For those who don't know, PARKGOLF is a beatmaker/producer from Sapporo, Japan. His music is often punchy, energetic and filled with lovely synth, mostly with a leaning towards the quirkier side of what could be considered pop music. Sounds good right? Well it sounds even better when you actually hear it in your literal ears, I can tell you that. His latest offering, 'Kiss Me', is a rollercoaster ride of theatrical sounds, making for a sound that sounds almost like a song from a futuristic musical - West Side Story for the neon club generation. Maybe.
There's a lot going on here. The intro is so good it might as well be like some kind of electronic foreplay. The main synth melody is outrageous, high-register pitch-bent chords that have something of a Japanese scale to them - a gloriously unexpected melody; I love the audaciously long duration of some of the notes. All of this is intermingled with variously altered vocal samples (one of them chopped so well it sounds like someone waggling their tongue around) and, during the midsection, some funky slap bass and some house-style piano chords. Spacey synth and bulging bass counterparts make their presence known alongside a hefty beat whose snares and claps scream laid-back-down-south-hip-hop, accompanied by rollicking hi-hats. At 2:35 the chords are wonderfully stop-start, sharing space with playful piano sweeps and kick explosions - this part's almost like a bit of prog rock.
And that was the wonderful pop of PARKGOLF. There's a bit of house in there; funk, hip hop (perhaps more aligned with trap), as well as those notes that seem like a piece of traditional Japanese music in the hands of a genius robot. There's a great deal of punch here, too, almost like a statement to the world, a song that stops you in your tracks; the soundtrack to the sometimes risky request of "kiss me" indeed.
Listen to PARKGOLF on SoundCloud
Follow PARKGOLF on Twitter
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