A return to the hazy beats of Nickelman

Yuki Kitano hails from Osaka Japan, where the skateboarding culture helped lead him to the genre of hip-hop and to his first experimentations with the MPC2000XL drum machine. Now creating beat tape and lo-fi sound as Nickelman, Kitano has picked up more than 15 years of experience as an electric artist and remains on track and on task.

Instrumental beats tend to be where Nickelman carves out his place, filling his extensive discography up with tracks which contain both cool vibes and a warm heart. While each release takes on a slightly different style, the mellow mood is consistent throughout, and although many of the artist’s tracks are instrumental, those incorporating vocals and found sound do so with careful consideration, making sure they complement the daydream synth and bring character to the song.

Coming up on the horizon as a follow up to 2019’s ‘Elements’ LP is a 12 track release set for August, titled ‘Butterwax’. It’s from this LP that our featured track ‘Fly’ is taken, an early introduction to the next major collection of beats. It’s what Nickelman does best, thick with soft beats and light with low tempo melodies, finished by vocals to furnish the sound with a touch of humanity.

Pre-order the album on cassette, vinyl or digital on Bandcamp or stream the single on Spotify

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Check out the label- URBNET
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Beat-tape aficionado Nickelman’s ‘Sweet Blunts’

As Nickelman, Yuki Kitano has been creating music for more than 15 years, making his own mark on the beat-tape and lo-fi scene. Originally from Osaka Japan, Nickelman’s solo talents have been developing alongside his long term musical collaborator FROGMAN. Sharing a passion for deep beats, the two artists have worked to build ‘Freemanz Production’, releasing a tidy discography of chillout and jazzy tracks which manage to slow down time as you hit play. This partnership was also behind Deepconstruction Records, a label out there to support contributions from the worlds of lo-fi, hip hop and rap.

Nickelman’s collection of solo music has also continued to expand, with 13 separate LP size offerings up on his Bandcamp. The tracks presented carry deep vibes, glowing synth bass and a hazy atmosphere that surrounds the listener.

The pace of production hasn’t slowed, and the most recent addition to the discography was added in early January of this year. That said we’re looking back a little further to 2019 with the music on display today. ‘Sweet Blunts’ was supported by the record label URBNET last June as part of Nickelman’s ‘Elements’ album, and the bpm sits between typical lo-fi and instrumental hip-hop, maintaining a warm vibe rather than a melted one.

Support the album on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify

Hear more from NICKELMAN
Spotify / Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Instagram

Check out the label- URBNET
Website / Instagram / Facebook / Bandcamp / Twitter

Lush downtempo from Japanese producer- KEET

KEET is a Japanese artist, designer and producer who crafts chilled out, downtempo beats. Previously studying music theory and jazz piano, he was attracted to beatmaking and electronic music for it's limitless sonic potential and creative flexibility. 

In addition to his audio prowess and crisp beats, KEET also designs his own cover art. He designs both the audio and visual designs in parallel, so as to compliment one another and serve as a singular cohesive package. 

His recent track 'Told you so' is a fresh twilight drive along the Japanese coast. A 5 minute journey through falling keys, cascading vocals and gently lapping guitar fading into the distance. 

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