO's ongoing Lazy Interview series – a set of questions, all the same every single time, sent out to various artists that YES/NO particularly digs. It may be small-time, but it's still a chance to peek behind the curtain, crack the shell, or otherwise reveal something previously unrevealed about an artist. Basically: it's a Q&A.

Here for the twenty-fifth in the series is Tropes, an American beatcrafter who salvages hip hop and rap, new and old, flipping these already existing things into things that have never existed before, resulting in abstract, often mind-bending, chill-inducing, sun-laden beats that shine as bright – if not brighter – than the original source material. In this sense, he is not dissimilar to – but distinct from – vaporwave artists: our URL punks who take anybody's music, slow it down, speed it up, chop it up, make collages in homage of music they love, inadvertently (or ad…vertently…?) creating a whole ill-defined genre at the same time. It's great.

Recently, Tropes had the pleasure of playing a set at Boiler Room NYC, as part of their collaboration with cassette-only label, Dirty Tapes, officially known in this capacity as Dirty Tapes Radio 002. 26 minutes of beats that illustrate some alternative reality – you'd better check it out (you can also watch it with your eyes).

Without further whatevers though, please prepare to meet the jolly nice and down-to-earth man behind the moniker.

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Who are you? Where are you from? What do you do?
I'm Keaton. I grew up in Iowa. I work as a graphic designer and enjoy making music.

Why did you decide to start creating music?
I've always had an interest, it started with percussion as a kid and moved to melody after that. Now I find myself doing both. I really just enjoy the act of creating and sharing music.

How would you describe your sound? What makes you and your style stand out?
Soulful, slightly smoke-infused, organic, maybe circular.

Is there a perfect time and place for listening to your music?
I'm not sure really, I think it can go with different moods or times of day depending on the feel of the track.

What inspires you most when writing a song?
I'm always following my ear so I get inspired by the melodies that are created by whittling away at an idea for a while. If I'm working with some samples, the majority of the time the end result will sound pretty far from the sample source, so I'm inspired by the whole process from the beginning to the end result.

What is your most memorable musical experience?
Definitely last July, visiting Brooklyn and meeting some really awesome people while getting to play some music.

What are your three favourite songs at the moment?
[omitted; hey – it's a tough choice!]

Who do you most admire in the music world?
People who are doing their thing whenever they can, without connects or an audience.

In your opinion, what is the future of music?
More and more music is becoming a mixture of the past, present and interpretations of what the future is and will/can be, with fuller sound and all. I think the future of music is going to be really diverse because of our urge to partake and draw inspiration from culture, and the internet makes sharing it simple.

What's the future of your music - what do you hope to do next?
I really just hope to keep doing what I've been doing. I feel blessed and I hope to keep enjoying it and hopefully play out.

What, aside from music, is most important to you?
Staying grounded by friends, family and the outdoors whenever possible.

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• Also, DO check out Tropes's Boiler Room set. Big thumbs up; double, if anything.
• Check out a load of other artists answering questions in the Lazy Interview series.

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← #24: BO EN #26: KERO KERO BONITO →

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Tropes on • Facebook • SoundCloud • Bandcamp • Twitter • Tumblr

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LUVIIA. – INTO THE VORTEX

This latest track from Luviia is just beautiful. But who, I hear you cry out, is Luviia? Well, let me tell you. He's a beatmaker (that's putting it lightly) from Tainan, Taiwan; I first stumbled across him since he created a beat for fellow Taiwanese artist, Aristophanes, a damn awesome female rapper whose flow is just magical, and whom you should certainly check out.

Well known by now for crafting effortlessly stunning beats, his latest, 'Into The Vortex', is a snapshot of particularly otherworldly bliss. The title is basically on the money, since – although only clocking in at 1 minute 35 seconds – it pulls you into this flood of soul-ripening hip-hop, fading in with this highly texturised waves-lapping-at-the-shore sound, with supreme ripples of guitar playing in laid-back lounge loveliness.

This is all topped off with this narcotically staggering beat marked by rain-stick snare sounds, arrhythmic hi-hat shuffling and gentle, depth-charge bloop kicks, whilst rumbling sub-bass creeps all around, fading out into oblivion towards the end – a timeless wonder.

