#shunka ryougen

[hibiscusbabyboy]

"'Sono una strega buona o cattiva?'

That is the real question, but my blood tells me that it is up to one's interpretation"

[cheapsweetsrocks]

CheapSweets Pick 'n' Mix - Best of 2022

What is is?

Shunka Ryougen, second full album from Japanese singer, songwriter and 'poetry-rapper' Haru Nemuri (real name: Haruna Kimishima)

What's it like?

If you'd told me at the start of 2022 that one of my favourite albums would be Japanese beat poetry with riot grrl/DIY sensibilities, I would have laughed, then told you that sounds weird, but kinda cool. And it is.

The album title roughly translates to 'spring fire lighting the fields ablaze'. J-pop but with heavy rap, punk, electronica and hardcore influences, and referencing everything from Fight Club to global warming to philosophy, this is an experimental album on multiple levels.

There is however a lack of polish to some parts of the album which may be a bit of an off-putter to some, but I appreciate the rawness and range of the music (and emotions) on display.

I feel I'd enjoy it even more if I even spoke a tiny bit of Japanese!

You might like it if you're a fan of:

Tricot, Jaguar Jonze, MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS, Pussy Riot, Björk, Fugazi

Lyrics such as:

春雷 轟けよ愛 こころが目覚めて 世界中あふれる そんなラブソングがうたいたいぜ！yeah！

I 生きていたいや いのちが目覚めて 世界中かがやく 新しいラブソングがうたいたいぜ！yeah！

(very rough translation)

Spring thunder

Roar, love

My heart awakens all over the world

I want to sing such a love song! Yeah!

I, I want to be alive

Life awakens

Shining all over the world

I want to sing a new love song! Yeah!

Don't just take my word for it:

Zhenzhen Yu from Pitchfork gives a thoughtful analysis of the album;

Carlos Vélez-Cancel from everythingisnoise.net praises the album's emotional depth and ambition;

Standout tracks:

Ikiru, Kick in the World (deconstructed), Old Fashioned

Where can I find it?

On youtube;

On BandCamp;

On Spotify;

On AppleMusic;

...and official website;

[cheapsweets]

I feel there's some stuff I need to check out in here...

Think my top 5 albums of the year are probably...

Remnants of the Vessel, by Faetooth

Call Down the Sun, by Konvent

Violate Consensus Reality, by Psychonaut

The Saberlight Chronicles, by Fellowship

and...

Shunka Ryougen, by Haru Nemuri

Honourable mentions to Cool it Down, by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Myriad by Gaupa, Where's the One? by Congotronics International, making it! by Montaigne, UGLY DEATH NO REDEMPTION ANGEL CURSE I LOVE YOU, by Ada Rook, Tlazcaltiliztli by Tzompantli, Rakshak by Bloodywood, and the self-titled albums by Lybica and by Zeal and Ardor.

I tend to come to albums a bit late, so a lot of my listening in 2022 was catching up on albums from the last few years. I have finally listened to Ordalies by Véhémence, which is rad as heck :)

Véhémence - Ordalies Crisix - Full HD Dragged Under - Upright Animals Dynazty - Final Advert An Abstract Illusion - Woe Soilwork - Övergivenheten Lorna Shore - Pain Remains Saor - Origins Ghost - Impera Shadow Of Intent - Elergy

[gothprentiss]

tagged by @explosionshark - top listens of 2023 via last.fm (generated via tapmusic.net)

new releases: genus ordinis dei - the beginning (aoty. to me) / protomartyr - formal growth in the desert / the veils - … and out of the void came love / model/actriz - dogsbody / elysion - bring out your dead

notable spillover from 2022/new to me: jid - the forever story / conception - state of deception / haru nemuri - shunka ryougen / imperial circus dead decadence - mogari

big year for roy khan! and it must not escape any of our notice that ocean rain had such a death grip on me this year that it’s on there twice

i don’t know who of you uses last.fm but if you do i have tagged you. and if you don’t well i am tagging dear mutuals whose music posts i like to post some fave albums of the year @gena-rowlands @38across @purlturtle @scorpsik

