i-fls- Diary of Spectre

8-Bit & Chiptune, Ambient & Experimental, Instrumental, Review by Genre // By: GarrettcloseAuthor: Garrett Email: garrett@netlabelism.com
More Authors Posts (8) // 28/03/2013 // No Comments

The music of i-fls is something that few may understand, but those who do will be completely overwhelmed at the amount of emotion it contains. With a conflicting sense of surrealism and serenity, it can perhaps be related to the Japanese term mono no aware, which is used to reference an empathy or awareness for subtle passing moments and things, with i-fls’ discography serving as a sort of “slice of life” handbook.

i-fls himself is from Japan, although his location on SoundCloud is only referenced to as “on the table,” perhaps referring to the near exploitative nature of his feelings. He has released 3 albums and 2 EPs during this past year alone, his latest, and possibly most bleak out of his entire discography is the haunting Diary of Spectre.

i-fls’ name is an acronym for “i from listening suicidal,” a reference to a blog he runs which plays off as a sort of manic personal diary and avant-garde approach to Microsoft Paint-esque art, paying homage to many of the musicians he loves by producing fan album art, as well as producing his own original drawings and photography as well. His blog name is also a reference to now defunct Japanese band, BOaT, whose aesthetics were also grounded in constant genre shifts and rampant emotion. i-fls is very much a product of the Internet. He disguises his true identity, but we can’t help but know him completely through the work he puts out.

One of the most distinct qualities of i-fls’ music is that it is all produced on Garageband, playing off as like a sort of lo-fi outsider version of Susumu Yokota. While many may have his or her own predispositions about using Garageband as a full-on musical tool, to think in such a way really takes away from how one should experience music in the first place, which is that we should hone our focus in on sound and emotions, rather than the source a sound is derived from. With that being said, all of i-fls music is composed entirely by himself, with no loops or samples. He simply uses the presets of Garageband just as anyone who has ever used the standardized sounds of an 808 drum machine or Casio keyboard.

The sound on Diary comes off as quite eerie, even for an i-fls album. On Diary, i-fls delves deeper into exploring the elements of shoegaze and most recently, chiptune. The second track, “abegawa,” is one of i-fls first tracks that sound distinctly like it was pulled from a video game soundtrack, sounding oddly reminiscent of the music in the video game, Yume Nikki, which in itself only contained chiptune songs when it was trying to depict surreal alternative universes or metaphysical “game within game” situations to the player.

Like many of i-fls’ other albums, Diary is referential to a lot of his past work, seen in song titles such as “residential town loneliness” (the name of an album released earlier this year) and “theme of yamane skepticism” (which references “theme from yamane loneliness,” a song on his EP, reality hallucination). The reason why it is important to note such subtle references in i-fls’ music is because it serves as a point of reinterpretation. If i-fls’ scope of work is truly to be seen as a “musical diary,” then much like a person reflecting upon the regrets and ill thoughts of their past, i-fls does very much the same in his music.

Often artists seem to be frowned down upon when reinterpreting their work, as if it’s to only rehash the best of their early days, but i-fls doesn’t really have earlier days. His musical journey is simply just placed on one single tangent, devoid of interpreting what is the past, present and future. It simply is, and that’s what is so beautiful about it. The amount of work that i-fls releases isn’t exactly overwhelming nor redundant, in fact it makes complete sense within the spectrum of who he is as an artist.

I struggle to say that i-fls’ music is not completely bleak, yet although that is so, I find much comfort in hearing his music. While some artists retain a depressive aura around them, I sometimes find it hard to listen to because it makes me too, depressed. But with i-fls, although he is the musician, he also seems like the listener, honing in on what I am experiencing as well and reflecting it back to me. Anyone who isn’t afraid to feel can relate to i-fls, and that is what is truly magical about the music he produces, making him one of the, if not the most emotively effective musicians I have ever heard.

i-fls- tamaki (album version) 

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Link to the Release Page

Guchon- Palpunte Trax 01

// By: GarrettcloseAuthor: Garrett Email: garrett@netlabelism.com
More Authors Posts (8) // 03/02/2013 // No Comments

In an offbeat cover depicting Oda Nobunaga donning a New York Yankees ball cap, Guchon’s latest EP, Palpunte Trax 01, may very well be making parallels between Nobunaga’s interest in western culture with Japan’s current netlabel scene, which is deeply rooted in America’s underground electronic scene.

