Takako Minekawa - Fun 9

This is a really good record. It's one of those deals that you either love or hate, though. She's said to be part of the "Shibuya-kei" scene, although that moniker never really did a lot to describe any of the musicians ascribed to it. She's a synth player who writes songs about cats and numbers and stuff. Usually her songs are driven by some old-fashioned drum machine, and have layers of synth come in and maybe some reverby guitar or something. More often than not she sings in a very childishly high register, so a lot of people will be turned off right there. Whatever, I say. It's all part of her charm. She's just not interested in adhering to any conventions at all, so she whips up some bleepy soundscape and sings about something weird, and the best part of it all is that at the end of it all you notice that you've not only been entertained, but that you're very relaxed. The first track, "Gently waves", is 2 minutes of multitracked a capella with no lyrics, and which doesn't feel a capella at all. Then she takes you through textures and the occasional more structured pop kind of song, but nothing is ever derivative of anything. She plays with the stereo format in ways most musicians forgot you could. It's a great album for headphones. The album ends with "Fancy work funk" which is not funk music, nor is it suited for work. This album is like rolling around in some clouds for a while and then landing in your bed with a bag full of candy. Drugs just make it more so. It floats in, plays with you, and floats away again, and you say "I shall check out more of her music" or else you just say "what the fuck? That is unlistenable" and put on Bob Seger while I tell you that I have met many people in my life, and that you are not among them. True story, ask Ira about it.