Daisuke Tanabe (Artist Feature)

Japanese pop-culture often tends to come across as child-like and "cutesy" to us in the west, and in many cases it is just that. On the other hand the seemingly bizarre and mysterious ways of the Land of the Rising Sun do invoke curiosity and intrigue; there is a certain mystery about the place even in these times of the information age.

Musically, Japan like most other countries puts out a lot of sugary throwaway pop artists and tunes, but scratch the surface and find an incredible array of interesting, sometimes whacky underground sounds.

Daisuke Tanabe is a producer with beat-maker roots, but you might find that his sound bears closer relation to the

cinematic soundtracks of Hayao Miyazaki's stunning anime than to more hip-hop or downbeat, drum-driven productions. There are bouncy melodies, cartoonish electronic flourishes, and those "cutesy" sounds that more likely evoke images of Totoro's little buddies or Ponyo skipping in the whitewash than anything else.

Some of his music is seriously beautiful though, and having only released his first 12" in 2006 ('Gas' on Fluid Ounce) he is a relatively new artist on the scene, yet he has a pedigree that saw him start developing his unique sound from the age of 16.

2010 has seen the release of his debut LP, 'Before I Forget' on Circulations Records who have also distributed releases from the likes of Reggie. B and Japan's Super Smoky Soul.

Here is my current fave tune 'Kanon', a simple and beautiful example of this man's sound. LP details at Discogs below...

Daisuke Tanabe - Kanon by CIRCULATIONS

For a listen, check out: Daisuke Tanabe - Before I Forget (CD, Album) at Discogs