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ot every album reveals itself instantly. It took me a while to recognize how fascinating Tango by Matia Bazar really was. Imagine, for a second, that ABBA didn’t break up after The Visitors. Imagine that they found a way to continue on after that fan demarcation line, and boldly go wherever that new point of inspiration they had,…
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A perfect album for our alternate reality, filled with alternative facts. In a perfect world there would be lines upon lines of information out there written on Naoki Asai’s アバ・ハイジ (Aber Heidschi). Unfortunately, in our imperfect world all we have is one (!!!) brave blog post even attempting to suss out what in the world Naoki Asai…
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Now here’s someone’s backstory I can’t even begin to try to tackle. To be brief: pioneering Japanese composer and musician/violinist Joe Hisaishi might best be known for his timeless work soundtracking the vast majority of Studio Ghibli’s films and all of Hayao Miyazaki’s oeuvre. We all can fall in love with his music from Princess…
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How do you classify a six-piece Japanese band like Apsaras? Their debut album Apsaras definitely covers a ton of bases. Let’s count all the genres that they bring into their musical mix: dub, new age, minimalism, vocoder funk, balearic, are a few. Heck, you even hear the glimmers of Afropop and Jazz-Fusion. How many genres have I mentioned so far?…
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f someone’s in touch with the music of the cosmos it’s Kagawan Toshi Tsuchitori. The music I’m sharing from his 1980 release, Breath, gives us a peek at what would set him off on his life-long journey to create music that harkens back to Japan’s prehistoric time. Now known primarily as a percussionist, Breath is the rare…
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imply, phenomenal, a landmark release of Spanish music. The more I hear Eliseo Parra y MOSAICO’s Homenaje A Agapito Marazuela, the more I am convinced of my declaration. This album, a musical homage to the massively influential and important Castilian folklorist, musician, and dulzaina master Agapito Marazuela, does so many things right. Released a year…
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How do you describe a band like Frank Chickens? Led by performer/artist/musician/animator/singer/theater producer Kazuko Hohki and her sister-in-arms Kazumi Taguchi, Frank Chickens still remains unlike any band out there. Using Japanese kitsch and asian fetishization as a means to facilitate some truly subversive culture prodding and oddly imaginative musical explorations, Frank Chickens’ debut We Are Frank Chickens shows you a small…
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If ever you’re in Naples, bring up Tony Esposito, and thank me later. Part of the new Neapolitan Power scene envisioned by Tullio de Piscopo, James Senese, and Pino Daniele, Tony proved to be the one closest to bringing that sound out of the Mediterranean and onto the world. A rhythm master all his life, Tony Esposito’s Il Grande Esploratore remains one of the pinnacles of…
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This might not be the most proper way to start off FOND/SOUND’s blogging new year, but I’m hoping for a blessing in disguise. Let’s get this right out the way: I have little info to provide on the following Japanese band, Pale Cocoon. Released on cassette, in 1984, 繭, which translates to “cocoon”, has all those perfect wintery things we…
ambient art pop art rock balearic brazilian electro-acoustic england environmental music experimental folk-rock fourth world Funk fusion japan jazz minimalist neo-folk neoclassical new age walearic