12k kicks off its 11th year with a new release that takes the label down new sonic pathways. Caught between the organic and electronic minimalism that 12k is known for and the unconventional Japanese pop musings and songwriting style of Happy, Moskitoo’s Drape is an infectously strange, bleepy, and dreamy debut release.
Sanae Yamasaki (Moskitoo) hails from Sappporo, Japan in the country’s northern-most prefecture of Hokkaido. Perhaps a reaction to the cool climate of her home, her multi-instrumental talents bring a wide range of warm tones and textures to Drape by means of guitar, metallophone, organ, drum machines, synthesizers and nostalgic toy instruments. Yamasaki’s gentle, airy vocals weave between broken beats and aqueous droplets of sound evoking half-awake memories lost and found.
Influenced by visual art (she painted the cover image), modern electronic music and abstract pop, such as Eno’s explorations in the 1970’s, Yamasaki does not set out to write a particular style of music, but rather, lets her creative process emerge naturally, following whims and experiments.
12k is also releasing a limited edition cd single features remixes of “Wham & Whammy” and “Skie” by Frank Bretschneider, Mark Fell, and Taylor Deupree.