[Releases page] Coppe’ has been one of the many pioneering lights of Japanese electronic music for a great many years. She has collaborated with such luminaries as Red Snapper, Plaid, The Orb and literally hundreds of others. She has run her own record label Mango + Sweetrice Records since 1995, and has just been one of those people who have ploughed their own furrow and gained plenty of recognition for her efforts from her contemporaries.
On the evening of March 10th 2011, she arrived back in Tokyo from a trip to Hawaii, only to witness some of the worst earthquakes to hit Japan in recent years followed by the ensuing devastating tsunami that caused widespread destruction. Coppe’ herself was lucky enough to avoid the immediate physical effects, but many of her fellow country men and women, as we all know, did not, and there are many long lasting repercussions which the nation will be dealing with for many years to come.
This album, a collaboration between Coppe’ herself and the UK electronic indie label Bit-Phalanx, came about through a wish to offer support to those in need. Yogurt consists of the track “Yogurt,” taken from Coppe’s 2010 release Artificial Insemination, remixed by the full gamut of the Bit-Phalanx roster plus a few very special guests. This includes the likes of Kettel, Minotaur Shock, Terminal 11, Kelli Ali, Jilk and a whole load more. All the artists have donated freely to the album because they support the cause. These people aren’t doctors, engineers, architects or other things that can be of immediate help to a devastated area, but they are doing what they can to help, which in this case is donating their music and efforts to help raise whatever funds they can. Good on them!
It seems like I’m overlooking the music itself with everything I’ve been saying, as if it doesn’t really matter, which of course it does. And it’s very good as it happens. There’s quite a mix of styles, which I suppose is inevitable, but the general leaning is electronica with a dose of wonk. There are some really beautiful moments in there, the trombone solo on T-Toes’s Muesli and Honey Remix is especially good, and Terminal 11’s offering delivers some exquisitely quirky rhythms. Good sounds for a good cause.
Yogurt is available here. [Releases page]
