Japanese Gum - Hey Folks! Nevermind, we are all falling down LP

Hear The Track Here

Japanese Gum, in case you were wondering, is a mixture of (and I quote) 'psychedelic concrete and live electronics'. That's what it says 'pon their Myspazz page and who am I to argue with that? Anyway. Japanese Gum are, confusingly enough, an electronic duo from Genoa, Italy which, AFAIK, is some considerable distance from Japan. Paolo Tortora and Davide Cedolin make up the band, who actually approached me for a review ages ago and I've only JUST been able to get to it, which is a shame because their NEW project is due right around now too. Oh well, better late than never. Hey Folks! Nevermind, we are all falling down LP was released last September and is a full length (ie 14 tracks) album, although you'll probably have to shell out to get a copy. So, is it worth your hard earned cash? Well, like all things, it would depend on your taste.

I have reviewed a fair amount of Italian bands since I opened up the blog to reviews and Japanese Gum are fairly typical. The one thing that makes these bands stand out is that they are different, in some cases, way, way different. So if you were expecting the kind of electronica that comes out of a box stamped Roland, then it would be best if you just shuffle elsewhere because that isn't the case with the Gum's music. In fact, I could have wrapped that entire first paragraph up by saying that Japanese Gum make soundscapes - pure and simple. Oh to be sure, there are vocals in there, although you would be hard pressed to find out what those vocals were on about, partly because of the way the material was recorded and partly, I suspect, the way the vocals are being presented.

I think Japanese Gum would do well to set up camp at Soundclick, which has a sizeable audience that would lap up this combination of ambient/new age/glitch and just about everything else their fertile minds can conjure up. While this kind of left field electronica (which definitely verges on the experimental) isn't going to appeal to the vast majority of listeners - it takes some getting into, not a quick listen - I can certainly find much too my own taste. My own taste for the musically weird and wonderful has been nurtured over many years of listening to Soundclick's very large experimental genres, so I really liked it although it often wandered into musical parts I am not comfortable with. The reason I'm not talking about individual tracks is because this just isn't that kind of album. How could it be? If you like experimental, hazy chillout or just plain odd electronica then, like me, you'll find much to munch on here. Not perfect, but definitely of interest,

Recommended Electronic weirdery.