[Blog Entry 2024年02月11日] - dance dance dance! & birthday wishes

Bwaa!!! Hello! Today is my 16th birthday (if you couldn't tell by the title), so I felt like I should write a little blog thanking everyone for the birthday wishes & talking about some other stuff.

First of all, I'd like to say thank you all so much for all of the support on my new music!! It really means a lot to me, and I can tell it means a lot to you all too, so stay tuned ;).

Second, I'd like to say thank you all for the birthday wishes!! You guys r the sweetest :) It's been a while since I've had a birthday where I'm this happy, so thank you from the bottom of my heart

Now about art...

Lately I've been OBSESSED with some of the common aesthetics commonly associated with late 2000's software and electronic music. For example, Microsoft's earliest iterations of it's Metro design language, and the hyper-modern feel of it. From the pop of the colors to the shimmer of the highlights, and even the wacky motifs such as speakers, silhouettes and paint splatters, everything about the style screams silly.

Personally, I love diving deep into the aesthetics of my childhood, and really figuring out what it is that clicks with me. So if my art looks a little dated, that's why ;)

Once again, thank you for everything. Love you all <3

[Blog Entry 2023年11月13日] - inci0, influences, shibuya-kei, and jazz chords

Hello !! ( ^_^)／ I'd like to start off by saying welcome to the site. This is the first (of many) blog entries on here, so I'd like to use it to talk about some of my recent stylistic influences, along with what to expect in the (hopefully near) future.

Ever since the release of 『Renaissance Man』, I've been feeling unfufilled by my inci0 music. This isn't completely unexpected, as I began recording music for the project when I was only 12, and I've undoubtedly changed a lot since then. However, there's this lingering "forced" feeling to everything I've released under the alias thusfar. Because of this, I've spent the past year searching for new inspiration, alongside practicing my singing and picking up the guitar.

All and all, I'm extremely glad to say that I think I've cracked the code, and I'm back to producing, writing, and recording new inci0 music. I'm still the same me, with the same goal of making quality art that I personally enjoy, but from here on out it's gonna have a bit of a new flair.

Now, for those of you wondering what exactly the inspiration behind this "new flair" is,,, this is the part where I go full music nerd mode.

All the way back in January of 2023, I entered a rabbithole full of weird Japanese music with jazz chords. It all started with my discovery of the musical anomaly that is Hasegawa Hakushi (whom I wholeheartedly suggest you listen to). This was followed by me discovering peers like 諭吉佳作/men (yukichikasaku/men), and all the talented folks in the collective PAS TASTA. Their sounds combine not only my childhood love for EDM (specifically Dnb, House, & Future Bass) and glittery, poppy, production, with my more recent love for experimental sound design and jazz theory.

Soon after, I began to dig deeper into obscure acts, which soon led me to the wonderful world of the "渋谷系" or Shibuya-Kei music scene. Shibuya-Kei existed as a sort of genre within a genre, being pioneered by people like Flipper's Guitar and Pizzicato Five in the early to mid 90s. These artists rejected the traditional standards of both Japanese and American pop music, instead opting for a bittersweet, calming, guitar-and-synth-driven sound that drew heavily from French Music. However, the side of the scene that inspires me the most are the many sugary, dance-inspired, and somewhat childish acts from the early 2000s. Bands such as Plus-Tech Squeezebox, and even some of Capsule's earlier work, bring to the table a hyperactive, sugary, and overall cute sound that is seldom seen in modern-day music. Some other amazing music from this is are Okabe Akira's absurdist bedroom pop-esque project Strawberry Machine, the cute, yet heavy rock tones of Jenny01, and the bittersweet, soft highs of Serani Poji's music (p.s. the visuals for their track Bomber Minmi are awesome, search it up). Even the massively successful dance-pop titan that is Perfume have some earlier tracks that are reminiscent of the sound, mostly thanks to their production being handled by none other than Nakata Yasutaka of Capsule.

Despite all the new discoveries I've made this year, I find myself coming back to the music from my childhood more and more. From the soulful, feel-good vibes of Jamiroquai, to the somewhat nostalgic, and overly cutesy future-bass sounds of Snail's House, This music serves as a reminder of just how much complex chords and sweet sounds have shaped my current taste in music.

I'm extremely excited to get back to work, and I hope you're all just as excited to hear. In the meantime, feel free to look around the site more!