A child agrees then screams the name. Kid-o-suke. Did you hear that right? The music trickles in. It sounds like it was made in a toy factory. Hold on. Let me reach for the button over there. Childhood memories. The magical sounds of a roundabout sending you to sleep. The wonders of the world seen through eyes that don’t yet fully comprehend and ears that find musical potential in everything. Two kindred souls find each other, distance never the issue, they share and laugh the only way they know how.

The wonderful pixelated world of a video game. Where does reality end and where does the imagination start? Somewhere in the distance an explosion can be heard, or was it a booming bass drum? There are birds singing a crystalline melody. One I heard before, in a dream perhaps. All of a sudden a child exclaims ‘come, let’s go’. Where did he come from? Is he real or another pixelated fragment of imagination?

Yokatta desu. There’s a castle in the sky. Two boys team up to reach it, carried by the power of their dreams. The same dreams that marked their childhood and brought them to be men. If ever there was music worthy of becoming the soundtrack to a Ghibli movie this could be it. There’s a girl asleep on a plastic deer, going around and around. She reminds me of the hand drawn versions of the pixelated heroes of my childhood. I imagine her dreams filled with exciting adventures.

I swear I heard the sounds of Tokyo’s public transport. It told me we’d arrived at Shibuya yet I can’t see the neon bright lights when I look around. Oh well, I’ll just have to imagine them.

It’s an album, so of course it’s real. The music is the result of a desire to create regardless of outcome, for the simple fact that there is a story to tell. People will consume it whichever way they want. Is it this sound or that sound? Does it really matter? Stop for a minute and enjoy the music for what it is. A synthesis of two aesthetics joined not just by a love of music but also a love of the abstract and the childish, the things that remind us we were all young one day and things were simpler. Things like dancing as if no one was looking or making music as if the outcome never mattered.

Kidsuke is a collaborative project between the UK’s Kidkanevil and Japan’s Daisuke Tanabe. Their self-titled debut is released by Project Mooncircle in November 2012 on double colored vinyl LP and digital.

All tracks written and produced by G. Roberts and D. Tanabe except…
‘The Other Day We Thought Of Our Friends…’ written by G. Roberts, D. Tanabe and Darren Ng
‘Ghostgirl‘ written by G. Roberts, D. Tanabe and M. Roosevelt
‘The Last Train (Eki)’ written by G. Roberts, D. Tanabe and G. Wood

Mixed by G. Roberts, D. Tanabe and Rod Buchanan Dunlop | Mastering by Sven Friederichs | Published by Just Isn’t Music | Original artwork by Yura Komine | Text by Laurent Fintoni | A&R: Gordon Gieseking

You can pre-order the vinyl version at hhv.de | Rush Hour | Cargo UK | Diskunion | Jet Set Records | Crosstalk | Juno | Boomkat and more.

Digital download at Bandcamp | Itunes | Juno | Zero Inch | Beatport | Amazon | Boomkat | BLEEP.COM and more.

Excerpts of press or air play outcomes:
BBC November 1st, 2012 review – READ. BBC Radio 1 October, 14th 2012 Diplo & Friends (Tokimonsta set) with the song Sgstep – LISTEN. BBC Radio 1 October 13th, 2012 hosted by Rob Da Bank with the song SGstep – LISTEN. Resident Advisor October 11th, 2012 feature – READ. Brownswood September 24th, 2012 electr*c 3 with the song Tiny Concrete Block – LISTEN. Gilles Peterson September 5th, 2012 interview – READ. XLR8R October 29th, 2012 exclusive free dwnld with the song Wanju – LISTEN/DWNLD. Red Bull Music Academy October 25th, 2012 exclusive free dwnld with the song Toy Jam & Earl – LISTEN/DWNLD. hhv.de Mag September 11th, 2012 feature – READ. Beat Wolf Radio September 3rd, 2012 Groovement with the song Tiny Concrete Block – LISTEN. Pinboard Blog September 24th, 2012 feature with the song Tiny Concrete Block – LISTEN. Flowmotion Radio September 16th, 2012 hosted by Nick Luscombe with the song IntroOoOoO / MoOoOoOn – LISTEN. Electronic Beats / Slices Magazine September 16th, 2012 DVD Feature with Kidkanevil – LISTEN. BBC Radio 6 Music September 28th, 2012 hosted by Tom Ravenscroft with the song SGstep – LISTEN. Deftune September 28th, 2012 review – READ. BBC Radio 1 September 28th, 2012 hosted by B. Traits with the song SGstep – LISTEN. Tiny Mix Tapes October 2nd, 2012 review READ. BBC Radio 6 Music October 6th, 2012 hosted by Gilles Peterson with the song MoOoOoOn – LISTEN. 92bpm.com September 11th, 2012 feature – READ. Earmilk September 25th, 2012 stream with the song Tiny Concrete Block – LISTEN. Groovement September 14th, 2012 feature – READ. BLN.FM October 9th, 2012 Finest Ego Radio with the song Cherry Chimes – LISTEN. Clubbing Spain October 15th, 2012 feature – READ. The Basic Soul Show October 15th, 2012 hosted by Simon Harrison with the song The Last Train – LISTEN. XLR8R November 2nd, 2012 Top 10 dwnlds October 2012 with the song Wanju – LISTEN/DWNLD. RoundHouse November 2nd, 2012 Electronic Dimensions with the song MoOoOoOn – LISTEN. Tempoclash November 4th, 2012 Podcast #3 exclusive set – LISTEN. BLN.FM November 9th, 2012 review – READ. GROOVEMENT November 13th, 2012 interview, bonus track dwnld and exclusive mix – READ. Altsounds November 13th, 2012 review – READ. BBC Radio 6 Music November 16th, 2012 hosted by Tom Ravenscroft exclusive guest mix – LISTEN. Red Bull Studio | London November 13th, 2012 interview – READ. Nutriot November 16th, 2012 review – READ. NTS Live / You’ll Soon Know November 16th, 2012 hosted by Tim Parker exclusive show & interview – LISTEN. Indie Shuffle November 24th, 2012 feature – READ. Music Is My Sanctuary November 24th, 2012 feature – READ. Cosmopolyphonic Radio / Japan November 16th, 2012 hosted by Nobu guest mix – LISTEN. Wave Magazine / Poland November 24th, 2012 review – READ. Ninja Tune / Solid Steel November 16th, 2012 by Coldcut guest mix – LISTEN. Groove Merchants / PLAY.FM November 25th, 2012 hosted by Majestic Mood with the song MoOoOoOn – LISTEN. Beyondjazz #435 Dezember 2nd, 2012 hosted by Lennart with the song MoOoOoOn – LISTEN. Red Bull Music Academy December 3rd, 2012 interview – READ. BBC December 4th, 2012 The Best Albums of November 2012 – READ. Knowledge Mag December 5th, 2012 Top 3 Essential Albums of November – READ. DJ Mag December 5th, 2012 feature – READ. CDM January 2nd, 2012 feature – READ. URB Magazine January 9th, 2013 hosted by exclusive mix – LISTEN. Hash Magazine January 1st, 2012 review – READ. Red Bull Music Academy Radio April 11th, 2013 Sonar Sound | Tokyo live set – LISTEN.

DJ / Artist Comments:
Sounds incredible! Congrats! (Ta-Ku – HW&W / Australia)
The album is very good, but entirely bonkers sounding (Tom Ravenscroft – BBC Radio 6 Music / UK)
Kidsuke is god… (Quarta330 – Hyperdub / UK)