Mah​ō​gakkō (Lilac Smoke Marbled LP)

Mahōgakkō is the new album by Hakushi Hasegawa (They/Them pronouns) - a musician/singer-songwriter based in Tokyo, Japan, and the first Japanese artist signed to Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. The record includes the singles 'Mouth Flash (Kuchinohanabi)' - featuring bass wizard Sam Wilkes (Leaving Records) - and 'Boy's Texture' plus 'Gone' with rapper KID FRESINO.

Consistent with Brainfeeder's ethos of seeking out artists operating outside the confines of genre since the label started in 2008, Hakushi's music is tricky to categorise as it straddles a few genres: alternative, electronic, jazz, pop/J-pop. Sometimes it's pretty, at times it's very intense and fast-paced. The FADER described 'Mouth Flash' as "wild-eyed free-associated beat poetry delivered through achingly beautiful melody". Their music's singular character has earned Hakushi plaudits from Crack Magazine, Needledrop (Anthony Fantano), XLR8R, Paste, Jazziz, Bandcamp Weekly, and Tone Glow.