Plus-Tech Squeeze Box

There are deliberate Pizzicato Five and Fantastic Plastic Machine references on Cartooom!, which, coupled with Fakevox's deliberate Cornelius and Yukari Fresh references makes them the most blatant of Shibuya-kei revivalists and they've covered most facets of it very well. Tomonori is one of the finest, most assured producers on the planet after the big man himself, Cornelius.

etc, d'you have gmail? I have all but 2 tracks from Cartooom! and it's basically the other half of PSB's 1989-1999 Tokyopop revival. But I definitely want the packaged CD too.

I was extremely pleased with their placement in the Spongebob OST, cuz it seems like a good medium for exposure for them.

Yeah, I can see these guys as next year's Puffy Ami Yumi. Junko would have been good for their image due to her cool hair (see very first link). They are overdue for a world tour. They're like the audio equivalent of that moment in the NSYNC vid where the busload of bublles fly out of the TV screen.

I wish I knew what happened to Citrus.

Also, I just want to say that 'Dough-Nuts Town Map' is as good as the best song in the universe right now. Rave, electro, swing, glitch, symphony, J-pop, indie...it makes Xenomania and that overrated Girls Aloud record sound minimalist and underproduced.

(People who got my mp3s and aren't named 'nickalicious', feel free to post your thoughts, good or bad, anytime between 2004 and the immediate new future)

It's more Fantasma-like than I had given it credit for above and further expands on that album's crazier moments than Adam had once said about Fakevox (CartooomTV = Monkey, Starship 6 (also an older compilation track, mind) = Star Fruits Surf Rider/2010, f(ake) = Pink Spider (which isn't on Fantasma, but still) ). I miss Junko - her voice meshed so well with Takeshi's that he's pretty much absent from vox this time round (as 'Early Riser' fans know, he sings lead on the track).

I did get some interesting info on PSB during Shimura Curves yesterday, which is that they are now part of the Sony empire, thus explaining why Sur La Plage never released Cartooom! (among other political things - no comment). Meanwhile, if you live in Tokyo, Vroom have reissued Fakevox with a remixed compilation track (in place of the original bonus remixes), a video and yet another variation of that unreproachable cover (gender-flipping your cover for the international markets - classic or CLASSIC?).

(Fakevox album sampler probably still on the current YSI/Gmail thread)

The problem was, artists started to use certain samples as their audio-logos...like, if they use that horn blast and drum fill in every song, you'd have no problem ID'ing who did it (relevant in the remix arena). Obviously Konishi is the worst at this, as was Cornelius for a while. Funny that they are two of the men behind Bossa Nova 2001, when they were original on each and every song.

PTSB extracted the sample mania, and made it the vehicle for something slightly different.

Like, when Techno began adding break beats in the early 90's or whenever, only to have Drum & Bass grow out of that.

But for me, too much PTSB can become as tiring as much of the Shubuya-Sample-Mania!

The thing was, I really, really liked it when Cornelius deployed his original set of sonic signifiers in his remixes and post-Fantasma tracks. It gave his work an extra touch of cohesion, and he also tweaked them a little for extra use and furthermore, worked out exactly how to make these differences sound fresh next to their original uses in Fantasma. I mean, CM alone has at least 3 variations on 'Star Fruits Surf Rider', not to mention the more blatant remix of Takako's 'Milk Rock', yet they're all still unique, viable and loveable. Of course, Keigo now sounds like he's had fun systematically sucked out of his body, which also means he's less than good at getting away with this anymore ('Tone Twilight Zone' vs kd lang - 'Curiosity' remix is the worst example).

Plus-Tech do this a lot as well, anyway, though they're currently as self aware about it as 'Nelius used to be. Of course, this is current, post-Fakevox PSB anyway, who are miles from their original incaranation on more ways than one.

Anyway, time to break up this Martin Show. YSI's to follow.

http://s45.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3DNE2R8781N3828FXD6DKQWW91

Next up from Fakevox is mid-album swinger 'White Drops', a sweet (but perhaps sad?) little Casio and breaks-led pop song which Junko sings with concealed emotions. This simple, non-cute number shows off Tomonori's arrangements without being flashy about it.

http://s45.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3FKF2VKG4SC0C01XYJ2P1A9RYH

http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=12T6R66K3VNQH0Y1OQAKMF7FQX

http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1I9V435KJ2VAU2WFRVOEGKPHCB

Am supposed to be on record-buying moratorium but ooh look fakevox is only \2100 at Tower... tho does living in Osaka and not Tokyo disqualify me?

Cool! Many thanks. I'll email you my address.

I'll give this a couple of days, then move onto another act

Flipper's Guitar, perchance? ;)

Adam, there's videos for 'Early Riser' and 'Test Room', I'm pretty sure. Every song on Cartooom! either has a direct connection to Cornelius or their own past work, which is fun.

Jeff - sure, why not?

Yellow, and it's the remaster - http://www.towerrecords.co.jp/sitemap/CSfCardMain.jsp?GOODS_NO=853969&GOODS_SORT_CD=104

if I bring you pocky when I come back will you promise to not kill me? (or maybe bars of Ghana Milk-and-milk chocolate. oh, Japan.)

I'm also gonna attempt a counterpart YSI thread for obscure non-Japanese bands in due course.