My most recent episode of Getting Warmer for NTS Radio is a mix of future escapist pop and lo-fi loneliness, with a few off-kilter moments of muddled optimism–just a few of the conflicting facets of the experience of being alive in April 2020! Thanks for being here, sending love to you and yours. Mp3 download … Continue reading [Mix for NTS Radio] Getting Warmer Episode 43
cover art by Jeff Velker (SC / Twitter) I’m very pleased to finally share Volume 2 of the OMG Japan mix via Self-Titled Mag. That proclivity towards inventive genre splicing is all over this mix, actually, perhaps most noticeably as a reggae influence in three very different incarnations. First, Akiko Yano’s steel drum-flecked synth-reggae cupcake “Ashkenazy … Continue reading [Mix for Self-Titled] OMG Japan 2: Japanese Pop 1980-1989
Arguably an apotheosis of the long and fruitful 80s Japanese and British musical cross-pollination. Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri were both founding members of Japan, alongside David Sylvian, and the band toured with Masami Tsuchiya of Ippu-Do and Yukihiro Takahashi of YMO. Jansen and Barbieri both contributed to Ippu-Do’s Night Mirage, and Tsuchiya went on … Continue reading Jansen/Barbieri – Worlds In A Small Room, 1985
Honored to contribute a mix to Blowing Up The Workshop, which is a very useful archive of mixtapes including many from my own musical and curatorial heroes. I was thinking about escapism, cinematic déjà vu, anime soundtracks, hyper-optimistic fantasy about the experience of tourism, courtyards, commercials, and ruins as I put this together. If you … Continue reading [Mix for Blowing Up The Workshop] #73
As the title suggests, this is a record about love, but in typical Bill Nelson fashion, it’s neither saccharine nor sentimental. It’s full-blooded, angsty, and churning, and the song titles are unabashed: “Eros Arriving,” “The Bride Of Christ In Autumn,” “Flesh,” “Flaming Desire,” and my favorite, “The Crystal Escalator In The Palace Of God Department … Continue reading Bill Nelson – The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart), 1982
Not for the faint of heart, although I think the cover art should give you a pretty good sense of what you’re in for. Iconic jazz pianist Akiko Yano covers a lot of ground here, ranging from bubblegum reggae to pure, high-toned J-pop to the spronky sample relentlessness of new wave contemporaries like Devo, “Little … Continue reading Akiko Yano – Tadaima, 1981
We made a two hour mix for NTS Radio. Tracklisting below. If you like it, you can download an mp3 version here. Enjoy! Tracklist: 0:00 Richard Burmer – Physics 3:31 Masami Tsuchiya – Nevermind (Excerpt) 6:28 Carlos Maria Trindade – The Truth 9:09 Joe Hisaishi – The Winter Requiem 13:49 Bill Nelson – Pansophia 14:41 Anna … Continue reading [Mix for NTS Radio] Listen To This!
Ippu-Do was founded by Masami Tsuchiya in 1979 alongside Akira Mitake and Shoji Fujii. The band released five records, but Tsuchiya went on to release a slew of solo records as well as tour as a guitarist with Japan. With Steve Jansen replacing Shoji Fujii on drums, Night Mirage is a hulking play between towering … Continue reading Ippu-Do – Night Mirage, 1983
Bill Nelson’s body of work is daunting, to say the least. In addition to his 139 releases, his work as a founding member of the legendary Be Bop Deluxe, collaborations with David Sylvian, Harold Budd, Masami Tsuchiya, and many others, his name is constantly popping up in liner notes and album credits. Over the course of … Continue reading Bill Nelson – Getting The Holy Ghost Across, 1986
Trained as a jazz pianist since childhood, Akiko Yano has gone on to establish herself as an extraordinarily singular and iconic songwriter, singer, pianist, and performer. Her 1976 debut record, Japanese Girl, was shocking to listeners accustomed to the wispy, subdued sounds of Japanese idol pop, incorporating her sense of humor, unrestrained joy, and technical … Continue reading [Interview] Akiko Yano