For over two decades Sakamoto was the frontman and leader of Japanese psychedelic phenomenon Yura Yura Teikoku, a Tokyo-based band that formed in 1989 as part of the burgeoning underground scene based around Koenji’s legendary UFO Club, appearing on the PSF label’s iconic Tokyo Flashback compilations and signing to the Captain Trip imprint. And yet across their 20-year trajectory, they rocketed out of the underground and achieved massive mainstream success throughout Japan with an always-evolving psych-pop sound that eventually found them working with Sony Music and headlining major music festivals across the country. It was a rare case where great, boundary-breaking music resonated with the masses. While the group only ever played a handful of shows outside of their homeland, they achieved cult status throughout the world and saw several albums reissued in limited pressings in the U.S., including the critically acclaimed Hollow Me/Beautiful on James Murphy’s DFA label. Immediately following Yura Yura Teikoku’s break-up in 2010, Sakamoto began recording as a solo artist, and after more than a year holed up in his home studio, the full-length, How to Live with a Phantom, was born. It was a bold stylistic departure, even for an artist whose career has been defined by them, and like Phantom, Shintaro continues his exploration of the sounds of 1970s radio pop from around the globe on this new single. A-side “Don’t Know What’s Normal” combines mellow, funky, jazzy AM gold sounds from America and the evocative Japanese pop music that was influenced by it, while the flipside, “From the Dead,” rides a minimal groove, with Brazilian percussion and Afro-funk horn stabs accenting the breezy, melancholy of Shintaro’s vocals. Two great new songs that perfectly pick up where How to Live with a Phantom left us, Shintaro’s music is sure to connect with a broad spectrum of listeners - from folk and pop aficionados to world music fans, psych-heads and many more.
