Visions

The cascading hollowness of Japanese producer Mars89's latest album 'Visions' for Bedouin Records evokes a hypnotising atmosphere that takes the listener on a cinematic journey through what is best described as a post-apocalyptic daydream. In its entirety, this album is a political act against capitalism and urban infrastructure as a whole, paying homage to those who endure the various ways in which capitalists and authoritarian governments attempt to infiltrate and control their lives, and all that surrounds them.

Breaking musical boundaries in the creation of what is considered to be a new genre of Japanese street music, Mars89 draws on a wide range of influences –such as sci-fi films– to conjure an eerie dystopian scene, inviting the listener to imagine a world on the brink of collapse as a tyrannical authority stands by idly. Embedded in the back cover of the album, Mars89 pays tribute to the working-class resistance; 'This album is dedicated to the city dwellers who live with the rats and crows in the gaps of the city where the giant capital tries to control everything'.

Opening the album with 'They made me do it', Mars89 manages to convey an uneasy welcoming party that tempts you to stay longer with flickering distorted explosions of sounds, then further captivates us with 'Tete Apotre' by using a series of vivid, and energising hushed tones that are somewhat opaque and abstract, making it difficult to identify the echoes as human or not. Accompanied by hollering alarms overhead and hurried echoes, the standout track 'Dick Laurent is dead' emits a dark, pulsating soundscape through the repetition of a distant voice stating; 'Listen up, told you once told you twice; You know I'm in this'. Signalling what could be perceived as the brink of frustration, or a looming warning.

Through a combination of incessant bells and rhythmic distorted drums across the ten tracks, a building sense of urgency before a life-altering decision must be done begins to form in the listener. With its shuddering rhythms, abrasive whirring, and ominous chimes contributing to the ways in which the sounds break down into hisses and stark fluctuations between texture and volume; the surreal nature of this experimental album will enthral you.

With every riveting listen, we are offered a glimpse into something inconceivable through a plethora of celestial sounds. 'Visions' concludes with 'LA1937', a chilling 5 minutes track that suggests the end of a chase has been reached, bringing everything to a breath-taking closure.