maya ongaku - Electronic Phantoms (Guruguru Brain)

Well this is an interesting evolution from maya ongaku. Their soft edged, jazz tickled, acid-folk Approach To Anima LP from last year was a bit of a TSMM fave, but after touring it, even playing some festivals, they’ve felt the need to work on some dancier tunes which I totally understand. I mean unless I was in a comfortably seated venue, as much as I liked the LP, I wouldn’t have much interest in seeing them live. I just need a bit more stage action if I’m at a standing gig, especially at a festival when I’ve visited a few stages and my legs are feeling their age.

Dance music though, as with all things, is relative so don’t expect to be stage diving and staggering bloodied from a mosh pit at a show, although “Anoyo Drive” has a bit of a post punk attitude to it and “Meiso Ongaku 3“ has some hard sax whipped Krautrock oomph. The LP’s other two “dancers” are more drum machine propelled waltzes and “Meiso Ongaku 1 & 2” are wellness centre spiritual jazz & new age vibes respectively, and wouldn’t cause any waves if they were slipped into their sedate debut.

Maya ongaku’s evolution is in progress and I’m on the bus looking at the punch suspiciously.