- Unhinged dance tracks from Osaka.
- In the past few years, you'd be forgiven for thinking the coolest music out of Japan was placid ambient and environmental sounds meant to waft through corporate parks, soundtracking the country's '80s economic boom. But fans of weird tunes would be foolish to ignore the bizarre drum machine music emanating from Osaka, as heard on the unhinged new 12-inch from Takafumi Okada's Manisdron project.
Okada is the drummer of the unclassifiable minimal rock band Goat, and seems to have recorded the hi-hat on the bracing opener, "LFAD," live in the practice space. The frantic cut is otherwise made up of hair-raising synth arpeggiations and Okada's own hectic sing-speak, reminiscent of An-i's modern techno classic, "Kino-i."
Okada doesn't take his foot off the gas for the rest of the record, but varies his approach ever so slightly. "Crossing" is a spaced-out synth journey, while "Alphabet Of Spring" powers along on a live motorik beat. While Manisdron's tracks can feel like an onslaught, subtle production touches—oddly placed delays and constantly shifting melodic patterns—set these cuts apart. The most remarkable aspect of Manisdron is its white-knuckle momentum, a fine addition to L.I.E.S. Records' flourishing catalogue of freaked-out, hardware-oriented dance music.
Tracklist01. LFAD
02. Crossing
03. Alphabet Of Spring
04. Sacrifice