Kota Motomura - New Experience

Brand new Hobbes Music signing from Tokyo, Kota Motomura is a slightly mysterious character with an ear for idiosyncratic music that runs the gamut from Exotica and Jazz to House and Techno. Highly original, it all adds up to a confection perhaps best described as Balearic. This is his second release.
Motomura started sending the label demos in late 2017, off the back of the success of international underground hit Web Of Intrigue (from Leonidas & Hobbes’ last EP, The Rags Of Time). These demos immediately pricked up the ears of label boss Hobbes (already enamoured by Japanese culture, following a couple of Far Eastern DJing tours, Spring ‘17 & Autumn ‘16 - a love affair reflected in his choice of fellow Japanese artist Sayori Wada to create the sleeve for HM010). Hobbes asked to hear more demos. These were also good and the pair agreed on an EP release. And then the line went dead... for more than six months. When Motomura got back in touch, he explained that he had been sick (and would soon be returning to hospital). In any case, label scheduling and other commitments meant it hasn't been possible to release this music until now.
Opening track ‘Aboy’ sets you afloat down a psychedelic stream, plucked strings lulling you into a dreamy state, while the occasional image from some long-forgotten Miyazaki film flows past. It’s a rare gem, sounding a bit like few things from the past but like nothing else out there right now. A2 ‘Yes’ ups the tempo and adds beats, saxophone and vox but is no less unusual, occasional bird calls and other fx dropping into a mix which gets stranger as it progresses over for a marathon ten minutes. Accelerating hyper-actively towards the end, it’s sure to leave a few DJs scratching their heads...
The B-side is a bit straighter: opening track Stars is a bossa nova style house number with infectious piano motifs, while B2 Cry Baby sounds a bit like Carl Craig’s seminal ‘Throw’ re-imagined with different vocal and a wonky piano. Bonus track Satellites (download only) is the kind of low-slung plodder Detroit legend Theo Parrish might drop in one of his warm-up sets, all solid groove and scat-style vocal fx with a nagging keyboard refrain and featherlight shakers against a HEAVY bottom end. And secondary bonus Return (download only) is the kind of bonkers techno bizniz Maurice Fulton or Pepe Bradock might dream up when they're feeling a bit goofy...