The more I curate mixes or tumble down that wormhole called “discovering new music,” the more I find myself questioning how we categorize things. For me, it’s all circling back to how one listens to music.
In the old days—before the rise of streaming media—macro genres like rock, jazz, and pop made it easy to lose albums that didn’t quite fit into the larger, manila-tinted boxes. Theoretically, modern streaming media should allow us to drill down precisely where our tastes belong.
And yet, in my mind, I’m still left wondering: where does “handbag music” fit? With so much digital media (seemingly) giving you a head start to explore your niche, why even go beyond that first step to an uncertain elsewhere?
I hope some of you are like me—digging so deeply that the genres you started with as “yours” dissolve into echoes of styles, leaving you chasing the ghosts of music that only exist in your head. An album leads to a track, a track leads to a concept, and a concept connects to another artist who feels like they’re working in a parallel creative spirit to another. Genre dissolves with mood, ending on feeling. Everything overlaps and intertwines, until, when someone asks, “What are you into?” you can only, truly, reply, “Everything.” crossing the rubicon.
This is the spirit that has inspired me and illuminated the direction of this mix—a meditation on an idea that first sparked when I discovered Dream Dolphin and decided to flesh out her story many moons ago. Back then, I stumbled across an old interview with Noriko, where she was described as the first true “handbag music” artist. To quote her words, she created “accessible dance music you can enjoy even while holding a handbag” or “stylish dance music that pairs well with the aesthetic of carrying a handbag.”
Noriko, in her imperviously young mind/age, took the concept of “ambient” music and made it distinctly hers—treating it not as some lofty, hifalutin, artform but as another accessory to complement anyone’s lifestyle. It was this, her idea, that stayed with me, and leaving me feeling there was something more to it, something deeper in the music I listened to, waiting to be uncovered…if I followed her lead.
Metaphorically putting myself in Dream Dolphin’s shoes, I sifted through my collection, sorted through ideas, letting the music guide me to its concept. Instead of focusing on genre, I aimed to capture the essence of her idea. One “handbag music” artist became many more. What started as a nebulous step forward coalesced into something real and tangible, a flossy feeling. Just when I thought I was enslaved to myriad abandoned shopping carts and ridiculous wantlists, that pipe dream, “handbag music”, led me somewhere (that shifty locale I hope you can divine directions to here).
HANDBAG MUSIC (ハンドバッグ・ミュージック)
Tracklist:
Kohshin Satoh (佐藤 孝信) – Say You Love Me (In The Clouds
Ecstasy Boys (天宮志狼) – Holy Spirit Dance (Tatsuro Amamia’s Spirit Mix)
Zuntata (ずんたた) – Flossy Feelin’
Yutsuko Chusonji (中尊寺ゆつこ) – Blessing (Magic Ware Remix)
Missa Fukuma (福間未紗) – 砂時計 -View- (Sunadokei -View-)
SR Smoothy (橋本慎) – Far Away From Heaven (Dub’s Club Remix)
Plus (プラス) – The Colours
Creamy (クリーミー) – Koi (恋)
Kazutoshi Yokoyama (横山和俊) – Paradise Imitate
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