ACCLAIMED JAPANESE ARTIST CORNELIUS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF NEW THREE-SONG EP, 'BAD ADVICE/MIND TRAIN',
INCLUDING GUEST COLLABORATOR ARTO LINDSAY
FIRST SINGLE IS THE EPIC, YOKO ONO INSPIRED "MIND TRAIN" OUT NOW
WORLD TOUR HAPPENING NOW - DATES ANNOUNCED THROUGH FALL 2024
INCLUDES END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL (UK), FONDA THEATRE (LA), SEATTLE + MORE
“A meticulous pop experimenter”
- Pitchfork
“A nine-minute odyssey driven by a winding, looping guitar riff and chugging synths. It takes its time crescendoing up until a few moments of spacey calmness, before revving back up again.”
-Stereogum
“A nearly 10-minute trip, steeped in driving krautrock rhythms and comes with a hypnotic video.”
-Brooklyn Vegan
For Immediate Release – (Tokyo, Japan) July 10, 2024 –Acclaimed Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada is pleased to announce 'Bad Advice/Mind Train,' a new three-song Cornelius EP, to be released via Like LTD on August 21st. The first single coincides with the thirty year anniversary of his making music under the moniker he famously borrowed from the classic film Planet of the Apes. It follows 2023’s 'Dream In a Dream' album, and his breathtaking recent collection of new ambient tracks 'Ethereal Essence' - which caused Brooklyn Vegan to gush, “[his] creativity shines through, while [maintaining] his unique essence.”
Poignantly, though generally not one to make a fuss about such things, Oyamada found that he was actually “deeply touched” by having reached the thirty-year milestone.
“I never thought I would be able to continue making music for so long,” he humbly acknowledges.
Fittingly, the EP’s first single “MIND TRAIN” is an epic, nine-plus minutes of gorgeously ethereal spacepop, with its sleekly styled minimalist sonic structures breaking into moments of exhilarating chaos. Influenced by the music of his longtime hero Yoko Ono, it’s very much meant to inspire inward self-reflection.
“MIND TRAIN” symbolizes a spiritual journey or inner exploration,” he explains. “It is intended to provide an experience for the listener to explore the inner self.”
The video, by renowned visual stylist Keita Onishi, also feels like journeying into another dimension, with its stunningly realized retro-futuristic graphics leaving viewers to imagine their own individual interpretation.
Oyamada enthuses, “Keita’s works are intended to evoke images and sensations rather than to convey a specific story or message, and to express the structure and texture of the music.”
The EP also features a remix of 'Dream In a Dream' track “Sparks” by Canadian multi-instrumentalist Joseph Shabason, as well as the new song “BAD ADVICE”, notably featuring vocals by New York No Wave legend Arto Lindsay - and meant as an homage to the latter’s revered 80s experimental duo Ambitious Lovers.
“I love Keigo’s description of how collaborations work when he says that his influences are ‘strongly indirect’”, Lindsay raves of their ongoing creative partnership. “That phrase is a great description of how the best music works on us.”
Another recent collaboration for Keigo is with the widely celebrated Japanese sound designer Yuri Suzuki for "THE AMBIENT MACHINE - Cornelius edition" for the Japanese furniture label E&Y. This innovative project aims to enrich home environments through customizable ambient music. Suzuki’s original design is enhanced with eight distinct sound sources contributed by Cornelius, offering users a way to replace everyday noises with soothing environmental music. This provides an innovative auditory experience ranging from sine waves to electronic sounds. The vibrant orange color of this edition symbolizes its dual nature as both a device and an instrument. Yuri comments, "Cornelius’s work transcends music, encompassing live stages, record artwork, products, and publications. His outstanding creations have significantly influenced my journey as a creator.’ This collaboration goes beyond Cornelius’s new music piece; it offers a unique tool to shape and enhance environments. The result is a special sound experience that embodies our shared vision of ambient sound‘. To learn more about this project, read here in Design Boom.
To celebrate this latest burst of creativity, Oyamada is thrilled to announce a series of fall tour dates. Kicking off September 1 at Salisbury, England’s End of the Road Festival, he’ll then head to Amsterdam, London and on to six West Coast shows, which will take him from San Diego to LA to Portland, before ending up in Seattle on September 29.
The upcoming tour features Cornelius' 20-year compatriots: Hirohisa Horie on keyboards (also a support member for Yukihiro Takahashi’s Yellow Magic Orchestra) and Yuko Araki on drums (also a member of Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band along with Cornelius); and Buffalo Daughter’s Yumiko Ohno on Moog and bass, who joined Cornelius in 2016 on his indelible Fantasma World Tour. Cornelius and his band will play songs from his five previous albums since 1992, beginning with the landmark LP Fantasma. Cornelius encourages both old fans and new to experience this next wave in sound in person. “We are grateful to everyone who has supported our activities. Please come and see us.”
World Tour Dates
8/29/24 - End of the Road Festival - Salisbury, England
9/3/24 - Paradiso - Amsterdam, Netherlands
9/6/2024 - Barbican - London, England
9/21/24 - Music Box - San Diego, CA9/22/24 - Pappy & Harriets - Pioneertown, CA
9/24/24 - Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
9/25/24 - UC Theatre - Berkeley, CA
9/27/24 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR
9/29/24 - Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA
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