(Group) M-FLO / (Artist) VERBAL

[daigong]

another tribute? I get chills!

m-floがリスペクトし合う豪華アーティスト達によるトリビュート第2弾！
昨年10周年イヤーを記念してリリースされた「m-flo TRIBUTE 〜maison de m-flo〜」が大ヒットを記録。今作もm-floにとってネクストジェネレーションとなる錚々たるアーティストが集結。

「m-flo TRIBUTE ～stitch the future and past～」
RZCD-46832 ￥2,100(tax in)




2011.3.23 On Sale!!
★購入はコチラ ＞＞ http://amzn.to/eySr5Q
☆「been so long」/AILI ＞＞ 3/9〜 着うた(R)、3/16〜着うたフル(R) 配信start!!
　http://ailimusic.com
☆「Come Back To Me」/moumoon ＞＞ 3/16〜 着うた(R)、3/23〜着うたフル(R) 配信start!!
　http://www.moumoon.com
☆「Hands」/ICONIQ ＞＞ 3/16〜 着うた(R)、3/23〜着うたフル(R) 配信start!!
　http://iconiq.jp
▼収録曲
01. been so long　/　AILI
02. REEEWIND!　/　CREAM
03. come again　/　MAA
04. SOUND BOY THRILLER　/　lecca
05. Hands　/　ICONIQ　
06. Come Back To Me　/　moumoon
07. TRIPOD BABY 　/　Angelababy
08. How You Like Me Now? feat. WISE　/　IMALU
09. let go　/　中村舞子
10. L.O.T.(Love Or Truth)　/　SHUNYA

via avex youtube

[Amplifier]

LINK NUKED

[daigong]

pretty tight album, like his m-flo works

I CAN'T HELP MYSELF for KPop fans
nice Jay-Z sample on "BALL N BOUNCE"

I WANT IT ALL is about as American hip hop style as you can get. STOMP DEM ROACH

Nicki and namie tracks my fave, some dope lyrics in there

[Amplifier]

VISION AIR

The man took the last one down after 500+ downloads. CANT STOP WONT STOP

[Amplifier]

http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/02/m-flo-releases-teaser-for-new-album-square-one/

about time

[tenkei]

i came a little.

[tenkei]

here's the PV for m-flo feat. 2NE1. kind of NSFW lol

shessoouttacontrol

[tenkei]

here's another PV from Square One for the song All I Want Is You

All I Want Is You - m-flo


some speculation on the vocalist:
MiChi
Minami (from CREAM)

It actually does sound quite a bit like MiChi.


Also, for those that missed it, samples of all the songs are on m-flo's site
http://m-flo.com/works/m-flo/20120221.html

[maliciel]

I saw Taku link this interview on Twitter, and I thought his views were pretty interesting, so I tried to translate it. Any errors are mine.

For our special feature on m-flo, the last to come up is ☆Taku's online interview. Our plan was to have a simple mail interview, but Taku's own feelings about music came pouring out; our mail exchange kept going, and resulted in a 10-000 word interview instead.
From the person that takes the lead on m-flo's sound, we talk about SQUARE ONE, club music, and his thoughts on m-flo. We also hear about the impressions towards Mushiro Teyatsu and Perfume's Kashiyuka interview.


In a way, SQUARE one is the most packed with messages


What kind of work did you end up with, with SQUARE ONE?

The best of where we're at right now, I think. In terms of sound, I managed to make what I really loved, and out of all my works, I've visualized this one the most. At the same time, I wanted to show how I feel about the music scene in Japan now. Looking at all our albums, I feel like this one carries the most messages.

Balancing a J-Pop sound and the sound suited for a dance floor, how much thought do you put into that? And what do you pay attention to when you craft your music, in terms of characteristics?

That's a great question. This is something that's been m-flo's theme since the start. Since the beginning, it wasn't so much about thinking about the balance. Even if the result was only a few people, we wanted to think of how to counter people's opposition to club music, or otherwise convince those who hear club music for the first time that this club sound was what they were looking for. To do that, that was why I started m-flo. That hasn't changed, even now. As for the technical aspect, compared to the past m-flo albums, I think it's easy to tell that I use less tracks.

The number of tracks you use has lessened?

Yes. In Japanese works, too many instruments are layered atop one another in order to create a more showy song. I think in that case, you end up hearing too much.

