Cornelius
By: Dan Monsell
Touring this week:
2/8/08 - The Big Chill Festival, UK
3/8/03 - Shepherds Bush Empire, London, UK
Ticket details: Tickets for the Shepherds Bush show are priced at £17, available HERE. There are still some tickets for the Big Chill available for £135, although students can get them £20 cheaper. Get them HERE.
Why is this worthy of my time and money?: With so many different types of musician descending on British shores this summer, sometimes people start hankering for something that's really going to blow their mind and make their jaw drop at the drop of a hat. Cornelius (born Keigo Oyamada in 1969 in Tokyo, Japan) is certainly this week's safest bet for a sure-fire dose of intrigue and mind-expanding musical splendour.
Oyamada has been making music since 1991, starting his career as a member of pop duo Flipper's Guitar. Since then he's embarked on a highly successful and internationally traversing solo career, becoming very much the critics' electronica artist of choice. Musically, it's a pretty avant-garde and experimental affair, while still maintaining a strong dream-like pop sensibility with melodies that embrace the Beach Boys, the Beatles or more psychedelic contemporaries like Beck or Caribou.
Moving quickly from dissonant to lush harmony, all the while cranking out some of the most futuristic electronic sounds and beats around, this is exactly what you might expect from pioneering Japanese musicians du jour. This music will probably be all over the pop charts in fifty years time - when we're all wearing matching space suits - so you might as well get yourself started on it now.
Artists in this article: Cornelius