2006年末に設立された東京のレコード・レーベル。
the nation’s premier label for hushed music – Pitchfork
Flau releases are sonically quite diverse, from acoustic folk to dream pop and complex drum experiments. And though eclectic, never before has a label’s oeuvre come together to so closely sound the way a cherry blossom looks – The FADER
one of the biggest names in the world of really small sounds…the perfect soundtrack to a Sunday evening – Timeout Tokyo
consistently impressive – XLR8R
Flau has associated itself with a signature sound…association with Flau suggests a superior level of pop craftsmanship…What’s remarkable about Fukuzono’s project, which launched at the end of 2006, is that he’s achieved quality control without uniformity – exclaim!
Flau has shown that sometimes silence beats flashiness – METROPOLIS Magazine
flau seem to have a magic touch; everything they put out..has a celestial, positively glowing aura about it that has us longing for more..sonically the label is incredibly diverse, but what its releases share in common are a playful curiosity, an unmatchable quality and a genre-bending commitment to evoking time and space within their sounds – DUMMY
Flau label casts its net across a worldwide community of artists with a particular affection for fragile arrangements and microscopic songwriting…A reliable resource for all the finest, quirkiest exploratory electronic pop music – Boomkat
it combines genuine emotion with a sense of playfulness – Fluid Radio
everyone’s favourite Japanese label and, of course, we make no exception – Going Solo
constantly surprising, consistently stunning – Dummy
un monde de l’infiniment fragile et doux – Ondefixe
one of our favourite labels – Textura
Flau are one of those unassuming labels, which since 2007 have been quietly making their way in the world releasing a diverse range of high quality albums…their roster of international artists blend field recordings, acoustic instruments, microsounds, and voice, in a sound that has become truly synonymous with the label – Furthernoise
worth finding – Foxy Digitalis
grow, pushing boundaries and releasing gems – Drifting, Almost Falling
An inner experience and pure fascination to little things concept and microscopic sounds. FLAU is the latest Label Of The Moment – Otsechka
the Tokyo label’s dreamy and cinematic aesthetic seems tailor-made for two favourite hobbies: idleness and letting the imagination run wild – Solar Flares
This label collects very particular artists from all over the world all under one roof that eclectically holds them together. Each artist is so unique, that you would like to read a whole book about them – PonyDanceClyde
2008-09 London, Cafe OTO
2009-09 Melbourne, Toff In Town
2010-08 Berlin, Altes Finanzamt
2012-05 Malaysia, Black Box Map
2012-05 Macau, LMA
2012-05 China Tour Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou
2012-06 Tokyo, Fujimigaoka Church & VACANT
2012-06 Kyoto, Metro
2013-04 London, Cafe OTO
2013-04 Berlin, Antje Øklesund
2013-12 Tokyo, VACANT
2016-03 Tokyo, VACANT
SEE FULL LIST
©FLAU
CAT No. FLAU55
Release Date: January 27th 2016
Format: CD/Digital (LP from People Teeth)
2012年にセルフ・リリースされたデビュー作「Holiday」がじわじわと注目を集め、Brian Enoにも絶賛されたNYブルックリンのマルチ・インストゥルメンタリストNicholas PrincipeによるプロジェクトPort St. Willowがflauよりセカンドアルバムをリリース。
「アイデアが生まれた瞬間」をテーマに、インプロヴィゼーションに重きを置いた作曲とレコーディングによってサウンド・エンジニアのVictor Nashと共に練り上げられた楽曲は、ポスト・プロダクションを排することで、楽曲が今まさに生まれた時のエネルギーに満ち溢れています。RhyeやJeff Buckleyとも比較されるPrincipeの美しいファルセットに導かれながら聴き入る一曲一曲は、まるで光と波の背景に浮かび上がる映像を見ているような感覚。Tim HeckerやSusumu Yokotaからの影響を公言するそのサウンドは幻想的で豊かなアイデアに満ちあふれ、スロウコアの寂寞感から高揚する光の煌めきさえも感じることができるでしょう。アルバムにはThe AntlersのPeter Silberman、Will Epstein （Nicholas Jaar、High Water）やRVNG Intl.からリリースするBing & Ruthの中心メンバーDavid Mooreがゲスト参加し、緻密に練り上げた密室感のある耽美的な音のパレットに更なる深化を付け加えています。
変化が起きた直後の愛と、その後生まれ変わるための変化を表現し、前作から大きな飛躍を遂げたニューアルバム。 CDには現在廃盤となっている貴重なデビューEP「EVEN//WASTELAND」を追加収録。アートワークを世界的なムスリム・デザイナーとして知られるHana Tajimaが担当しています。
I am inside your calling voice. I hear it so close that it is nothing but light.