With regards to this change, is it related to your spending more time spinning tracks at clubs as a DJ?

As you say that, yeah that might be true (lol). But I think the melodious parts of songs appear at the chorus. For example, All I Want Is You, Yesterday, and Never Needed You et cetera, the hook is really melodious. But at the parts where the beat comes in, or when VERBAL raps, then the bass is loud.

So a mixture of both.

Exactly. But rather than saying mix, let's call it an approach that lets them co-exist. An approach that lets both - the m-flo (like in come again) that has a showy, busy sound and the m-flo that uses less tracks - exist on their own merit. I'm reversing this to you guys, what exactly is a J-pop sound?

Of course, defining J-pop is hard, isn't it? There are many conceptions of J-pop, I think.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not particularly fond of the fact that we're closely associated with the genre of 'J-pop'. Originally, Pops wasn't an actual genre, but rather 'Popular' meant something that the general masses liked. From there, it was a matter of the artists and music execs thinking "What's the most efficient way to sell [records]? Let's take the music that the public already likes as an example and release stuff like those" and releasing music in that vein. The public loved it, and that's how it became a musical genre. I don't think this is totally bad, but due to the hard times, quality dipped. It happened everywhere, but the same type of works came out one after another. These people lived on music, so there was no choice, but to me, that isn't very interesting. I'd like m-flo to come on to this 'J-pop' scene and say "There's other things out there. If you can, please listen to some of this."

So you want m-flo to be alternative, that is, presenting a different option.

Yes. And in that sense, I think it's great that the album got #1 on the iTunes chart, and ranked in the top 10 for Oricon. It's obvious that SQUARE ONE isn't the same type of sound as the others on the Oricon chart, and we got into the Top 10. That's great, and I would like to thank the fans for it. But as for myself, this doesn't satisfy me. After hearing m-flo's album, I'd love for people to make their way to the clubs. Taking advantage of this, I want more electronic and dance DJs to be introduced and known. Dance music is fun, and the best place to have it is the club.


The interlude script was witten by Satou Dai

m-flo's albums always have a story unfolding in the interlude, what kind is it this time?

First off, for this album, I was really excited that Satou Dai, who worked on my favourite anime Eureka seveN wrote the script for it. Besides that, he also wrote Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo's script; someone who can really shape a setting. The voice acting too, is done by my favourite actors. The vocalist's the same, I won't reveal this to anyone..

So the voice acting credits is a secret too, huh. Are there no hints?

Hm, Satou Dai's works are a big hint, I think. But the person that voices Blink-chan isn't in a role that's typical for her, so a lot of people didn't know who it was. But looking on the net and twitter, the number of people who have gotten it right has increased.

So what's the storyline this time?

To explain this interlude, I cannot do so without bringing in our first album Planet Shining and second album EXPO EXPO. The young me lived in the 20th century. Of course, at that time it was a time when space exploration technology was being developed; as technology evolved, the fantastical 21st century lie in wait.

No doubt, much of the latter half of the 20th century was dominated by Sci-fi anime and their futuristic depictions of the world. And at the very end of the 20th century also came m-flo's first album, Planet Shining.

The timing for Planet Shining was when the 21st century drew near, but there was no sign of the future that I expected. While I won't go so far as to talk about stuff like the flying cars from Astroboy, or traveling to buildings in tubes (lol), but I imagined we'd at least be able to go for vacations in space, or technology moving much further than it is now. With that, and the expectation that at 2012, it'd be closer to the future I imagined, in that album the interlude's worldview had us traveling between planets.

I see.

With EXPO EXPO, we made an interlude that happened in 2012 as well, with the setting of a intracerebral virtual expo. The expo is a reference to the world expo, held in Osaka in 1970 and Tsukuba in 1985. Both carried the bright and clear message that technology had progressed. Influenced by that as i became an adult, me and VERBAL came up with the idea of an intracerebral expo. By the way, this was before (my favourite) manga artist Urasawa Naoki-sensei had come up with "20th Century Boy". I don't think he's ever listened to m-flo, but I'm kinda happy he thought of the same thing (lol).


The 2012 we saw in our dreams never came

☆Taku-san, we're digressing (lol). Let's get back to the talk about the interludes.

