Song of the Week No. 10 - Japanese Wallpaper - Arrival

We often have Koffee playing in the kitchen.  It's an easy listening station, but they feature a great diversity of really fine sounds.  I'm always discovering beautiful things.  

I had heard of Japanese Wallpaper (aka Melbourne-based Gab Strum) through a remix he did on Luke Howard's wonderful Night, Cloud album (another contributor to that record, Brambles, has remixed an Aquiline track - stay tuned for more on that).  What I didn't know was that he was just 17 - basically I'm old enough to be his grandfather - and that he has a very mature understanding of that most slippery of subjects - making a good pop tune.

His self-titled EP is a small collection of finely-polished gems.  I can hear the influence of Guy Sigsworth, a producer I admire greatly, in the silky textures and refined arrangements, but he definitely has a voice of his own.  I hope he can trust his ear and doesn't fall for being manipulated by a label into following trends.

The other tracks on the EP are very catchy and more upbeat, although still with a delightful delicacy, but this one isn't afraid to be uncompromisingly minimal.

If pop is indeed an elusive treasure, we might only be able to define it in elusive terms.  One of those might be that you feel a bit sad when it's over.

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