Kohei Matsunaga started making music way back in 1997, and in the intervening 20 years, has put stuff out on such labels as Mille Plateaux, Important Records, Pan and Diagonal. And, in the distant future, Matsunaga can add DFA Records to that list, as the label is set to put out his latest, Exit Entrance, on October 6 of this year. Wait a minute…that’s like less than two months from now. That’s more like DFA Records is putting out new music from Kohei Matsunaga in the near future. Cool!
Seeing release under the moniker NHK yx Koyxen (pronounced just like it’s spelled) Exit Entrance looks to be Matsunaga’s most accessible (as much as that tag can apply to experimental electronic music) to date.
Yes, Matsunaga still obscures his eyes with 3-D glasses that make him seem like he would fit right in with Biff Tannen’s crew. Regardless, gone are the impenetrable track titles made up of seemingly random letters and numbers, replaced with actual, real words, allowing for a more direct connection with the music. Each song feels as if it is an interpretation of a specific life moment or emotion, something which can only be succinctly summed up in a single word. “Meeting.” Or “Dignity.” Or “Dented.” The album’s penultimate track “Offset (for Mika Vainio)” serves as perhaps the best example of this. A hushed, somber techno song, it is dedicated to a close friend and collaborator of Matsunaga’s, who unexpectedly passed away as the album was being completed.
If you like intricate, lush electronic songs with simple titles that make you feel feelings, Exit Entrance is out October 6 via DFA Records. In the meantime, pre-order it here, watch the video for opening track “Meeting,” and then check out the album’s artwork and full track listing, all down below.
Exit Entrance tracklisting:
01. Meeting
02. Finding
03. Intention
04. Dignity
05. Notice
06. Mutually
07. Outset (for Mike Vainio)
08. Dented