Greengate

Whenever I come across a find like Greengate, I really want to resume my regular Japanese music post ... but unfortunately a group like Greengate is rare, and I don't think I could sustain a Nippon-themed column ...

Anyway, Greengate is the brainchild of Toshiaki Shibata and Tomoyuki Kondoh. The group has been around, in some form, since the late 1990s, but they never got it together enough until August this year to get a MySpace page, churn out a wonderful psychedelic/shoe-gaze/electronic pop tune as awesome as "Home." This tune reminds me a lot of the earlier Shibuya-kei stuff that I fell head of heels for in high school (Yukari Fresh, Pizzicato Five, Miniflex, Mansfield), so there's a pretty strong emotional connection here for me ...

Regardless, though, you all really ought to love Greengate. Soft-spoken, atmospheric shoe-gaze-infused psychedelic pop that's as contagious and heartwarming as some of Arthur Russel's older stuff ... or maybe just Cornelius (grin). This song took them six months to finalize, so cherish it, okay?


Greengate - Home