Review Summary: Tentenko XIII: 新しい neekafat
Tentenko is an ex-idol freelance artist who runs her own label and has released an extensive range of experimental pop and techno EPs. This review is part of an ongoing series dedicated to exploring her discography. For a point of reference and orientation to her discography as a whole, please see the first instalment in the series, the review for Good Bye, Good Girl.
Atarashii Asa is a bit of an oddball in the broader scheme of Tentenko. After dipping her toes into ultra-boring minimal industrial on
Hito no Ito Nami, it would seem she decided to come back for seconds, opting this time for a murkier percussiveness that veers away from her usual tone. There are
traces of
Tabekko Land’s minimal wave, along with a much more oppressive, darker atmosphere that would partially carry on to her next release
Machi: that’s about it for intertext with the rest of the canon so far, although Tentenko would later revisit many of the one’s best qualities on
Tenkibashira. For the most part, this release makes for a fairly unique combination of retro industrial, experimental techno, and a playfully aggressive attitude to songwriting. Now, while this puts things in context, I wanted a take with a little more edge to get under the skin of this one. As such, I’ve teamed up with fellow Sputnik contrib
neekafat for an insightful indepth discussion of this release that will float your boat like a pool noodle and signpost your way around this sector of the Tentenkoverse smoother than a pocket of snakes. Here we go!
Hello neekafat! What did you think of the EP in general?
I definitely don’t like it overall; it’s at once weirdly uncompromising and coy sonically (which the minecraft-like keys over thundering drums in the opener somewhat prove), but at the same time there’s some serious excitement and promise from time to time, such as in the techno outro of “Echo Voice” or basically the entirety of “Flying Motor.”
Awesome! In our pre-interview chat we talked a lot about the degree to which this is and isn’t a reverb album - care to expand on this?
I mean it’s a reverb album in that it’s very much built around distorting effects on top of repetitive sounds, but at the same time that’s giving it too much credit. This feels may like an experiment with a true focus, yet other times like she’s just throwing whatever sounds came to her mind at a certain moment. It’s incredible stream-of-consciousness musically, which I guess you can say is a positive, but it doesn’t make a good argument for enjoyment.
Wow, that’s a really cool thought! One of the topic of this EP’s shape, we had some thoughts on the degree to which this is and isn’t structured parabolically…
I mean outside of the clear parallels between the opener/closer, there’s certainly a similarity between the songs on opposing ends. The second/penultimate tracks take on a far more winnowy and traditionally experimental approach, while the third and fifth fall into trance-like loops and beats. But this is only a consideration after the fact, and for all we know it could very much not be purposeful given how lackadaisical the album can feel.
How significant to this end would you say the misspelled title of the second track “Object in spling break” is, given that the misspelling in question is later rectified on the penultimate “Hot springs”?
Ironically I’d say this is one of the most compelling arguments to the parabolic echoes throughout the EP, just because of how ridiculous the misspelling is that it manages to bore its way into your subconscious and doubt literally everything about it--like there’s no way that could be purposeful right? And if that was purposeful, then so must be the parabolic tendencies? And then, also must the rest of the album’s seeming sloppiness actually be a carefully constructed music experiment unlike what I’ve been saying for the rest of this review? It gets to you man...
For real. What do you think the springs in question constitute - mechanical springs or aqueous springs? And is “spling break” a holiday (春休み) or also a mechanical spring?
I’d say they definitely refer to the aqueous springs, if I didn’t think that the mechanical springs provided some sort of sonic point for some of the squelching beats that we find in some points of the album. So who knows? Maybe it’s none of them. Maybe it’s all of them. Maybe this paranoia is exactly what she intended in the first place.
[follow-up spling question]
What the fuck is this question johnny
Cool! What are your favourite and least favourite tracks, and why?
“Flying Motor” is definitely the most exciting moment on the EP, and the only one where the weirdness of it all marries with her penchant for repetition and density. It’s got this video-game boss fight vibe that’s only more and more sinister as the thing progresses, and it’s definitely the only memorable thing here for me.
While the opener and closer are the most annoying tracks for me, my least favorite is definitely the phonetically infamous “object in spling break,” just due to its pure aimlessness. It’s just not interesting at all, which if you’re gonna make an experimental wavey-type song, it’s gotta at least capture the listener’s mind if not their heart--and that one does neither. It’s also the least memorable one on here outside of its name. Oh God, was that intentional too?
I think that just about wraps things up - any closing comments?
I don’t know man, this just didn’t click for me overall. I definitely will be coming back to “Flying Motor” but the rest of this was as dull as it was challenging--and yes I know that makes no sense. Anyway, it was definitely a hell of an experience so I thank Johnny for sharing it with me, knowing that he was gonna end up hating my opinion by the end of this :)
Sweet! Neekafat, thank you for your time!
If I’m honest, Neek’s takes are a pretty accurate reflection of this one, so I won’t pour much more over them.
Atarashii Asa is somewhat worthwhile as a standalone experiment and it definitely sits better alongside Tentenko’s wider work than
Hito no Ito Nami’s vacuum of inanity, but it’s best viewed as an optional detour. The tone here is oddly vintage in its lo-fi industrial leanings, pairing nicely with the song titles for the Tentenkoverse’s equivalent of a steampunk trip - not something you’d associate with her other work. The secret highlight here (which Neeka alas did not give full credit) is “My teenage melody”, a midway slow burner which commands formidable tension and dissonance. It’s a rare success story from the build-something-from-virtually-nothing philosophy Tentenko leans on heavily during this period - she’s come a fair way since the days of
Tentenko no Seimei Daiyakushin. “Flying motor”, however, is clearly the most ambitious and fully realised track here, and the dull bookends leave
]Atarashii Asa interesting but a little lacking. A mixed bag, then.
