With a new LP, Piscolabis, set for early-2022, multi-instrumentalist Golden Bug has revealed a prefacing EP entitled Tokoyo No Kuni to be released on La Belle Records on September 17, 2021.

Following up the acclaimed collaborative release with The Limiñanas, Variation sur 3 Bancs,  that also featured Pilooski, Superpitcher and Destiino — Tokoyo No Kuni features Japanese composer, artist and sound designer Vega Voga. A founding member of Parisian group Tristesse Contemporaine, Vega Voga aka Narumi Herisson has leant her vocal talents to the likes of  Pilooski and Il Est Vilaine.

Tokoyo No Kuni is an exploration of Japanese mythology and after world, and an expertly crafted blend of Japanese instrumentation and psychedelic electronica, rounded off with remixes from Nicola Cruz, Michael Mayer and Wolf Müller.

Hi Antoine, thank you for taking the time to speak to us. Where are you? How was your summer? 

This summer I had the chance to travel around Europe discovering new places & meeting new people; it was amazing after this long lockdown period! I also spent time in my studio in Barcelona finishing some new tracks for my upcoming LP called Piscolabis.

Could you talk us through the Tokoyo No Kuni EP — how it came about; what it means to you? 

The idea came out after a lunch in Paris with my Japanese friend Narumi from Tristesse Contemporaine. We talked hours about our two cultures and thought it could be a nice experiment to fit it into a track and Tokoyo No Kuni was born.

How did you first connect with Narumi?

We have common friends and we met several times at Parisian parties but we never had the chance to talk about music. I love her vibe and energy and her musical world, and especially her collaboration with Pilooski called ‘Sakura No Mori No Mankai No Shita’ released on the Isola EP on Dirty records.

Narumi © écoute chérie

We understand the original is a blend of Japanese and western sounds — could you talk us through the hardware and instruments used, and why?

I used lot of Asian drum sounds that I sampled and replayed in my MPC, I also invited Lionel from The Limiñanas to play some psychedelic guitars to bring a kind of Kill Bill touch to it and last I added a lot of dub FX played live to keep a human feeling.

What are you listening to at the moment?
I listened to the last Joakim LP called Second Nature which is great, a very nice record to listen at home and to play in an early DJ set. I also love the Modern Obscure Music release called PRSNT  including tracks by Nicolas Godin, Sakamoto, Chassol, Pedro Vian, etc. You really have to check this release born in Barcelona, it’s a global project mixing music, video and photography and it’s huge!
What do you do to relax?

I love cooking, reading, walking and travelling around with my girlfriend.

What else do you have coming up? What’s next for Golden Bug?

We’ll release the ‘Tokoyo No Kuni’ video soon directed by Catalan director Arnau Montanyes and early next year we will release my new LP Piscolabis on my home sweet home La Belle Records.

__
Order / listen to Tokyo No Kuni feat. Vega Voga here.