2005年 Aug 10日 Wednesday, 22:11

Well, on the 'old' Audioscrobbler I had started a forum for Casino Versus Japan, but in the new system that forum appears to be gone…or maybe I'm just not looking in the right place.

So now I'll just post a journal entry to sing the praises of this amazing artist. Anyone who happens upon my profile here will see that CvJ accounts for about 1 in 8 songs that I've listened to over the last year (almost a year to this date). I can't quite put my finger on what makes them so great. I describe their music to friends and I think most of them end up wondering what the heck I'm talking about. I guess describing music with words isn't very effective to being with.

Anyway, I can't say enough good things about CvJ. I simply love the aesthetic of his music (yes, I know I'm interchanging the pronouns "his" and "they" - oh well). I love the combination of floating melodies and crispy beats. I love how ambient the music is, and yes you could dance to much of it. But what gets me even more than that is the layers of melody that all melt in your mouth.

I always say to people I tell about CvJ that the music is so uncomplicated, and almost naive. Yet it has a very worldly sensibility.

If I was to recommend tracks to someone as an introduction to Casino Versus Japan, I would probably start with either Aquarium, or It's Very Sunny. Although over time, and 1100+ listenings, other tracks have emerged as favorites. Of note are Warm Windows, Vessels That Float Out Of Metals That Sink- (part 4) (on the first, self-titled CvJ release), Blue Vacation-all parts, Durusey..i could keep going, but that's a good start.

Very few musical artists have captured my attention and emotion as much as Casino Versus Japan has. The list of artists that I unconditionally admire is under 10, and CvJ is the only one to enter that list in the last 5 years. The previous one would probably be the German trance act X-Dream. Although I'm not sure I ever listened to X-Dream as much as I have Casino Versus Japan, the music never seems to age.