The first EP from Codomomental newbies akugi, Playplay, seems to be hitting the stores in Japan as we speak, and that means that it’s time to show us why we should buy the thing, and that means an MV, and frankly it’s been too dang long since we saw akugi do their thing, so let’s just right in:

Zenkimi guest spot!

I think this tweet about the release said it best: “BlackMusic / Dubstep / Drum’n bass / Electronica / Techno / House”. I’m like, yes. The beats were fine; that synth line made me feel like I was going to have a stroke, though, in about as good a way as the feeling that I could die can feel. So ominous and heavy! Like, weighty-heavy. And of course the repeated juxtaposition of otherwise static shots featuring mirrored (but stationary) dance and what I took to be the addiction advancing on us? I dig. And now I want to go block this experience from my memory!

Always the sign of good work. I do find myself returning to the same general question of “what’s akugi’s deal?” from that recent preview. Codomomental units are always so definable by their various takes on Codomocore, but here’s a project with outside composition and frankly a very different soundscape. Where does akugi settle? Or don’t they? That would be interesting, a unit that treats electronic music (period) as a challenge to be defeated.

Go get the EP.