Kumamoto, Sayonara!
My stint in Japan freshly-ended, I'm already feeling the pangs of nostalgia, since a mysterious lack of jetlag has left me with a little extra time and energy during re-entry. Fortunately, I returned fortified against such emotions, having anticipated them, and I'd like to share today's dose with MFR:
I discovered YMCK while wandering around Tokyo's burb-hood of Shimokitazawa with some buddies, at a well-equipped listening station. Having just scored a double armload of dot toys and the 20th Anniversary NES Original Sound Tracks Vol.1 CD, I had my blip and pixel filter on, and the adorable cover art of YMCK's Family Racing jumped out at me from across the shop.
YMCK is a three person getup, a lady and two fellas (I only found last names; Midori on vocals, Nakamura and Yokemura on lyrics, programming and arrangement), that make music entirely from Midori's soft vocal touch and a the unlimited wealth of samples that the legacy of 8-bit gaming has left to them (NES, GameBoy, SMS, etc). You'll be able to pick out bits of Mario, Tetris, Megaman themes from their music (which you can hear plenty more of on their Discography page). They have two CDs out in Japan, and their first CD, Family Music, has been put out in the USA by Records of the Damned, where you can [order the CD direct from the label for $10 bucks!!!] (it's $20+ in Japan).
In addition to their score of adorable and nostalgia-tickling music, they also have a series of equally adorable videos on YouTube:
Panic Racer 005, Milky Blue, Go YMCK! Go! and Tetrominion. Plus, the video for today's track as well:
Enjoy! Up up down down left right left right...