Yu Murakami – Contextual (2011)

Bunkai-Kei

 

• Field recording 
• Musique concréte 
• Experimentalism 
• World music 

 

See 4-looline üllitis koosneb diktofoniga salvestatud avatud helidest, milles on nii hüplevat monotoonset rütmi (loo pealkiri osutab tantsule), kaugidamaist laulumana, masinate oigamist-suminat, varese kraaksumist, vee vulinat kui ka distantsilt kostuvast raadiost suvalise poploo mängimist. Võib küsida, et kas kõik need katked on salvestatud lihtsalt teisi üles täheldades või ehk ise kunstlikult asju luues ja esile tõstes? Sisuliselt ei ole sellel vahet, kuigi põhimõtteliseIt jah. Mis eristab seda formaati sämpledeeliast? Olen kuulnud paremaid, ent paraku halvemaid sama formaadi asju. 

 

7.0 (6.0-8.0)

Smany – Kotoba (2017)

Bunkai-Kei

• Art pop 
• Synth-pop 
• J-pop 
• Post-pop 
• Experimental pop 
• Electronic pop 
• Hip-hop 
• Post-classical
• Singer-songwriter 
• Urban music 
• Rap 
• Modern classical 
• Dream pop

Comment: by listening to this 8-track issue I just was thinking of how this electronic release could have been tagged 20 years ago, for instance? I guess it could have been labeled “electronic”, “techno” and probably devoid of “pop” suffix. From the 90s to the 10s a huge amount of water has flowed to the sea, much has changed around us and now such sort of sophisticated music is certainly within blood stream of poppy music. In fact, the Japanese artist's sound is bottomless due to an immense amount of elements arising from the bottom at a time and constituting interesting sonorous and stylistic combinations with one another. Fortunately Smany is adept in preserving the balance between the technical and melodic and harmonic side by buliding up a coherent and interactive configuration. At Echo she collaborates with rappers-MCs called himeshi & TPSOUND. The listener can hear a massive guitar-based background while in front of it being adorned with subtle tabla rhythms and floaty piano chords in one composition. At Emigre one can hear another wall of sound in the background. That`s soul-carved, that`s epic! Her voice is filled in with sweet dreams and aching for something intangible. At times she employs concrete sounds around her atmospheric singing. The results are enchanting. All in all, all is perfect, all is mind-arousing, all is overwhelming. This magnificent issue is a part of the discography of Bunkai-Kei, which is a favourite imprint of ours.

Flady – Leave (2015)

Bunkai-Kei

• Electronic music 
• Breaks 
• Experimental electronica 
• Alternative 
• Avant-garde 
• Experimentalism

Comment: I am back again by digging up in the discography of the Japanese imprint Bunkai-Kei. Some days ago I had listened to an album of being an amalgamation of J-pop, and Western disparate influences resulting in a truly aesthetic entertainment, however, this case of handful of tracks seems to be analogous though revealing its virtue on a bit other premises. It may be a bit less moody and more complicated through its strongly accentuated slamming rhythmic patterns, uncanny samples, glitched-out debris. It is a sort of dance music though standing discreetly apart from well-known styles like house, techno, electro, dubstep. I especially like those string-based samples as if suggestive snatches taken from a cello and woodwind instruments and thereafter magnified and modulated. And of course, it reminds of unforgettable Arthur Russell. All in all, it is a superb selection again. It injects much serotonin into the listener's brain. That's all what we need to get. And the cover print is suggestive for sure.

Kanabun – Open The World EP (2011)

Bunkai-Kei

• Electronic pop 
• J-pop 
• Alternative pop 
• Cinematic 
• Hip-hop
• Art pop 
• Shibuya-Kei 
• Ambient pop 
• Rap

Comment: it is not surprising to have a talk about the Japanese webscene as one of the mightiest if not the most mighty worldwide. Even there was once up an article by Pitchfork by describing those massively populated parties in Nippon. One of the groundsills is an imprint called Bunkai-Kei wherefrom you can discover a loads of great electronic music and Japanese heritage mixed albums. Yeah, Kanabun`s 4-track Open The World EP is one of them. Of course, one could not underestimate the influence of a style called Shibuya-Kei which strongly flourished in the 90s by its cut and paste method and on the other side by adding cutting-edge easy listening, jazz, and bossa nova and exotica pop styles from the Western cultural sphere to create something truly cinematic and floating. For instance, Link is obviously the most cinematic notch within these 23 minutes, Decillion is a joyous Japanese rap backed up by a sultry beat and enchanting carillon. From experimental, glitched-out noises, vowel effects and sound manipulations to full-fledged artsy pop examples and semi-ochestrated moody hedonism in the self-titled track. In a word, the result is superb, enter the party!