Sabacan Records, who released this EP along with many others by Guchon, has helped bridge American electronic music styles with Japanese sounds. Palpunte Trax 01 refers to itself as “juke,” which has its roots in Chicago-bound ghetto/booty house music. (Some notable artists in the genre are DJ Rashad or DJ Nate.) The difference between juke and genres such as ghetto house lies in its increased tempo and rhythm patterns. With the use of DAWs (digital audio workstations, such as Ableton), it has become increasingly easier for musicians to create even more complex rhythms and have an even wider variety of samples to choose from to further personalize their sound.

Although Palpunte Trax 01 may sound like it is derived from juke to some extent, its sound is much more minimal and lo-fi. “Palpunte 01 A” plays off almost like Taiko no Tatsujin processed through a NES, with “Palpunte 01 B” sounding equally so, with key influences of dubstep and a piano loop that sounds like it’s taken straight out of an urban side-scrolling game. While Palpunte Trax 01 is heavily influenced by American electronic music, it still retains the sense of being Japanese, and it is with that we not only see Guchon retaining his own musical personality, but a new sound emerging from this apparent global influence.

Palpunte Trax 01 may just be one small example that demonstrates the impact of the netlabel scene and its focus on the global music market, but just the fact that it exists shows how the musical spectrum is changing. It is no longer just “juke” nor is it just “Japanese music,” it is a combination of both working together to form something entirely new that works and sounds different from its counterparts. If musical genres such as “juke”, which still holds a minimal presence in mainstream music in America, can influence genres across the world, then it only shows more promising things to come. Guchon and Sabacan Records have demonstrated that they’ve searched deep for their sounds and have a great deal of love for them, making it their own and displaying that they know what to do to be at the front of the netlabel game and perhaps for what is to come for electronic music in general.

Guchon- Palpunte 01 B

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Kosumo Notto – Mysterious Shiba Kei

8-Bit & Chiptune, Ambient & Experimental, Audio, Instrumental, Minimal // By: GarrettcloseAuthor: Garrett Email: garrett@netlabelism.com
More Authors Posts (8) // 19/12/2012 // 1 Comment

Mysterious Shiba Kei is the debut album of Kosumo Notto, the alias of the equally cryptic moniker, Howl Jolson.

Before this album, Jolson primarily worked with instrumental guitar music that resonated as a more melodic, shoegaze leaning version of Hisato Higuchi, so it comes as a surprise that shiba is an album completely derived from video game-esque sounds.

However, Jolson’s sense of melody and precision for minimalism has not really changed all too much in comparison to those guitar works, and shiba manages to carry out the same floating feeling that you would typically find evoked with genres such as shoegaze or any derivatives of drone and ambient music. Jolson has referred to his body of work as “save point” music, something that stands as a point of dual interpretation. You’re either entering this world, or leaving it. You can choose to either feel sad and lethargic, or be filled with nostalgia and hope.

You don’t need to be aware of any sort of referential knowledge to understand or enjoy Kosumo Notto’s music, just a heart that is tender and full of memories. Although one can easily single out any SNES role-playing game that Kosumo Notto’s music is relatable to, the total feeling of pure ‘nostalgia’ stands as much of the guide point for being able to embrace music such as this. Kosumo Notto’s stands out from other “chiptune” artists as his sense of melody is without pretension, in fact, it shows an amazing amount of restraint, and that sort of delicacy is one of the most difficult things to perfect with music such as this. Not often is one encountered with a chip album that relies so heavily on the meditative qualities of video game music as opposed to the high energy sounds that are most typically associated with chip music. With that idea, Kosumo Notto’s music simultaneously stands on its own, yet retains a deep sense of universality to its understanding that such fond memories are highly interpretable and far-reaching.

Kosumo Notto – Cocoon Dream

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Deep link to the Release Page