Port St. Willow’s Holiday was an expansive yet personal record that was quietly self-released in early 2012, creeping its way into the ears and hearts of listeners. One of these people was ambient mastermind Brian Eno, who waxed poetic about the band in an interview with Mother Jones
“I just heard a record last month by Port St. Willow… which I became completely entranced by,” he said. “I just thought how amazing that somebody could take the same few chords, pretty much the same sorts of sounds – it’s quite hard to tell what is original about it, but I just know I’ve never heard it before. It’s such a fabulous record.”
Port St. Willow’s sophomore effort, Syncope, uses the same focus on rhythm, texture, and voice to revisit a world that Holiday built. Nicholas Principe, Port St. Willow’s principle songwriter, returns to this world with an expanded palette of colors and language to explore the things that unwind us and bring us back to ourselves.
Written and recorded with a focus on improvisation, Principe sought to capture the moments just after an idea is found. Working closely with engineer Victor Nash, the energy of these performances makes Syncope feel alive and breathing. Arranged after the fact as a continuous piece, the listener is placed in a bed of noise and rhythm that intersect to create new moments across each listen. Guided by Principe’s clear falsetto, each piece becomes an image described, coming into focus against a backdrop of sirens and metal, waves and light.
In the spirit of the original effort, contributors Will Epstein (Nicolas Jaar, High Water), Peter Silberman (The Antlers), and David Moore (Bing & Ruth) all deliver performances captured and unedited.
This is visual music with an emotive core. An expression of love in response to sudden change, and the patient steps forward of a rebirth.
In the language of: Talk Talk, Susumu Yokota, Brian Eno, Tim Hecker
03 An Ocean We Both Know
04 Atlas
05 Motion06 Three Halves Whole
07 Orbit Back, My Garden Home
08 Syncope
09 Opal
10 Pulse
11 Even
12 Tunnels
13 Wasteland先月Port St. Willowのレコードを聴いて、完全に虜だよ…音楽は幾つかのシンプルなコードで成り立ってるだけなのに、新鮮なんだ。最高のアルバムだよ –
Brian Eno
the depth and fluidity of composition is remarkable (imagine if Julia Holter arranged for Rhye) and winds up somewhere unique, and spellbinding... Pitchfork
emotional, atmospheric…It is as if you are taken to a cloudy, cold day in a beautiful, but desolate setting overlooking a calm lake – My Old Kentucky Blog
Port St. Willow is like a migration of monarch butterflies, flooding the forest with noise and color at just the right time of year – Tiny Mix Tapes
a welcome return to the brass and percussion-laced dreamscapes that made our first encounter so magical – Indie Shuffle
Syncope proves that Principe is clearly capable of creating music that caresses the listener…as the brainchild of Talk Talk-era Mark Hollis and the most recent works of Radiohead – Independent Musi News
a gorgeous, slowcore meditation that puts Principe’shis shivery falsetto front and center – Brooklyn Magazine
Keep an ear out for the impeccably three-dimensional sounds around you, like the jingling of keys. – Cool Hunting
Port St Willow is resurrecting the lost art of the fade-in…Nothing in this music is in any discernible hurry. Syncope holds no sharp edges, no abrupt outlines…it might carry on for five minutes or forever, fading in and out and in again, embedding itself in your mind – Paste Magazine