[seraymerichateblog]

HARU NEMURI W GO LISTEN TO SHUNKA RYOUGEN

[b3crew]

No Borders No Race: The SXSW 2023 Showcase | B3 - Boston Bastard Brigade

The annual South By Southwest Festival is just around the corner, and King Baby Duck's got you covered! Over a dozen Japanese acts (and a couple of Boston ones) are on display, with the where's and when's people can see them live in Austin, Texas! (Although there are a few that were, at the time of the recording, still to be determined!)

PLAYLIST (with album/single links):

the tiva - Go back our home (from The Planet Tiva part.1 EP)

Haru Nemuri - Seventh Heaven (from the album SHUNKA RYOUGEN)

VivaOla - Runway (from the STRANDED EP)

Kami Lyle - Much Too Young (digital single)

POT - Beginning (from the album Journey)

Chihiro Yamazaki+ROUTE14band - Fairy Tale (from the album Oto no Sekai)

BackDrop Cinderella - Bond Girl Sugu Shinu (from the 3rd e.p)

GracieHorse - Crustaceans (from the Gracie EP)

NTsKi - Kung-Fu (from the album Orca)

Otoboke Beaver - YAKITORI (from the album Super Champon)

Yogetsu Akasaka - Heart Sutra (digital single)

Snøw - Wxrds (digital single)

NEMOPHILA - Seize the Fate (from the album Seize the Fate)

YAYOI DAIMON - Sin Miedo (from the MY OWN BOSS EP)

CHAMELEON LIME WHOOPIEPIE - LaLaLa (digital single)

Muck and the Mires - Beat Revolution (digital single)

DYGL - Under My Skin (from the album Thirst)

Wez Atlas & Seann Bowe - The Plot (digital single)

YU-KA - Hoshizukiyo (digital single)

Click here to listen!

[godza]

im obsessed with haru nemuris music every month i relisten to it all and enjoy. harutosyura is her best album and im right. shunka ryougen is very good too. i like when she screams because its such a juxtaposition from her sweet singing voice and its always in a perfect place in her songs. gosh i love her music

best song off lovetheism

[darkarfs]

Vomit Forth - Seething Malevolence

Pool Kids - Pool Kids

Sparks - The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte

Just Mustard - Heart Under

HOLY FAWN - Dimensional Bleed

Perfume Genius - Ugly Season

Dr. Acula - Dr. Acula

HARU NEMURI - Shunka Ryougen

Escuela Grind - Memory Theater

Vatican - Ultra

Masayoshi Soken - ENDWALKER: FINAL FANTASY XIV Original Soundtrack

Sarah Davachi - Antiphonals

Janelle Monáe - The Age of Pleasure

Cocteau Twins & Harold Budd - The Moon And The Melodies

Sturgill Simpson - Cuttin' Grass - Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions)

Lustmord - Trinity

NUCLEAR DUDES - Boss Blades

Protest the Hero - Fortress

Warforged - The Grove | Sundial

Cherise - Calling

Been a busy week.

[cheapsweetsrocks]

Happy Bandcamp Friday!

Today, I picked up another two albums, one of my favourites from last year, and an old fave from years past!

Shunka Ryougen by Haru Nemuri was one of my top albums from 2022 (and I really need to get around to writing about it...).

Apparently, the album title roughly translates as 'spring fire lighting the field ablaze', and it's such a heady mix of rapped poetry, experimental rock, and pop with a DIY sensibility (and an awesome vocal range) it's very difficult to categorise.

Spectra, by Northern Irish chiptunes legend Chipzel, is an album that is almost a decade old now, but still feels fresh and current. I've also literally just found out that it's also the soundtrack to an indie video game, but it stands perfectly fine on its own! An instrumental album brimming with brilliant bleeps and bloops, all written on an original Nintendo GameBoy!

