It’s been such a long time since i’ve covered a Japanese artist here on the site, too long in fact that I think it’s time to get reacquainted. For the majority of the night, i’ve been currently listening to Solo - the US release of experimental-pop artist Tujiko Noriko. Information about her is very scarce, but she’s originally from Osaka, Japan but currently resides in Paris, France where along with working as a musician, also works on experimental short films. She’s often been compared to other similar experimental female musicians like the group Múm and Björk.
Making music was like I drive and drive looking for a place where there is nobody. I would arrive there, wow cool, I get out of the car quickly. Then I happily dance, sing, doing a mini party alone. Doing a solo show alone in a big green field. There is a lake, the sun, a train, an airplane, the city, a forest, camera,second sight & everything in the field. etc. Anyway, it’s nice when it’s working well. I had forgotten this way of enjoying for a while. Last year, after some collaboration albums, I remembered I wanted to have this feeling again.
That quote from her in regards to the naming of the album definitely works with the kind of music that permeates throughout this beautifuly layered record. The music itself has this feeling of isolation, but not in a depressing sense of the word. How can I describe this sound, maybe like bedroom electronica? Really, I have no idea. As I listen to “Magic” I have this feeling of content where i’m perfectly fine being alone with this music. The layers of electronic sound blend so perfectly with Noriko’s vocals and cute, melancholy melodies. Saying all this about an experimental sound doesn’t take away from the fact that there is a very real pop element that makes all these songs work. It’s a different type of pop though that my complete lack of vocabulary is unable to describe to anyone at this moment (sorry i’m a terrible writer). At times dreamy, others just makes my head spin. You’ll just have to listen to it and see for yourself as Solo was just released this week in the US.
website / buy
Tujiko Noriko | “Magic”
Tujiko Noriko | “Ending Kiss”
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[...] I apologize for not posting last week’s Graboid up as I kept putting it off so far into the week that it was the weekend and I still hadn’t started on it. I figured i’d just combine it with this weeks and call it a day. There were a few good releases last week though, including Field Music and Lucinda Williams’ latest – which I will not post any tracks from because I don’t want bad emails ever again. This week brings us nice set of new releases that includes the highly anticipated All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone from Explosions in the Sky, a best of Arab Strap compilation and Tujiko Noriko’s Solo that I just wrote a semi-review for a few minutes ago. [...]
Hawt !