New Music: Isayahh Wuddha ‎– Urban Brew

Japanese musician and vocalist Isayahh Wuddha releases ‘Urban Brew’, an eddying blend of lo-fi soulful indie, funk, rock and psychedelia. The release is led by Wuddha’s strange but alluring vocal delivery, moving between
tender-to-the-point-of-breaking-any-second, almost-apathetic-semi-rapping and friendly-conversational with the occasional James Brown scream dotted around. Recorded in Kyoto to multitrack tape recorder with vintage drum machines, guitars and Casio keyboard. While the music ranges from lively to ballad-esque, there is a sense of fun and playfulness throughout,
enhanced by the raw, slapped-together production style.

A very fun album with its heart in the right place, a care-free attitude emanates throughout the music with its spontaneous jam session style. The minimal approach to the layers of the tracks lets the melodies and vocals breath and have space within the mix, producing a very pure sound. I think what one has to remember is although it has an overall simplistic style, the compositions and the melodies are of a musician who knows his craft and can created the illusion of improvised whimsical musings. It’s always a delight when artists work in such a stripped down fashion and even more so when it results in something quite special from its self imposed restrictions. An artist that truly moves to the beat of their own drum.

Isayahh explains the LP’s creation :
“The recording was made in March 2019. About 7 days. It took one month to mix and master. There was an election on the way, and I was sabotaging Japanese nationalists. I have roots in Taiwan and Japan. I fight against those who discriminate by their origin. By the way, about the theme of the work. Late-night television music from depopulated area hotels. Or time to wander the city at dusk. I could only record with a cassette tape MTR I bought a long time ago. And I wanted an intense beat. Because I wanted to sing while dancing. It is a pleasure. At the time of the recording, I was laughing all the time. That’s it.”

Track List:

1. Elephant Wave
2. Emerald
3. Ever
4. Feel
5. More
6. Shipping Love Boat
7. Something in Blue

Urban Brew: out now on vinyl and digital via WotNot Music.