Instrumental hip-hop can be polarising ("where's the rap?" some people question blankly), but when it's this good, this obviously atmospheric, lovingly crafted, there can be nothing better than kicking back and escaping for as long as the beat exists.

• This comes from Luviia's very recent Enigmatic Seed, highly recommended that you go download this over at his Bandcamp.
• Also, check out the awesome guest mix that Luviia created for YES/NO – a half-hour of inspired and inspiring beats

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Luviia. on • Facebook • Soundcloud • Bandcamp • Twitter • Tumblr

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NO ROME – HEAVEN

Been meaning to post something about this for a while now. Better late than never though. So here it is. It's by a guy who goes by the name of No Rome (irl: Rome Gomez) and he's from Manila – actually, he's the brother of Ulzzang Pistol: they're both part of the tight-knit, underground collective Youngliquidgang, or YLG to be brief, one of a few in the capital's bustling music scene (another being, for example, Buwan Buwan, headed up by Similar Objects).

Mastered by collective-mate SOUL_BRK, 'Heaven' is basically a beautiful song. I thought it was beautiful when I first listened to it, but it wasn't until I was in the shower a few days later when the vocal hook came back to me: I found myself humming it (and noticing, also, that it sounded a little like Rikrok's part in 'It Wasn't Me'). This two line fragment repeats throughout, lending the otherwise chill-hop-leaning track – itself awash with a fluid cascading koto-esque instrumental, chopped and looped, with sub-bass blasts – an R&B flavour. Punchy beats with satisfying sharp and shiny hi-hats drive this mantra forward, becoming deliciously rapid-fire and frenetic towards the end, with sampled punctuation in the form of "wow!" and another, wordless exclamation. It's difficult not to be drawn into its spiral of hypnotic repetition, which is to be fair dotted with dynamic breaks and additions along the way.

It's when you hear about the background, the context of this song when it becomes even more poignant and even moving. Within the space of a week Rome lost his grandfather, and his friend Guillo Cesar Servando, a fellow student at De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, who was killed in a fraternity initiation. The lyrics take on a more poetic edge in this instance; every time I hear his voice singing it's easy to feel the emotion. On the other hand, they're neutral enough so that people hearing it for the first time can still vibe to it and sing along, as with any catchy pop song.

LYRICS:and i’m playing with the radio sound, i don’t wanna hear what’s going down
and i wish i was with you now, heaven probably told you to say goodbye

Yet another (but the greatest, I think) in a string of cool songs from No Rome, another URL-based J-culture-appreciating talent of Manila with big things ahead of him – it's almost guaranteed.

• Check out Ulzzang Pistol's Guest Mix for YES/NO, a showcase of the Youngliquidgang collective, including a song by No Rome.

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No Rome on • Facebook • Bandcamp • Twitter • Tumblr

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DAISUKE TANABE – PAPER PLANES

Beginning with an onset of fuzz, and what sounds like a faint Windows XP error sound, Japanese producer Daisuke Tanabe's latest track 'Paper Planes' is yet another step in an incremental climb to greater and greater heights, glitching onwards and upwards.

It's a complex weave of rhythms in three parts, going through some type of mystic lounge punctuated with reggae-esque soft-synth stabs in the first, to a volumised half-time-footwork mid-section, ending at the final third (not before an audacious & astounding second-long cut in sound) with a bristling beat that's filled with as many noises as you'd hear in some busy forest. The bass here skips in and out, cut beautifully and jiggling with fun wobble, double-timing what was previously slowed in a jaunty finale.

Throughout, it's a cascade of sounds: bells, chimes, sheafing metallics, blips and bops, and a whole host of percussion that ranges from thin, phantomatic snares to juddering woodblock percussion. Lush. That's the word.

I'm well excited to say that it's taken from Floating Underwater, a forthcoming album from the musicmaker himself – with mastering from field recording magician, Yosi Horikawa. It'll be available from 15th September on German label Ki Records and Cat Eat Mosquito, a new, independent label from Japan which (I think) is Daisuke's own brainchild.

• Check out our Lazy Interview with Daisuke Tanabe for YES/NO
• Also check out, if you haven't, check out Kidsuke, a collaboration between Daisuke and UK musicmaker, Kidkanevil.

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Check Daisuke Tanabe • Facebook • Soundcloud • Twitter

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