Taquwami "Moyas” (Self-released)
The music that Kawasaki's Takumi Kuwahara makes as Taquwami features familiar sounds, but bent in a way that makes the sonic details sound otherworldly.
For the past five years, Taquwami's output has been dumped into many microgenres — chillwave, witch house, seapunk — but tagging his work as a certain style does a disservice to one of Japan's most adventurous independent producers.
His newest release, the "Moyas" EP, again finds Kuwahara dipping into something familiar — in this case, the sand-blasted sounds of American trap music and EDM — but bucking all trends in favor of chasing his own fancy. "The Gathering" includes a passage resembling a build to a drop, the peak anthemic moment in, say, an Avicii track, while "Otogi Bass" sneaks in the familiar sound of an air horn.
But Taquwami isn't making outright festival-pleasing noises. "Otogi Bass" corrals dissonant percussion and synths into a bouncy dance number. The title track mixes warped vocals, skittering beats and digital flutes together, but everything clicks just right to create a captivating track. "Moyas" is an exploration of where specific sounds can be pushed, and how well-worn ideas can be reconfigured into something thrilling once again, done by one of the few producers in the country capable of pulling it off.
You can hear "Moyas" via Taquwami's SoundCloud account or pay $1 to download the album via his Bandcamp page. For more information, visit taquwami.bandcamp.com/album/moyas.
