Magically surreal avant-pop that seems to caricature film music from various genres.
An epic synth loop that constantly revolves around itself, increasing in force until an 80s soundtrack threatens to suffocate itself. “Suzy” isn’t the only piece on ONSEN MUSIC that sounds cinematic. But the songs on Shoko Igarashi’s second album don’t function so much as music for the film, but could rather be a commentary on the film’s music. “Yamagata” dribbles and plucks, squeaks and crunches in an exaggerated manner, as if it wanted to caricature an experimental film score.
“Open The Door”, on the other hand, could accompany a not entirely serious nature film. And “EN”, with its sophisticated vocal melody and spherical instrumental motif, seemingly advertises itself as a James Bond theme song before it goes on to do strange electronic capers. You can still hear that the Japanese, who lives in Brussels, comes from jazz in some of the melodies that are reminiscent of her primary instrument, the saxophone, but otherwise she combines a wide variety of influences, drawing from Japanese pop as well as the avant-garde, to create a surreal sound world in which an enchanting pop song can magically transform into an abstract sound collage.
You can find out which albums will be released in November 2024 via our monthly release list.