Tokyo Indie

Cato Canari is a Tokyo-based Norweigan expat with a penchant for catchy spaced out disco. After seeing Cato spin some tunes at a recent party, the man himself thrust a copy of his new album, entitled “8″, into my hand and bid me to have a listen. From the first play it was clear to me why Cato’s sounds are garnering support from around the globe – most notably from Tokyo radio DJ Guy Perryman, Swedish starlet Axel Boman and UK legend Kissy Sellout.

Indeed, the album is very much a “global” effort. The bulk of the record was recorded and mixed right here in Tokyo, but contributions came from as far afield as London, Stockholm and Oslo. These sounds are melded together by Cato’s expert craft which has let to an album which is just as comfortable in your bedroom as it is on the dance floor. The album experiments with styles and textures which differ from track to track, but still have an overarching cohesion.

Red Skyline by Cato Canari

For example, the pulsing guitar-led “Red Skyline”, a track which Cato describes as “a Balearic beach sunrise set in Tokyo’s backstreets of Shinjuku”, nestles next to the swirling electronic mists of “Remocon” and the piano house of “Fingers Around You”.

Remocon by Cato Canari

Fingers Around You feat. Jonason by Cato Canari

The whole package is tied together with some simple, yet eye-catching cover art from Athens based artist Karacop. The album is out now on Delusive Disco and is available digitally on iTunes, Beatport and Amazon.

Words: Mark Birtles

Translation: Iona Nagata