Takaryu - Resources

There are bedroom DJs, and then there are madcap geniuses. Like fellow prodigies Flume and Madeon, Takaryu is a precocious talent with digital technology, performing with synthesizers, samplers and a Novation Launchpad. Yes, future bass has been around a little while now but this guy is only 18! And he’s all ours…well, he’s from Chiba. However, it’s hard to tell whether Takaryu will truly break out because he doesn’t appeal to pop culture like the others. That being said, I believe he’s capable of anything, drawing on a diverse sonic palette of organic instruments, synths and digitally manipulated samples to create anything from house, hip hop, future bass, chiptune and even something that sounds like UK garage. If he put his mind to it, he could easily make Nakata Yasutaka type pop, applying the vocoder to singer Wata Megumi like on “Left-field” or using vocaloid as he has in the past. But maybe because he’s just a kid growing up in suburban Chiba, he’s still a little insular, and so the general themes cover being lost and isolated rather than partying or hooking up. “Resources” is his first full length album and while it’s a complex listen with different genres represented and unique combinations of sounds, the album is actually pretty accessible. It’s never overpowering, the tracks have plenty of space to breathe for you to appreciate each musical element. It’s a great showcase of his talent and quite an ideal soundtrack for wandering the suburbs of Tokyo. Highly recommended.

Track List

1.A Place Called...

2.Left-field (ft.綿めぐみ）

3.Null (version）

4.Refusal

5.F.w.p. (ft.EVO＋)

6.Resource (ft.Annabel) 

7.Relationships/Reprise 

8.Rain

9.Cave (ft.宮原永海）

10.Static Thought (ft.綿めぐみ）

11.Suburbia

12.Reminisce Over You (ft.宮原永海）

13.Lost the Manual