One Swan Swam

Photo by Sean Fennessy

Tenniscoats, possibly a mis-romanization of the japanese for tennis courts, is the moniker for the musical creations of husband and wife team Saya and Takashi Ueno. Their latest, Tan-Tan Therapy, was recorded with the help of Swedish musicians Tape. Their current label's website (Häpna) describes them as 'living music', and with this album the claim becomes almost believable. This is the sound of songs unravelling, of crystallized moments and subtle epiphanies. Listening to songs like "Oetsu to Kanki no Nanoriuta", I feel that perhaps the best way to describe them is as sonic impressionists; a bit of organ here, some guitar and glockenspiel there, and here we have a late-afternoon sun's splintered reflection in a pond. Tenniscoats take pop songs, isolate elements of electronic music and splice into them experimental aspects such as breathing sounds instead of a beat, with the end result being a fragile but beautiful sonic landscape for the listener to escape and fall into.

バイババビンバ(Baibaba Bimba)
嗚咽と歓喜の名乗り歌(oetsu to kanki no nanoriuta)
ウンバレパ！(Umbarepa!)
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buy Tan-Tan Therapy here