I’ve wanted to talk about Lullatone for the longest time, but never got around to it here on the blog. If you remember a nice little indie-pop band from Hong Kong that I posted about called The Marshmallow Kisses, on their myspace page was where I found about Lullatone. Ever since then, i’ve been a fan and an avid follower of their self-described “pajama pop.”
By now you know of my on-going fascination and support of Japanese indie-music, so noone should be surprised at how ecstatic I am that this duo’s makes their home in Nagoya, Japan. The duo comprises of Shawn James Seymour & Yoshimi Tomida as Lullatone originally started as a project of Shawn making lullabies for Yoshimi. What’s even more exciting about all this is the fact that I recieved an email from Shawn indicating the release of their fourth album of petit pajama pop melodies titled Plays Pajama Pop Pour Vous, which was just released yesterday as a matter of fact on Audio Dregs Recordings.
There’s a funny little description from Shawn that described the band’s sound that I just had to include:
Imagine if Sigur Ros and Architecture in Helsinki were planning on recording an album together, but the studio was already double booked! Therefore they decided to record it in one of the member’s bedroom on his cassette player. Just then Kahimi Karie called, so they said “Oh great, why don’t you come over too? We’ll have a slumber party tonight,” and she said, “Ok.” They started recording but it was getting late and they were afraid that their neighbors might complain if they were too loud,so they replaced all guitar parts with music boxes. About that time Kahimi showed up and said “Let’s order a pizza, I’m starving.” Next they were eating the pizza and they got thirsty, but the only thing they had in the refrigerator was milk. Milk has that thing in it that makes you sleepy, so they all got a little sleepy, and then singer guy from Sigur Ros decided his voice was too high for this project, so he asked Kahimi to sing. She did and it sounded great! And than they all fell asleep. The End. – Shawn James Seymour
That description of “pajama pop” is fitting though, as this is the perfect music to fall asleep or get up in the morning to. Basically it’s good for any time of the day as you’ll feel like you’ve fallen into a sea of pillows with the sounds of keyboards and various noises along with the beautiful whisper of Yoshimi played over this dreamscape of sounds. Listening to her voice and this music is almost like an excuse to daydream as the melodies/vocals act like a guide to wherever your mind wishes to take you. Sit down and listen to this with your eyes closed and you’ll feel yourself never wanting to open them up again. It’s like her voice won’t let you, as you’re left wanting to follow it to wherever it may lead. It’s a simple sound with a certain child-like innocence that brings you back to a time well forgotten.
myspace / website / buy
Lullatone | “Good Morning Melody”
Lullatone | “Floating Away”
Lullatone | “Sleepytime Samba”
Bonus: Lullatone | “Leaves Falling” [off Little Songs About Raindrops]
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I was thinking of posting about this too… But seeing as it’s hard for me to post and knowing your thing for Japanese stuff, I figured you’d do it!
I’ve wanted to post about them for a while. I’m so lazy
[...] project originally began with Shawn creating lullabies for Yoshimi. Here’s a description from an older post below from Shawn himself that provides a unique perspective on their [...]