That's true (lol). The 2012 we imagined was one with advanced technology and psi-computers (devices that connect the brain and the computer). It's 2012 now, but mankind still doesn't have a base on the moon, and Tokyo isn't even hosting a world expo (lol). The 2012 we expected, the 2012 we saw in our dreams did not appear.

Certainly, it has been steadily advancing, but it hasn't become like the Sci-fi in the 20th century, has it.

In short, Planet Shining and EXPO EXPO were, in our view, illusions. This time, the interlude seeks to address "the reasons that what should have happened didn't, and why it became an illusion". And we made this into a story. Yes, a story of a time paradox.

Time paradox?

Yes. To put it easily, changing history and what was orignally supposed to happen, and singling it out. I think there are also people who have heard the album, and Natalie doesn't have a character restriction, so allow me to explain it a little bit (lol). In the interlude there's something known as the Planet Shining Plan, and this is one to drive globalization and technology advancement throughout the whole world. And in this project, space travel and psi-computing is included. And great expense is needed for training space travel cabin attendants; from that, the android Lori (whom many m-flo fans have been acquainted with) is born. In any case, Lori's not fictional, she's the vocalist for a band called COLDFEET, and they make some magnificent music, so please check them out.

The 2012 that Planet Shining and EXPO EXPO depicted, that was the outcome.

Yes. And this Planet Shining Plan was prevented because of a conspiracy. This was executed by someone from another world, Detective Pattern. On the contrary, there was someone who wanted to turn the world back on the path it was supposed to go, Detective Blink (also from another planet). That's how the story is like, and it's done by Satou Dai and Team StoryRiders; it's pretty awesome.

Detective Pattern? A man would have a name like that, huh.

Indeed. And from this small story, it gets unveiled steadily.

If it's possible, could you tell us?

Nope, not yet, I can't tell you. Sorry. And another thing: this interlude has an overlap with the current music scene in Japan, from what I feel. Because in 2012, it's expected that Japan's music will globalize as well.


Expressing oneself with m-flo, and changing Japan

So it's 2012, m-flo has released its first work in 5 years; to you, what is m-flo?

This could possibly also be the reason why I haven't worked on m-flo for 5 years. For me, m-flo is something I love, and is a means to make me, Japan, and the things around both of these things more interesting. That m-flo has stayed silent for 5 years was for some time to reappraise m-flo; I also wanted some time to train up my skills (lol).

Traveling about to gain skill?

My own songwriting, DJ, music and song writing theory; I wanted to raise my own level and so I started learning everything from sratch all over again. And using ☆Taku Takahshi [sic] instead of m-flo, this was partly the reason as well. Dropping my identity as m-flo's Taku Takahshi and entering battle as just ☆Taku Takahshi, and to present material that was different from m-flo. People with orthodox tastes that requested m-flo naturally did not frequent the clubs, and I think there weren't many fans that liked the genuine club sound. And so if anything happened, the amount of customers would decrease.

When did all this happen?

Mm, about 4~5 years ago. Initially, there was another reason for dropping the m-flo from my name. My party was know as 'Tachytelic Night', but every time there was anything celebratory (like full houses) it was the m-flo fans who gathered to do it. It was just something I was concerned about.

Why is that?

This party had other DJs' and artists' performances as well, but when it came to the techno-style DJs' (who I think are pretty good) turn to take the stage, the front row audience just stood upright. And it was some great stuff, so I thought it would have been better if they were a little more excited. The patrons in front were waiting for me, and were expecting the m-flo-esque stuff. They weren't bad or anything, rather I am thankful for them. Simply, it was a matter of not knowing what to do about it, they weren't the people I was aiming for. However, this was not the club atmosphere that I wanted to create, so I was like 'this can't really do'. 

And that's why you dropped the m-flo title.

Yes. All this while, from the time I entered that my skill-gathering journey, I clearly indicated that 'this isn't stuff that'll be like m-flo'. And then, I worked to make myself able to face off head-on with club-lovers. These were my two aims. And just as expected, the number of fans went down, and at times I worked with only 20 people in the crowd. It was a process to temper myself into the top DJ. And in the truest sense of the word, with m-flo I gathered the people who had aclear idea of their aims, the 'dark essence'.

Even with that, your solo work was connected to m-flo?

