Singer-songwriter Yo Irie, whose first full album in seven years, Renai, was released in February this year, has released a new single, Koi no Koto, co-written with two beatmakers active both in Japan and overseas, TOMC and Junes K. The song is an eclectic neo-soul tune that brilliantly crosses the boundaries of genres and eras.
This album is based on an addictive loop that blends soul and lovers rock, and has a boom bap-neo soul melody with Balearic fast-forward guitar sounds, but at the end it changes to lo-fi synth funk, and you can enjoy the beat switch. The lyrics, which smoothly and smoothly change back and forth on the themes of “love” and “money”, are also very unique.
In the production of this song, TOMC was in charge of the main loop, vocal chops, and drums. At this stage, Irie wrote the melody and lyrics all at once on the track, and also provided the synthesizer sound source. Junes K further added guitar, sound effects, and chorus sampling sound sources to complete the song. The artwork was also done by Junes K. The design beautifully captures both the diverse tastes contained within the song and the beauty of its minimalist composition, which is also noteworthy.
The three are also planning various activities after this film, so keep an eye on their future developments.
●Overview of the work
Artist: TOMC, Yo Irie, Junes K
Title: About love
Release date: Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Various distribution services:https://lnk.to/KoiNoKoto
●TOMC
Beat and ambient producer.
He has released works on Canada’s Inner Ocean Records, Sweden’s Insert Tapes, and Japan’s Local Visions. In 2020, his EP “Lunar Maria” reached number one on the iTunes New Age chart in Japan. Since 2022, he has expanded his listener base both domestically and internationally, with many of his songs, including “Honesty (feat. arcomoon),” ranking on the Apple Music US charts. His latest album, “True Life,” released in 2023, was called “Nujabes of the 2020s” and was selected for the annual best album project by music media Small Albums and others.
In recent years, he has participated in the collective improvisational performance group Stone Music, which was formed by Tokio Hasegawa (Taj Mahal Travel Group). At the same time, he has a long career as a DJ of house, disco and R&B, and is active beyond the boundaries of the scene.
Utilizing his extensive knowledge of music, both major and minor, he has contributed to online publications such as Cyzo and Mikiki, specialist magazines, and record stores such as Kankyo Records and Disk Union, and has also made numerous media appearances on J-WAVE and other platforms.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tstomc
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/tstomc
●Irie Yo
Born in 1987. Singer-songwriter, film music composer, writer, producer, etc. In 2013, he released his first album, “Mizu”. Since then, he has released his second album, “Shigoto”, his third album, “SF”, and his fourth album, “FISH”, all produced by Yoshio Otani. His latest album, “Renai” (released in February 2024), will be his first in seven years. He has also worked on soundtracks for movies and TV dramas, and his recent works include the movie “On the Streets (directed by Rikiya Imaizumi)” and NHK Educational TV’s “The Snowman of Tokyo”. He is also known as a fan of streaming content such as Netflix, and has a serial called “Haishin Kyo Nikki” in the magazine “Soen”.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irieyoo
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/irieyoo
●Junes K
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1991. A beatmaker and graphic designer, he won the Beat Grand Prix CLASH 2019 held by OTAIRECORD with his rare talent. He has released three albums from OILWORKS, a label run by OLIVE OIL and POPY OIL, provided remixes for Tamaki ROY, held his first solo exhibition in 2021, and is a beatmaker who is currently attracting attention, with his song “Songbook,” released in January 2022, being picked up by Spotify’s big global playlist “Fresh Finds.” He will release a new song “Love” featuring Tamaki ROY and Keiichi Sogabe on October 25, 2023.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/junes_k
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/0123Junes