Foodman, real name Takahide Higuchi, has signed to Hyperdub for a new album.
Yasuragi Land is the Japanese artist’s first full release on Hyperdub. Unusually for the British label, there’s no bass; instead, the album is breezy and refined, made with a few simple tools. We’re told to expect “hyper-rhythmic music,” that “dances around your head.” It harks back to Higuchi’s time as a busker, when he’d get together with friends to jam, which wasn’t possible while he was writing it. “Extrapolating that sound and feeling with guitar VSTs, samples, and hyper-rhythmic percussion is at the core of Yasuragi Land,” we’re told.
The album and its track titles are also inspired by eating at Japanese motorway service stations and the simple pleasures of regularly visiting the local Japanese public baths. “When I go to these places, I’m able to enjoy the atmosphere. I wanted to create an honest album that combines the sound of guitar and percussion with the sense of peace and community I feel in here amidst the uncertainty of the future,” he says. Yasuragi Land is that place of ‘tranquility.'”
Higuchi is a resident in Nagoya, a city between Tokyo and Osaka, and his work is influenced by the country’s juke and footwork communities of the 2010s. His last solo album came in 2018 on Sun Ark Records, also exhibiting minimal electronics and sound collage, but he’s since put out material as part of psych-rock duo Kiseki with Taigen Kawabe, who guests on the album.
Tracklisting
01. Omiyage
02. Yasuragi
03. Michi No Eki feat. Taigen Kawabe
04. Ari Ari
05. Shiboritate
06. Hoshikuzu Tenboudai
07. Shikaku No Sekai
08. Food Court
09. Gallery Cafe
10. Numachi
11. Parking Area
12. Iriguchi
13. Aji Fly
14. Sanhashi feat. Cotto Center
15. Minsyuku
Yasuragi Land LP is scheduled for July 9 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Hoshikuzu Tenboudai” in full below and pre-order the album here.