Yes. For me, it didn't matter how people enjoyed m-flo. Or I should say, I'd be happy if people only listened to it. However, I wasn't happy that we sold so much, I wanted to give people an opportunity to come to share my love of dance music, and give them fun experiences. To do that isn't simply about just releasing works 'overground', but also making sure that I could hold my ground in the 'underground'. And so there was that accumulation, meeting new people, the people with the 'dark essence' increased in number, people who loved club coming down to the venues, and customers gathering. Last year's Tachytelic at Daikanyama AIR was full house 5 out of the 6 times. With that, I ended my journey, and once again, ☆Taku Takahashi and m-flo were reunited.

I see. So you've been going through both the 'overground' and 'underground', haven't you.

In dance music, there is a lot of experimentation in the underground scene, and once the results of those experiments are fully digested, they come onto themajor scene. That's the good thing about the West's Pop Culture rotation. There's no such thing in Japan today. I was constantly looking for ways to cultivate that in Japan, vis-a-vis m-flo. Even though some have termed it an m-flo-less 5 years, m-flo has been connected to this. For me, m-flo is a way to express myself, and at the same time to do something to change Japan.


The club's charm, and point of contention

By the way, what kind of party do you like?

I like parties that are both a little flirty and have a focus on the music. Each has their own uses of course, but I'm not fond of parties that become like music dojos, and I'm not good with parties that are basically just for flirting (lol). The coolest ones are those that have a balance of both, I think. Isn't it romantic that you can fall in love with someone who shares the same love for your music hobby?

How do your parties appeal to those who don't normally hit the clubs, or otherwise, people who've never been to one before?

Firstly, we have dance music, and I think that's one of the attractions. Dance music was made to be played on powerful sound systems, and it feels really good to feel the music with your whole body as you dance. Anyhow, it's fun to just be noisy with everyone. My parties happen on the first weekend of every even month; in Tokyo its on Fridays, and Saturdays in Osaka. As a matter of course, I invite the best Japanese DJs, but also interesting foreign DJs. The atmosphere really builds up, and everyone's really friendly, so if you could do drop by for a visit.

On the contrary, are there any problems that you see in the Japanese club scene?

Hmm, its full of them. If I go into this it'd change the pace of the interview; to put it simply, there's first the problem of the law. Clubs aren't allowed to do business past 12, 1 am, which is pretty nonsensical and conversely you create the problem of people stranded on the way home. It creates a situation where the women have to wait for the first train, and that's a little dangerous; I worry about that.

That is definitely true.

Another problem is one that I think rings especially true in the electronic music scene, and it's that they do not raise newbie DJs who can bring people into the clubs. I think it's a huge problem that all the DJs are all getting older. Overseas, both the veterans and newbies can pull in the crowds, and this is the big business. Culture is of utmost importance, of course, but for the continued existence of said culture one of two things must happen: (1) Financial aid from the country (2) Setting up a proper business model. (1) is totally impossible, so we can only rely on (2). But in Japan at the moment dance music has not yet accomplished that, and that's a big problem in my opinion. I feel like that's main reason that party spots and the number of artists have gotten smaller than before. And because of that, block.fm, a web radio station specializing in dance music was set up last year. The great thing about it is that it's a place there Japan's top DJs showcase their strengths, and introduce [to people] some really interesting stuff.

This radio station, almost everything is broadcast live, isn't it?

Yes. From 8pm to 2am in the morning. Genre-wise there's Hip-hop, House, Reggae, Drum & Bass, Bass Music and some danceable Rock, and along with Fashion and Culture, those are the things the radio presents. Also, you can listen to it on the iPhone as well as the newest smartphones, so it's portable.


Komuro-san's comments were very accurate

This time Tetsuya Komuro and Kashiyuka are involved in the plan, do you have any messages for them? Let's start with TK.

To be honest, I've never met TK.*

That's unexpected.

From the surrounding people, they say that he's a fun and kind person, but when I see what he says, he seems like a creator who pays attention to the small details. And adding to that, his explanations were very to the point. His comments too, they were pretty interesting. I love European music and yet, to have such a legend in J-pop history to give me criticism is really an honour.

That's because he has created music for many generations, huh.

Yeah. But, I only just learned that that song was in the pentatonic scale (lol). I guess in life you're always learning.

So music theory isn't one of your specialties?

Yep. When I started in high school, the first tools I touched were the mixer and turntable. I started as a DJ. And there's a possibility that in that sense, that's where me and Komuro-san differ.

