When I was first listening to Crystal¡¯s ¡°Typhoon,¡± I was, coincidentally, also watching radar visuals of Super Typhoon Atsani¡¯s approach to Japan ¡ª and they matched the music perfectly.
This is less because of the storm Crystal whips up on the track ¡ª ¡°Typhoon¡± sounds like organized chaos with cat-like screeches, errant dial-up sounds and a melody out of an old anime that seem like they¡¯ve been thrown in at random, but come together quite well ¡ª and more because of the trio¡¯s 2-D approach to making it. Weather satellite imagery goes well with the 1980s-style synth that dominates the ¡°Monsoon¡± EP.
Crystal, which consists of Ryota Miyake (who also records as Sparrows), Keita Onishi and Sunao Maruyama, takes the weather theme to the EP¡¯s other tracks, too: ¡°Monsoon,¡± ¡°Midi in the Cloud¡± and ¡°Low-Pressure¡± ¡ª with the latter two opting for a smoother, top-down ride in a convertible vibe. ¡°Monsoon¡± and ¡°Typhoon,¡± which are more upbeat, wouldn¡¯t sound out of place on a Yellow Magic Orchestra album, and all four tunes have a playful sense about them.
Crystal seems to delight in a bit of nonsense ¡ª and if we end up having to batten down the hatches for Atsani, a bit of fun will be much appreciated.
Crystal¡¯s ¡°Monsoon¡± is available for download at Flau Records¡¯ SoundCloud and Bandcamp pages: or
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