DJ and Producer Tanaka Tomoyuki, otherwise knows as Fantastic Plastic Machine was a forerunner in the Japanese pop Shibuya-Kei movement of the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Shibuya-Kei is noted for it’s kitschy pop quality, infused with electronic sounds, hip-hop beats, and many lounge and bossa nova samples. If you have never heard Shibuya-Kei before, I can think of no other song that perfectly embodies the genre. Fantastic Plastic Machine uses the Bb clarinet in this recording, to produce a lounge-jazz sound. Throughout this piece, the clarinet plays mostly in the chalumeau and low clarion registers, with a very velvety tone. Interspersed are blips of higher clarinet tones that add a sense of J-pop quirkiness. There are many different sonic layers to this track that build as it progresses. Listen carefully andyou can hear the smooth sound of the clarinet the entire way through.
Sources:
Fantastic Plastic Machine. (n.d.). Discogs. Retrieved from http://www.discogs.com/artist/Fantastic+Plastic+Machine.
Fantastic Plastic Machine. (n.d.). LastFM. Retrieved from http://www.last.fm/music/Fantastic+Plastic+Machine.