Calla Soiled – Lucoq (2015)

Bunkai-Kei

Bandcamp

• Chilltronica 
• Alternative dance 
• Yacht pop 
• Electronic pop 
• Electro-house
• Deep house 
• Crossover
• Mood music 
• Nu jazz 
• Balearic house 
• Design pop

Comment: it have always felt myself delighted while coming to a Japanese imprint, this time to Bunkai-Kei. This issue of 11 compositions by Calla Soiled is a true beast due to fairly exquisite modes on chill out, electronica, design pop, jazz, and (Balearic) and electro and deep house and even drowsy yacht pop elements are also represented over there. On the other side, all these elements are not represented in pure way and even not in a sectional way but instead of it with intention to think off something which could be considered an example of universal contemporary music. An example of electronic music without the borders. And the artist reaches the goal in doing it. I have been listening to it since early morning today but the result is getting even more woozy and hazy. It is not because the structure and configuration of these songs is filled with microscopic flaws one could find out after an intense listening session but rather it is zipped in a sophisticated way full of alchemically sticky elements which used to react with one another after a while. On the other hand, it might be I caught the level of nocturnal and deep house-inflected hours within it (for instance, at Rainfall; at Pellucid). By considering the blanket of the issue and the music pouring out from within it you could imagine eine Lichtung /a clearing/lighting to be seen within the ragged top of a volcano in Heideggerian way. Top standing indeed. For your soul, for your body, for your dream, for your reality, for your transcendental mind.

Flady – Leave (2015)

Bunkai-Kei

• Deep house 
• Alternative dance 
• Tech-house 
• Club dance

Comment: I guess anyone who adores music in general and especially music of different sorts does have his/her own personal imagination of certain styles. For instance, how could you imagine house music for yourself? Is it something of music to be imagined to those people in the middle of a dance floor or could it have cerebral dimension either? Flady`s 5-track outing emits both tendencies very clearly. Furthermore, the thing I truly like is the artist’s eagerness to push it forward effortlessly, for now and then the beats are elegantly unkempt with regard to the frequencies of the album (at Fake Crawl) therefore adding a refreshing, even transgressive dimension to the whole. Mostly it is deep house music, I can think of Chrinonex Fleckeri as being a perfect accompaniment to fall asleep eventually while you are reading a book. On the other hand, the artist exploits frequently uncanny vocal samples and other kind of outtakes to disorient the listener. Most remarkably it has been drawn out at Counter Old Sky, and because of that it is a decent foray of the course. Another exception is Feel or Pig or Pigs, which contains a mind-blowing brass hook though in the beginning of the composition the observant listener could perceive krautrock and post-punk influences either (all is logical, isn’t?). In a nutshell, it is a charming dance and listening session in the night zone. Especially I recommend a listening today while you are boycotting the inferior Eurovision “song” contest. The issue is a part of the discography of the Japanese imprint Bunkai-Kei.                  

Candlegravity - Junpei (2013)

Bunkai-Kei

FMA

Lastfm

• Indietronica
• Post-rock
• Electronic pop
• Poptronica
• Ambient
• IDM
• Chilltronica
• Mood music

Outstanding tracks:
Afghan
A Suicide
Tomie`s Bubbles
With Many Tears

さいごのくに - 黒傘のame (2011)

Bunkai-Kei

8.8

/J-pop, Alternative, Shibuya-kei, Electronic pop, Ethereal pop/

Comment: this set of three compositions (consisting of the original track and a pair of remixes for it) is a case to showcase the ethearalness of J-pop filled with atmospherical voices and vowel effects, and lone guitar chords which in turn are backed up by intriguing elements - for instance, depending on certain tracks there are available such details as seductive glockenspiel works, the noises of radio waves and programmed propulsive chunks.