In his book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, the neurologist and author Oliver Sacks samples the following quote from biologist Gerald Edelman: “Every act of memory is to some degree an act of imagination.” For 30 years now,… Read More
Roddy Frame’s songwriting feels like an effortless extension of his restless internal monologue. From the career-defining arc of his band Aztec Camera through the many studio albums he’s released under his given name, the starry-eyed songwriter has assembled a vast… Read More
Even more than their remarkably fresh and in-touch new music, which flirts with EDM and high BPMs while never being too “How do you do, fellow kids?”, the Pet Shop Boys’ most interesting activity across the last half-decade is the… Read More
As a Japanese initialism, “BGM” stands for “background music.” It’s meant to evoke the blissful ’80s ambient work of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haruomi Hosono, the kind of idyllic music that wafts from hip mass-market clothing stores or loops quietly under… Read More
It’s almost impossible to talk about the renewed interest in Japanese music in the West without invoking the YouTube algorithm. The meteoric rise of city pop, as well as the ambient music that’s come to be known as environmental music,… Read More
Danny L Harle chews pop music into a sugary sludge. From the effervescent radio refractions of his early singles for PC Music to more recent tracks for Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX, he melts down familiar forms into their basest… Read More
Nearly two decades have passed since the release of the Notwist’s Neon Golden. An ingenious synthesis of indie rock and electronica, the album was a shining example of “plinkerpop,” Morr Music founder Thomas Morr’s term for a wave of delicate,… Read More
These are unprecedented times for 20th century Japanese music in Western culture. Exports in various styles have recently ballooned in popularity, with out-of-print vinyl rarities selling for hundreds of dollars on Discogs and long-forgotten ambient albums racking up millions of… Read More
For the past 40 years, Carl Stone has been atomizing recordings of ubiquitous and obscure music alike, transforming his source material into kaleidoscopic fantasies. His electronic compositions, stuttering and illusory, repurpose minute sonic elements from a wide variety of different… Read More
During his brief, glorious early ’70s peak, it seemed that Marc Bolan could send seismic tremors through the universe with delectable nonchalance. He switched from Tolkien-esque freak folk to Chuck Berry boogie in the span of an album. On a… Read More