What do you think of TK's music?

To be perfectly honest, I'm not particularly well-acquainted with TK's music. Of course I know his works that were hits in the jpop scene. I haven't listened to all of the albums that he's released, and so I don't think that I can really speak about his music. This is something that I want to media to be conscious of as well; In the comments there is a space to write about your favourite songs, but often that also becomes 'the rest are bonus'. The space alotted on the pages are restricted, so there's no choice, but still, I don't like it when people speak about people ['s music] when when they haven't heard a complete album.

I see.

Among other things that I feel about TK, during my highschool days, when dance music was still underground, the ones who introduced rave and jungle to this country was TRF (Tetsuya Rave Factory). Of course, the audience won't be able to keep up if you kept the hard dances the way it was. That needed a lot of figuring out, I think. And I think it's not a stretch to say that that's where artists now came from. Musical pedigress isn't related to the scene or anything, but rather is something that is handed down, I think.


We want to collaborate with Perfume

Kashiyuka gave you a really positive message as well, no?

When I first met Kashiyuka, she was really friendly, and it didn't take much time to open up. People don't really know this about me, but I'm not very good with strangers. It's very rare that I go "I think I want to be friends with this person". Kashiyuka is just that lovely.

What did you think, reading the interview?

"Am I really like that?" I really wanted to change Japan. Even if it's Japan, I wanted dance music to be part of the lifestyle, and to make opportunities for Japan to show its ability to the world. Us Japanese sometimes unintentionally just focus on our own people, but please look to Europe as well. Everyone knows about how they're all connected geographically and share a currency, but nothing's ever concluded in one's own country, but rather spread into the world. That's hot. What Kashiyuka said was true.

It seems you talked about some 'interesting' things with Kashiyuka, but what exactly were those?

Ah, I want to do a collab with them. At first I thought of a collab between me solo and Kashiyuka, but aside from that, i'd settle with Perfume and m-flo too. On Niconico Douga and Youtube there are MAD (remix) videos, but it's time for the real artists to do it. And if (Nakata) Yasutaka could get in on it too, it'd be so much fun. Yasutaka's great points are not only in his production, but his lyrics are awesome. This is just something I term him, but he's like the 21st century Aku Yuu, in my opinion. Of course if we were to do it, there would be no answer to his expectations with regards to the vocalist (lol).


Doing music with VERBAL is the funnest thing ever

What is VERBAL to you?

To me, he is the world's greatest rapper. He's been doing it since junior high school and it's been more than 20 years since, but I think he still holds more potential. I've known him since elementary school and from the 2nd half of junior high we've been doing music, but if I hadn't met him I wouldn't have a music career now, I think. And also now, he's both a fashion icon and a businessman. I think you should challenge everything you can physically do. And yet, he has the talent to do so. I think this is amazing, and that's why I support him. And I've said this to him directly as well, but I like him the most when he's deep in concentration, rapping. It's fun to do business together with him, but nothing beats performing music with him.

I understand. So please tell us what you're thinking of next, with m-flo, and what you've decided.

It's been 5 years since m-flo has been active, so there are many ideas. But gathering these ideas is not just me, and i'll be consulting with VERBAL on when the next release drops. As for live performances, it'd be great if we could show the Japan of today something unbelievable.

Do you have a message for the Natalie readers?

To everyone who listened to this album, thank you.

**: TK is Tetsuya Komuro. It seems like a typo, because if it was right he'd be saying he would rather not meet TK. Which sounds weird and makes no sense.

[Atreyuxex]

M-Flo =  I heart M-Flo mucho.

Maybe it was just me, but I swear ( M-Flo Loves EMILY & Diggy-Mo´ - DOPAMINE ) when I forst heard that song, that Emily was saying " can you feel my pussy"  . But I later found out it was " can you feel my heart sing"  . I like their work with Boa,Heartsdales, Utada, I think they may have done something with Bonnie Pink, not too sure though.

[MochaNutz]

M-Flo x Lisa - Come Again

apparently its the first time in 12 years since they've performed together on Hey Hey Hey.
Verbal looks like a model for the chick brand tokidoki. Yoon must have fun dressing him up however she wants.

[MochaNutz]

more new m-flo (besides Tonite, which i had to get used to at first).



I really like m-flo again. Square One was dope. Square Two seems like its shaping up well.