【Click here for English translation】
I Believe In You
期待したい未来は暗くない! ビッグなコラボや冒険を満載し、いろんな意味でスケールアップして届けられたニュー・アルバムは……その名も『POSITIVE』! 君と僕はいま、この世界をどうやって踊り明かす!?
目覚ましい活躍を繰り広げてグングンその名を広い層へ届けているtofubeatsだからして、ことあるごとに〈10年代を代表する次世代アーティスト〉や〈インターネット時代のインディペンデント・ヒーロー〉的な文言ばかりがいまだに言い交わされ、いつまでもオッサンが〈すごい若者〉を眺めるような目線で彼を評価しようとする向きには流石にちょっと違和感がある。プラットフォームが衆知されていない時代にやることをやってきた彼や彼らの凄さは当然として、そろそろ〈ニュー・キッド・イン・ザ・ニュータウン〉的な背景を切り離してみて、もう少し真っ当に作品そのものが評価されるようになってもいいんじゃないでしょうか……っていうのは本人の問題じゃなく、もちろん受け手側というか語る側の問題なんだけど。
そうでなくても、思えば長い前フリの末に初のアルバム『lost decade』がリリースされたのは2013年。メジャー・フィールドでひと暴れしてみせた『First Album』はその翌年のことであって、それから現在に至るまでの間に彼が手掛けてきた仕事の多様さはもはやアーティスト名を列挙する必要もないほどでしょう。今年に入ってからは自身の歌唱を音として前面に掲げたEPサイズの佳曲集『STAKEHOLDER』を発表。そこでのサウンド・アプローチから考えると、このたび登場したメジャー・セカンド・アルバム『POSITIVE』における全体のバランスは、『First Album』の延長線上というよりは、『lost decade』に通じる雰囲気を漂わせているようにも思えます。どことなく開放感が感じられ、Dream Amiをフィーチャーして先行配信された“POSITIVE”が象徴するように、文字通りのポジティヴさ、もしくはポジティヴであろうとする活力によって作品全体が満たされているのです。
そのAmiを含めて、ゲストの布陣やバランスは今回もユニーク。太いベースの唸るディスコ“T.D.M.”などでダンシンスルーザナイトするokadadaは今回もイイ味を効かせてくれていますが、その他は初顔合わせとなる面々ばかりです。予想以上に手の合うKREVAとマイクをパスする“Too Many Girls”、小室哲哉のレイヴ・モードを未来世界から刻みまくったようなエグい展開が最高すぎる“Throw your laptop on the fire”、世に出る経緯が似ていなくもないスカイラー・スペンスとツボを突き合う晴れやかなダンス・チューン“Without U”、モデルとして活躍する玉城ティナのアットホームな歌声にパレード感が活きる“すてきなメゾン”……と、FM気分のクロスオーヴァーする（ほぼ）インスト“I know you”などを挿んでスルスル聴かせる流れの良さは前作以上でしょう。
で、リミックスで縁のあった岸田繁（くるり）とのエレポップ“くりかえしのMUSIC”、ピアノ伴奏を従えて中納良恵（EGO-WRAPPIN'）の熱唱する“別の人間”という歌のキャラの濃厚な強さを受けて、ラストはオールド・スクール・テクノっぽさが快いインスト“I Believe In You”（Maltineの10周年記念本が初出）。総じて楽しさの広がる作品ですが、それは表題を斜に構えることなく〈POSITIVE〉に向き合ってこそ手に入れられる気持ち良さではないでしょうか。親しみやすさと共に迫る『POSITIVE』、これはぜひ無条件で酔いしれてほしいです。
tofubeats "POSITIVE"
By: Hiromi Go
I Believe In You
The future we hope for is not bleak! Packed with grand collaborations and adventures, tofubeat’s super evolved new album is titled… “POSITIVE”!
You and me, right here and right now, how should we dance the night away?
We all know tofubeats’ remarkable success and how he spread his fame far and wide. Today he’s still quoted as ‘the next-generation artist who represents the teens’ or ‘independent hero of the internet age’ whenever his name comes up. I feel that’s getting obsolete as though it’s a perspective of an old-man trying to evaluate ‘an amazing young talent.’ Of course, the predecessors, including himself, of the music industry has done something remarkable in days when platforms had not won collective recognition, but maybe it’s time we separate him from the ‘new kid in the new town’ backdrop that was created along the way and evaluate the legitimacy of his work… which, by the way has nothing to do with the artist himself, but rather a problem of how we perceive and talk about his works as a listener.
Even if that wasn’t the case, if you think about it, his first album “lost decade” was released finally after a long latency in 2013. His album which took the major music scene by storm, “First Album” was released the following year, not to mention all the versatile work he was involved in to this day. I don’t think I even have to mention all the artists he’s worked with. This year, he released “STAKEHOLDER” a one of a kind EP-sized album which focuses on the vocals of the artist himself. Considering the sound approach he took then, the entire balance of his second major album “POSITIVE” carries the ambience of “lost decade” rather than being an extension of the “First Album”. The new album feels liberal and as symbolized by the digitally-pre-released single “POSITIVE” that featured the idol Dream Ami, there is literally a vibe that runs through the entire album brimming with positive energy.
Including the aforementioned Ami, the lineup and balance of starring guests is unique as always. The disco tune “T.D.M. feat. okadada” has okadada go ‘dancin’ through the night’ on the thick bass line, once again adding a great flavor. The other guests are all a brand new addition. tofubeats passes the mic on over to KREVA (rapper/music producer) on “Too Many Girls” in which they create a great combination beyond any expectation. With Tetsuya Komuro (music producer), tofubeats created a mad track “Throw your laptop on the fire,” furiously beating out Tetsuya’s rave mode and putting a futuristic spin to it. He collaborated with Skylar Spence, the artist whose debut was kind of similar to tofubeats’, and created a sunny dance tune “Without U” that nicely stimulates each other’s pressure points. With fashion model Tina Tamashiro, he sings “Suteki na Maison (meaning A Nice Flat)”, a track featuring Tamashiro’s warm and homey voice, combined with the delightful feel as if walking along to a parade. The almost instrumental skit “I know you” that sends the feel of listening to the radio is placed midway, creating a great flow to the listening experience more so than his previous album.
Moving on, he reunited with Shigeru Kishida from the rock band Quruli on an electropop track “Kurikaeshi no Music (meaning Repeated Music)” with whom he had ties with re-mixing. Yoshie Nakano from the jazz/rock band EGO-WRAPPIN’ sings “Betsu no Hito (meaning Another Person)” accompanied by the piano and showing her well-coloured personality, which leads to the last track. “I Believe in You” is an instrumental track that has a cool old school techno vibe (that was first released on Maltine’s 10th anniversary book). This album is overall great fun, but I imagine it’s the result of the artist facing the title of this album “POSITIVE” head on and relaxed, which leads to this feel-good vibe. “POSITIVE” is full of friendliness. I recommend you to be unconditionally intoxicated.