the band have focused on intimate instrumentation, found sounds and the lead singer’s soft falsetto. Unsurprisingly Brian Eno is a big fan – Norman Records
l’album révèle néanmoins, indubitablement, une personnalité tout à fait particulière et une qualité d’écriture incontestable – EtherREAL
水彩画のようにじわっと広がり、徐々に変化していく幻想的なアンビエント…スロウコア風の暗めなトラックに中世的なファルセット際立つ一枚 – Mikiki
実験的な側面もある緻密なプロダクションのサウンドと、バラード調の歌い上げの妖艶なうたで、ディープかつムーディーで美しい世界 – Linus Records
ベッドルームのシガーロス…ボン・イヴェール、パフューム・ジーニアス、ライ、アントニー＆ザ・ジョンソンズ好きも必聴 – Tower Records
CAT No. FLAU55
Release Date: January 27th 2016
Format: CD/Digital (LP from People Teeth)
03 An Ocean We Both Know
04 Atlas
05 Motion06 Three Halves Whole
07 Orbit Back, My Garden Home
08 Syncope
09 Opal
10 Pulse
11 Even
12 Tunnels
13 Wasteland2012年にセルフ・リリースされたデビュー作「Holiday」がじわじわと注目を集め、Brian Enoにも絶賛されたNYブルックリンのマルチ・インストゥルメンタリストNicholas PrincipeによるプロジェクトPort St. Willowがflauよりセカンドアルバムをリリース。
「アイデアが生まれた瞬間」をテーマに、インプロヴィゼーションに重きを置いた作曲とレコーディングによってサウンド・エンジニアのVictor Nashと共に練り上げられた楽曲は、ポスト・プロダクションを排することで、楽曲が今まさに生まれた時のエネルギーに満ち溢れています。RhyeやJeff Buckleyとも比較されるPrincipeの美しいファルセットに導かれながら聴き入る一曲一曲は、まるで光と波の背景に浮かび上がる映像を見ているような感覚。Tim HeckerやSusumu Yokotaからの影響を公言するそのサウンドは幻想的で豊かなアイデアに満ちあふれ、スロウコアの寂寞感から高揚する光の煌めきさえも感じることができるでしょう。アルバムにはThe AntlersのPeter Silberman、Will Epstein （Nicholas Jaar、High Water）やRVNG Intl.からリリースするBing & Ruthの中心メンバーDavid Mooreがゲスト参加し、緻密に練り上げた密室感のある耽美的な音のパレットに更なる深化を付け加えています。
変化が起きた直後の愛と、その後生まれ変わるための変化を表現し、前作から大きな飛躍を遂げたニューアルバム。 CDには現在廃盤となっている貴重なデビューEP「EVEN//WASTELAND」を追加収録。アートワークを世界的なムスリム・デザイナーとして知られるHana Tajimaが担当しています。
I am inside your calling voice. I hear it so close that it is nothing but light.
Port St. Willow’s Holiday was an expansive yet personal record that was quietly self-released in early 2012, creeping its way into the ears and hearts of listeners. One of these people was ambient mastermind Brian Eno, who waxed poetic about the band in an interview with Mother Jones
“I just heard a record last month by Port St. Willow… which I became completely entranced by,” he said. “I just thought how amazing that somebody could take the same few chords, pretty much the same sorts of sounds – it’s quite hard to tell what is original about it, but I just know I’ve never heard it before. It’s such a fabulous record.”
Port St. Willow’s sophomore effort, Syncope, uses the same focus on rhythm, texture, and voice to revisit a world that Holiday built. Nicholas Principe, Port St. Willow’s principle songwriter, returns to this world with an expanded palette of colors and language to explore the things that unwind us and bring us back to ourselves.
Written and recorded with a focus on improvisation, Principe sought to capture the moments just after an idea is found. Working closely with engineer Victor Nash, the energy of these performances makes Syncope feel alive and breathing. Arranged after the fact as a continuous piece, the listener is placed in a bed of noise and rhythm that intersect to create new moments across each listen. Guided by Principe’s clear falsetto, each piece becomes an image described, coming into focus against a backdrop of sirens and metal, waves and light.
In the spirit of the original effort, contributors Will Epstein (Nicolas Jaar, High Water), Peter Silberman (The Antlers), and David Moore (Bing & Ruth) all deliver performances captured and unedited.
This is visual music with an emotive core. An expression of love in response to sudden change, and the patient steps forward of a rebirth.
In the language of: Talk Talk, Susumu Yokota, Brian Eno, Tim Hecker
