Twenty years ago, when it was still something of a sensation for musicians to use computers as musical instruments, Japanese avant-pop artist Tujiko Noriko’s music was called »laptop electronica« or »laptop folk«. Today we know better. Music software is so commonplace that the word »laptop« in the genre name has become redundant. Surprisingly, Tujiko Noriko’s fourth album, »From Tokyo To Naiagara« from 2003, exudes the vibe of contemporary experimental pop, with a few exceptions. At the time, the album was released as a CD on Tomlab, but a planned cut-down vinyl release never materialised. Now »From Tokyo To Naiagara« is being released for the first time as an LP on the Keplar label, with new artwork.
Put simply, Tujiko Noriko plays two kinds of music on this album: skeletal, minimally arranged pop songs and abstract experiments that reflect the click’n’cuts aesthetic of the time. The seemingly idyllic atmosphere that Noriko creates with her vocals is mixed with noise and dissonance. The fusion of artificial pop vocals and experimental electronic accompaniment on the track »Tokyo« becomes a reference model.