[albumsivelistenedto]

HARU NEMURI - SHUNKA RYOUGEN (2022)

[onestowatch]

Haru Nemuri Lets Her Soul Run Ablaze in ‘Shunka Ryougen’ [Q&A]

Treasure. We are constantly looking for it and by its very nature it remains elusive. Considering the enormity of music being released everyday, to strike any vein of originality is near miraculous, but to encounter a trove of fearless, idiosyncratic album brimming with creativity is atypical, and everything about Haru Nemuri is comfortably atypical. 

After hearing Nemuri’s sophomore album Shunka Ryougen, which is very comfortably in album of the year territory already, we decided to reach out to this Japanese maverick to try and gaze into the sun without going blind.

Who is Haru Nemuri?

Haru Nemuri: A singer-songwriter.

What is Shunka Ryougen all about?

I constantly think about living and dying throughout this life, but it can be said that those days have come to fruition. It probably could be said that it is an imagined scenery at the time when the soul burns.

You mix, match and reinvent so many influences. How do you settle on sound design and song composition?

If I find one loop that sounds cool, I prepare something that has the impression of destroying it (It can be something like the opposite, or something that you wouldn't normally combine) and then I put my thoughts into how I can match those. Regarding the development of songs, I will prepare something like, if normally done it would go towards pop and something that is not kitsch, and combine them while looking at the balance.

On such a huge work, there must be collaborators and producers; care to mention any standouts?

Generally all the songs are almost arranged by the time I finish writing the songs by myself. And then sometimes I would have a co-producer join me to amplify the world of the song. There are several co-producers who joined me this time including: MyRiot, YAMACHI, samayuzame, Minori Nagashima -serval DOG-, Sisters, Amane Uyama, Tatsuya Okuwaki, URU, GINPEI ITO, Takayuki Kato.

I completed the song through an online session with MyRiot for “Déconstruction.” I love AURORA's music, and I wanted to work with someone who made music with her, so I took my chance and asked and they were happy to join (laugh). The process was really creative and I enjoyed it alot! I completed the song “Pandora” with samayuzame. I was thrilled the whole time because she showed her amazing creativity and did a job that exceeded expectations with the vector I expected.

I also finished the song “Souzou Suru” with Amane Uyama. Of all the people who make music called ‘hyperpop’ in Japan, she is my favorite musician in that genre. I always laugh so hard because I get something I really don’t expect.

What makes the cut for an album track? You clearly had tons to filter through. How do you curate yourself?

From the time I decided to make this album, I have written the songs necessary for this album, so it can be said that the curation process was finished at the stage of composition.

Can we expect more of this style in the future or do you tire easily of what you’ve experimented with already?

Hmm, I’d say don't expect the exact same thing (laughter). I was so devoted to making this album that I can't really think of what's next right now, but eventually I will need to create something that is more of an advanced version of the current style. Before that though, I do feel that I want to create something that prioritizes what I feel comfortable in.

Besides this excellent album, what else should we be on the lookout for?

I’m trying to plan an album tour, so please listen to the album over and over again and be prepared to sing with me (laughter).

What’s inspiring you right now outside of music?

Martial arts, anarchism, feminism, fashion, and the stray cats in my neighborhood.

Your album drops alongside Earth Day. How does the natural environment affect you personally?

It reminds us of the fact that the world was just there and was created beautifully in the first place. It helps me to live, as I often despair in the human world.

Who are your Ones To Watch?

AURORA, Pussy Riot, Dorian Electra, Grimes, Jaguar Jonze, Lim Kim, Shamir, Ziyoou-vachi

[jpopstreaming]

🆕 「 SHUNKA RYOUGEN」 by HARU NEMURI Now available for streaming overseas! ➡ Added to our weekly playlist: https://spoti.fi/3lgjH73