Seaketa is an enigmatic music and video artist from Kyoto, who we know next to nothing about. Favorite color? Coke versus Pepsi? Is a hot dog a sandwich? We have no clue where they stand. What we do know however, is that Seaketa lately really has a thing for socks, and has a new EP coming out via Chinabot.
Due out June 12, Gion ぎおん is the latest release from Chinabot, the label — one of our favorites of 2018 — seeking to upend stereotypes about “Asian music” one left field release at a time. Today, TMT has the pleasure of premiering Gion ぎおん in its entirety, all six glitchy and warped tracks of it.
As a thesis, Seaketa set out to make music that translates experience into sound without the mediation of a tangible language. The result is something at once both familiar and odd, ear-wormy and discordant. Sound collages of jazz, pop, and video game soundtrack stylings that show the unexpected forms each can take. To describe the album in terms that fit its spirit (which is both so simple and so completely confusing): Gion ぎおん sounds like the internal monologue of a Sega Genesis cartridge as it grapples with its own existence.
Decode that description by streaming Gion ぎおん in its entirety down below. While there, you can also find the video for closing track “よい ( yoi ),” as well as the album’s full tracklisting and besocked artwork.
For those in London, Chinabot will be hosting a combination album release/two-year anniversary party on the night of June 21, across two venues, where you’ll be able to snag a physical copy of Gion ぎおん. Details for that can be found here and here. For the rest of us, Gion ぎおん can be pre-ordered right here.
Gion ぎおん EP tracklisting:
01. たり ( tari )
02. てぃり ( teiri )
03. ぴぃ ( pi )
04. ふぉん ( fuon )
05. ぺぽ ( pepo )
06. よい ( yoi )
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