Release cover

Various Artists

Minna Miteru 2
Compilation
Sep 2, 2022

Following the »Minna Miteru« compilation, released in 2020, Morr Music announces a sequel, dedicated to Japanese indie music, overflowing with surprises and welcome discoveries. Like its predecessor, »Minna Miteru 2« is compiled by Saya of Tenniscoats, with the support of Markus Acher (The Notwist). It’s also another part of the Minna Miteru universe, alongside retrospective albums by The Andersens (»There Is A Sound«, 2020) and yumbo (»The Fruit Of Errata«, 2021). Taken together, these albums suggest a scene in rude health, sharing a unique vibration.

If its predecessor circled around Tenniscoats and their close friends, the second volume, though featuring a collaboration between Tenniscoats and Deerhoof as oneone, reaches far further afield, drawing from music old and new, far and wide. Consistent across »Minna Miteru 2« is a sense of wonder and a cheerful unpredictability: you never quite know what you’ll hear next. There are some gorgeous indie pop songs here, like Yuko Kono’s »Ginger« or HOSE’s »Baseball«, but there are other sounds too, like Kariu Kenji’s blue-hued electro-pop, or the wheezing pipe-organ ambient of FUJI||||||||||TA: »Minna Miteru 2« hints at new kinds of beauty.

Some of the more widely known names here contribute typically gorgeous melodies – Kama Aina’s »Wedding Song«, from 2005’s »Hawaii Hawaii« CD, is a reflective tune that combines a country-ish lilt with hints of slack-key guitar. Shugo Tokumaru’s »5 A.M.« is a delirious psychedelic pop mantra, drawn from his excellent 2005 album, »L.S.T.«. Many of the revelations, though, come from artists and groups relatively unknown outside Japan. The lovely, disorienting glitch-folk of Wasurerogusa features Aki Tsuyuko, perhaps best known for her albums on Thrill Jockey and Jim O’Rourke’s Moikai label, collaborating with psych-folk legends Eddie Marcon.

There’s also the delightful synth-pop of Jonathan Conditioner; the electronic dreamscape of Chaplin, whose opening »Out Cont« runs along several parallel paths at once; the twinkling, acoustic jangle at the heart of mmm’s luscious »Blue«; and a curious collection of miniatures, from acts like tenshinkun, Daisuke Tanabe and NNMIE, that embrace a childlike curiosity, essaying a kind of toytown pop-tronica.

The twenty-six songs on »Minna Miteru 2« repeatedly catch you unawares, upending your expectations and signaling both the breadth and depth of the Japanese indie underground. It’s a compilation of play and pleasure, but also of bold experiment smuggled into the everyday through pop music’s welcoming moods, magically creating a new world for the listener, spun out of the air and woven in between your ears.

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つけも / Tsukemo - ジョンのサン / Jon no son01:10
20
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アルペジオ / Arpeggio - 王舟 / Oh Shu01:30
14
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不夜城 / Fuyajo - その他の短編ズ / Sonotanotanpenz01:36
12
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夜 / Night - てんしんくん / tenshinkun01:42
6
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或る夕べ / An Evening Litany - 中村祐子 / Yuko Nakamura02:02
22
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雪がや / yukiga ya - コントノボ / contonovo02:25
18
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野球 / Baseball - HOSE02:31
15
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水 / Water - んミィ / NNMIE02:52
25
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染め / dye (some) - 沼田佳命子 / Kanako Numata03:11
13
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Origami - Daisuke Tanabe03:12
23
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夢が叶った / YUMEGA KANATTA / My Dream Has Come True - 狩生健志 / Kariu Kenji03:15
16
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君のような目にいつかなりたい / Wanna Be Like Your Eyes Someday - わびさびくらぶ / WABISABI CLUB03:19
3
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July - F.L.Y.03:20
1
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Out Cont (Out Conte) - Chaplin03:47
21
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少年少女 / Boys & Girls - 惑星のかぞえかた / How To Count Planets03:50
8
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Ginger - Yuko Kono03:52
4
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あきのつばめ / Aki No Tsubame - わすれろ草 / Wasurerogusa04:24
19
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わんわんのテーマ / The Theme Of oneone - わんわん / oneone04:38
24
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話し方 / How to Speak - FUJI||||||||||TA04:53
11
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Blue - mmm05:19
7
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Wedding Song - KAMA AINA05:30
5
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人が生まれる / Hito ga Umareru - ジョナサン・コンディショナー / Jonathan Conditioner05:39
2
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5 A.M. - トクマルシューゴ / Shugo Tokumaru05:48
10
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ゆうたいりだつ / Yūtai-ridatsu - 森山ふとし / Futoshi Moriyama06:19
17
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スミヨシ / Sumiyoshi - かきつばた / Kakitubata07:43