Music info: VGMdb
Listening: iTunes/Apple Music, Amazon
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Toyokazu Nagaishi is a composer I haven’t gotten super deeply into the works of, but there’s a lot of cool stuff in the works I have. My introduction to him was the SNES port of World Heroes 2, which is actually an awful introduction, because the reason that soundtrack is good is that the original Neo Geo soundtrack is good, and the new songs for that version by Nagaishi (character ending themes) aren’t great. But there is some undeniably neat, oftentimes proggy music in his later works, particularly his contributions to albums by @MIDI’s people Record under the name “JANS_NT” (derived from Jens Johansson and his initials in Japanese name order).
In 2014, he switched to using the name “Kaz_x,” and I just found out the other day after I was randomly reminded that he’s a person who exists in this world that he released a dark ambient album in 2019 under that name. It’s pretty neat! There are a few brighter moments in the tracks featuring pianist Lumina Fujimura (formerly of the metal band ZETTAI CLUB), but generally the music is dark and foreboding, huge “abandoned factory” vibes with cool and mysterious synthetic and mechanical noises. Mostly pretty chill, with a couple of tense tracks featuring pumping basslines. Tons of little details in the compositions that I adore as well.
I didn’t think I needed “JANS_NT scores a Mystlike” in my life until now, but it turns out I did and I’m better off for it. The album’s available overseas (bless TuneCore Japan), so if you have a few spare e-bucks lying around, you could do worse than throw them at this.
Recommended tracks:
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“Antikythera Mechanism 2” is the most active, dance music-y track of the bunch, metrically ambiguous and determined with a cool 5/16 figure
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“Antikythera Mechanism 5” skitters and scratches through cool chord movement
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“Antikythera Mechanism 6” is very noise-heavy, and I love the warmth the big bell chord brings to it
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