Here’s an artist I’ve meant to feature here for some time, we’ve already played the same song on our radioshow respectively with error101, and this is the only song that’s been played in 2 shows (now that’s some statistic !). Kama Aina which means “Islander” in Hawaiian is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Takuji Aoyagi from Japan.

“Kama Aina represents me as a fan of music which comes from islands, as well as referring to myself living in an island country. I sometimes think that my music reminds me of a remote island somewhere.”

Club Kama Aina was released last year on Efterklang’s Rumraket label and aesthetically, it feels like a pictoresque countryside, with bittersweet (or sometimes merry!) melodies and delicate rhythms. The sound is clean and calm, and I’m a huge fan of these leftfield pastoral pop. Aoyagi shines here as a composer with lots of ideas and cultural influence.

Reminded me of Power Shovel Audio artists Asuna and Sasaki San, albeit with more complex song structures. Oh, the gentle side of Japan.