「忘るまじ我らの夏を。」

“A Long and Short Festival” by Sheena Ringo | I was wrong – turns out I have three foreign-language songs this week. I heard this one on Monocle 24 (which, of course, loves its Japanese pop) and was drawn to that chorus breakdown. It’s not exactly auto-tune, but, well… it’s alluring, oddly. Sheena Ringo (or Ringo Sheena, depending on where you’re looking) is yet another luminary in the Japanese pop scene, responsible for eight solo albums, as well as her work with the band Tokyo Jihen. This song (which the station oddly misidentifies) is a non-album single, just released this year, and is one hell of a funky breakdown (as is this one, released around the same time, and is even funkier). I mean, it’s a cacophony of instruments, influences and all that, but it just all comes together, cramping themselves in one space until the levee breaks and everyone has to fall down. Gracefully. With style, to quote Buzz Lightyear. [NB]