In the days prior to writing this, I received an order from (or actually two orders, placed at roughly the same time) from dotshop.se, consisting of Angelika Koelermann - Care,
Most Valuable Players - You in Honey,
Cacoy - Human Is Music,
Kama Aina - Club Kama Aina and
Tenniscoats - The Ending Theme. The first two are great in their own right, but what I am focusing on right now are the three remaining. The have several things in common, in addition to shared contributors and members, namely, being short and japanese.
The first one mentioned, Cacoy, is the only one overtly electronic of the three. It isn't actually short at all, but rather a long-player, clocking in att sixtysix minutes and some seconds. The reason i called it short was that i somehow had forgotten; and, obviously, I found it funny. It's a very bubbly record, which often is the case with electronic pop albums. The singer from Tenniscoats appear on a couple of tracks, but it's otherwise instrumental; which also often is the case wiith electronic pop albums... Well, not that specific singer, but some singer, anyway. No particular singer. (pat yourself on the back if you got that reference; it's a hard one!)
Cacoy is very hypnotic. Fragmented melodies appear quite regularly, in an unpredictable fashion, and the overall mood is actually rather melancholic, albeit in a rather confused way. Sometimes on dotshop, you accidentially buy albums that sound creative, espescially concerning electronica and electronic pop, but actually aren't;being self-indulgent instead; an imaginary depth, if you wish. That is not the case now.
Concerning Kama Aina, you may recognize the singer on the fifth song. Yes, gentlemen, that is actually
Isobel Campbell, of
Belle and Sebastian and solo albums fame! But she isn't the most important aspect of this album, far from it. Next to Cacoy it feels like a walk in the park. Literally. Or at least some japanese garden. It's folky and pretty; dominated by piano and cello. It doesn't really break any new ground; it's just overwhelmingly beautiful. Makes you think of the late night sky and trees in the dark. It's brief, though. Only eight songs, ending after thirty-eight short minutes.
Last, but not least, Tenniscoats. Or, they are actually least, this being a very short record of only twenty-nine minutes. But what a gem it is! Every song showers you in melacholic beauty! It's the regular pop instrumentation. A guitar, drums, singer, bass, some keyboards... Hardly any surprises there, but the sound they produce... I can only nod my head too the sides very slowly in awe (yes, it's is a slow album, so nothing for the guys with long, black hair and B.O.). Third track, Mo Mo Rainbow is possibly one of the five most beautiful tracks released in the noughties. Go fetch! Now! Cheers!
Kama Aina
glasgow sky provient de son dernier album sorti en 2006 chez Rumraket "Club Kama Aina". Personnellement, je préfère "Music Activists" (Drag City - 2004) davantage tourné vers l'improvisation. 
