🎧 Issue #46

Oopsies, you just jumped right into this week’s issue of Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds !

Hi everyone, I hope you had a nice couple of weeks.

I know what you came here for, you know what you came here for. Let’s get right into it.

🥧 Fresh Out The Oven Albums 🥧

Reviews of the best new albums that came out recently
*with some exceptions

Meg Bonus - New,man

Genre: Electronic Pop, Experimental Electronic Music
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

From the very beginning, you can tell you’re in for a ride on this album.

Meg Bonus is one of the most forward thinking Pop artists in Japan right now. Consisting of Kei Nomoto and Yakumo Kudo, 2 young musicians who came onto the scene in the past couple of years, this album is Meg Bonus first full length release. While this is definitely Pop music, it’s obvious that they both have their ears to the ground in the experimental electronic music scene.

While songs such as track 9 (春になれ) and “Vitaminc” challenges what defines radio friendly music within Japan, other tracks can feel like experiments with mixed results. However, despite this, this a consistently solid and definitely bold album with a lot to say.

A personal favorite of mine is the track “Jet” which takes from the George Clanton sound palette but twists it into their own variation of the sound.

Rating: 🥧🥧 Oh that’s hot - for any fan of the genre
Favorite Tracks: New,man, Vitaminc, Jet, Track 9, 2019,2025

kinoue64 - Daily Life Vanishes

Genre: Shoegaze, Indie Rock
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Ummmm, this is another solid addition to the rapidly (4 albums last year…) expanding kinoue64 discography. While not as genre pushing or bold as The Time Machine School, it’s still worth a listen if you like the modern wave of Shoegaze bands coming out. Also worth listening to if “Vocaloid Shoegaze” sounds appealing to you.

Rating: 🥧🥧 Oh that’s hot - for any fan of the genre
Favorite Tracks: Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8

Kicell - Kantenbouki

Genre: Chamber Rock, Jazz Pop
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Consisting of two brothers, Takafumi and Tomohara Tsujimura, Kicell as a project has been around since 1999. Despite how low-key they have been, they have collaborated with Hosono himself on a Happy End tribute album, and have been on cover albums with other huge artists such a Spitz, Miu Sakamoto, My Little Lover and much much more.

If you’re a fan of other Japanese Chamber Rock artists such as Shuta Hasunuma, Shugo Tokumaru, or Guiro, you should know what to expect going in. However, for this album, I would describe Kicell as ambitiously ambidextrous. Despite the beautifully melancholic sounds present throughout the album, they are not afraid to be bold or change moods in an instant, always keeping you on the edge of your seat.

Rating: 🥧🥧 Oh that’s hot - for any fan of the genre
Favorite Tracks: Tracks 1, 2, 4, 7, 9

TOWA TEI - AH!!

Genre: Electropop, Downtempo, Shibuya-kei
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

The man, the myth, the legend, Towa Tei is back with another addition to the Shibuya-kei veteran’s album lineup. I’ll be honest, I have only listened to Towa Tei’s 90s output so I’m not sure if it’s always been so prominent, but I love the obvious YMO worship on this album. For example, “THE PROPHET” actually features Haruomi Hosono on bass as well as the late Yukihiro Takahashi on drums. Also, the opener “THE FINEST” uses a similar synthesizer soundscape to YMO (might be a sample?).

WELCOME RAIN” sounds like classic Towa Tei and could stand with the best of his tracks. Honestly this album has so many great songs and is consistently interesting. Not breaking boundaries but at this point in his career, Towa Tei doesn’t need to be pushing genres.

Rating: 🥧🥧 Oh that’s hot - for any fan of the genre
Favorite Tracks: THE FINEST, TYPICAL, THE PROPHET, B4GP4B, WELCOME RAIN

🍱Mystery Bento🍱

An older album you should check out

Akiko Yano - Gohan ga dekita yo (1980)

Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Synth Pop
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

While I’m hoping most of you freaks out there have heard Tadaima by Akiko Yano, here’s an album that I think is better and is overlooked by western audiences (including myself for a long time).

This one is the perfect balance of earlier singer-songwriter era as well as the YMO influence that would help shape her synth pop era that was soon to come. For those who don’t know, she was an additional piano place for YMO tours and their greasy robot fingers are all over her stuff.

Opening with perhaps my favorite Yano track, “hitotsu dake”, featuring an 8:35 minute epic at track 9, containing a lyrical addition of the legendary YMO song “TONG POO”, and consisting of the most consistent set of tracks in her discography, this is a must listen!!!

Favorite Tracks: Tracks 1, 2, 9, 11, 13

♨️ Steaming EPs ♨️ 

Some good EPs that recently came out

64controll - Bunbun Chopper EP

Genre: Electronic Dance Music, Juke, Footwork
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
*Half the EP is decent remixes, but the 3 original songs here are great.

🍵 Piping Hot Singles 🍵

Here’s where you find the newest hottest singles on the planet from Japan

For Spotify and Apple Music, check out the official playlists!
*It’s taking me a little longer to update the list compared to usual. Check again in a couple of days!

Playlist Links:
Spotify
Apple Music

❤️‍🔥 Thank you! ❤️‍🔥 

As always, thank you thank you sooooo much for reading this issue of Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds! 🥹

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See ya next time! Breakfast is ready.

All SS Sounds logos and images were created by local Tokyo artist Mai Moroe.
https://www.instagram.com/maimoroe/
https://www.moroemai.com/