Yukari Fresh Releases New Album

Love me for this, okay?

Escalator Records' final release will be Yukari Fresh's forthcoming LP, GRRRL SUMMER CAPE KID. The seminal Tokyo-based label has been churning out Shibuya-kei, electro-pop, experimental, and dancey tunes since the early 1990s, and it's with a deep sorrow that we say goodbye to them.

One of Escalator's first signings was Yukari Fresh -- albeit not by that name -- so it seems fitting that the long-standing roster member's new full-length will be released on her first (and only) label. After amicably folding, the ex-Escalator staff will dedicate its time to its Shibuya record store, Every Coversation and Crazy to Live record labels, and its Tokyo dance parties. May the Escalator legend live on.

GRRRL SUMMER CAPE KID is a refreshing return to Fresh's roots. It's spunky and concentrated, hooky and quick, jumpy and energetic. Fresh never fails to cut to the chase with her recordings, and often times, that's a good thing. She's a thirty-something (maybe forty-something?) mother now, though, making the sheer energy and sometimes bombastic forcefulness all the more inspiring. This statement rings very true with the new LP and is certainly not to be missed.

Ah, and if you missed it the first time around, check out the lengthy (definitive English language?) interview I did with Naka, Escalator Records et al's president, for Anthem right here. It looks as though I caught them on the brink of their dissolve!

GRRRL ... is out on August 27; below you'll find one song from that and two extra old tracks to tide you over until the record hits stores.

Yukari Fresh - GRRRL (A FACTOR OF REVOLUTION)

Yukari Fresh - Fat

Yukari Fresh - Lost and Found (Hideki Kaji Remix)

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Pacific!'s "Sunset Boulevard" Gets Remixed by Lord Skywave

We were sold by the first second of Pacific!'s debut single, "Hot Lips," a year or two ago. The Swedish duo has since gone on to push its surfer-meets-electro-pop LP all across the globe, from the U.K. to the U.S., and even to India where they're now enjoying the number one slot on the nation's MTV and VH1 music rotations. Not too shabby!

There've been many remixes of Pacific!'s work, but this new one by half of Black Ghosts, Simon Lord, a.k.a. Lord Skywave, is one of the most stunning we've been graced with since Breakbot's stellar effort. As Daniel -- half of Pacific! -- aptly puts it, the edit is reminiscent of "an old Bollywood soundtrack somehow." How perfect, then, that they're a Hindu hit!

Check out the remix of "Sunset Boulevard" below and be sure to pick up the debut, Reveries, when it hits the States on July 22!


Pacific! - Sunset Boulevard (Lord Skywave Mix)

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New Liars, "Disgusting"

Liars Interview from Anthem Magazine on Vimeo.
Oh, how I love Liars. The trio is one of those bands that we all know is going to be pumping out albums for years and years to come; one of those bands that will inspire generations of future musicians; one of those bands that will always seem utterly accessible and completely alien (have you ever seen Angus and company live!?)

Four albums and a handful of EP's in, countless recording locations later, and uncanny genre hopping, Liars comes out with a curt single that has no affiliation to anything as far as we know, "Disgusting." Unlike the bulk of their last LP's work, "Disgusting" is more reminiscent of early punk cuts by, say, the Slits during their collaboration with Half Japanese that never happened. The throbbing beat and helter-skelter hook makes the tune messy; the slightly off drumming only further convolutes the thing; the piece is genius.

Now that the band is officially holed up in L.A., I'm hoping to see more of them ... don't tell me this isn't a Los Angelino tune.

"Why can't they turn on the lights? You are a man and I am a drug. It's so disgusting."

It's so disgusting!


Liars - Disgusting

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PRDS

Yesterday, I received an especially brief message from a certain 16-year-old kid named Adam, who makes music under the moniker prds. With a copy of Fruity Loops as his instrument, the Swede pumps out sublime, melancholic instrumental pop gems that shimmer like the setting sun reflecting off a placid ocean. "Lionfish" is a tad repetitive and flat; "Bahamas" is a bit choppy and doesn't spotlight the throbbing bass line that drives the tune quite enough; prds is a work in progress, but with some assuring signs of a positive and creatively fruitful future.

Check out two MP3s below and grab another pair at the guy's Last.fm page.

prds - Lionfish

prds - Bahamas

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No Age/Mika Miko/Abe Vigoda @ the Smell

Early last month, Los Angeles exports No Age, Mika Miko, and Abe Vigoda performed at the Smell's second annual matinee performance. I'm still a little in the dark as to why they decided to hold such a stellar show during some of the hottest hours during the day and how they managed wrangle up every hipster in the great L.A. region, but -- needless to say -- the mini-festival (or whatever you want to call it) was fun.

I did this film for Anthem Online. Check out the original article and small clip here. We got footage of all three bands' sets (amazing), a solid Q&A with No Age, and a fun chat with some of the Mika Miko girls and a couple of the Abe Vigoda guys.

I recommend viewing the high-def version of the video on Vimeo. We didn't shoot in HD for nothing!

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Ray Mang

When I was younger and on a major Pizzicato Five/Shibuya-kei rampage, I remember taking a great liking to Ursula 1000, partially due to the fact that he used a P5 sample in one of his older cuts.

I'm not saying that the loungey heyday of Ursula 1000, Thievery Corporation, and other related artists has come back full swing, but many DJ's seem to be attracted once again to the swanky melodies and rhythms of old jazz jams ... Latin American stuff in particular.

One such act is Ray Mang, a.k.a. Raj Gupta, a London-based disc-jockey who contemporizes the bossa nova and swinger lounge vibes of old. Imagine a Westernized Fantastic Plastic Machine or Konishi Yasuharu in 2008. That's essentially what this guy's like. (He actually toured Japan last year!)

Check out a few cuts below. "Praia do Londres" is pretty old -- it was originally released as an R&S Records 12" and later included on an Eskimo Recordings LP -- but certainly worth putting on repeat. I'm including "Angel" as a sort of joke -- I'm assuming that Gupta intended it as such himself ... Gupta accidentally sent me a bad copy of "Angel," so download it again now and you'll have the authentic MP3. It's a slower jam that just is all at once soothing and exceedingly catchy.

Lather yourself with some sunscreen, throw a linen shirt and Fedora on, grab a Corona, and relax to the smooth beats of Ray Mang on an island in the sun somewhere.

Ray Mang - Praia Do Londres

Ray Mang - Angel

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