Gratin Carnival // Such December LP

Japanese folk pop artist Grattan Carnival aka Koreyuki Mitsunaga will be joining the German pop label in October 2023.This is a reissue record released by Alien Transistor. (Original release in 2020)

Contains 10 simple and heartwarming folk pop to bossa folk songs. DL code included. 

Recommended for those who like Tenniscoats.

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12" black vinyl. Edition of 423. Originally released in 2020. Includes DL code.

Tracklist:

1. Winter
2. Ventilation Fan
3. City of Silver and Blue
4. The photo opportunity was five years ago / Just Watching
5. Mirage Song
6. Lighthouse
7. Education from Mars
8. Puddle
9. Dreaming
10. On the Train

Text excerpt by Alien Transistor:

"Alien Transistor is proud to announce a reissue of Such December, the fourth album by Japanese indie folk-pop artist, Gratin Carnival. Listeners might already know Gratin Carnival from their appearance on the Alien Parade Japan compilation of indie pop groups working with brass and woodwind ; compiled by Markus Acher of The Notwist and Saya of Tenniscoats, it introduced this beautiful genre to the wider world. Gratin Carnival's “Just Watching” was one of the many highlights of that compilation, and its gentle bossa-folk glide reappears on Such December.

Originally released in 2020, Such December captures beautifully the happy-sad charm of Gratin Carnival. The project of Koreyuki Mitsunaga, Gratin Carnival started in 2011; Mitsunaga had been home recording for some time and decided on the name as an umbrella for his music- making. Mitsunaga's main instruments are guitar, which he uses to great effect throughout, his gorgeous acoustic playing reminiscent of players like Ueno Takashi of Tenniscoats or João Gilberto, and alto saxophone and clarinet. Those three instruments make up the core of Gratin Carnival's sound, along with Mitsunaga's charmingly doleful singing.

Recording at his parents' home, with a four-track cassette recorder and a MacBook, Mitsunaga created Such December during 2020, though the songs on it stretch back to 2016. The closing “On The Train” was the first song written for the album – “a song about a small trip,” Mitsunaga recalls – and from there, he built a beautiful collection of songs that sit together perfectly. There's great clarity in Mitsunaga's writing, with nothing extraneous getting in the way of the lucid arrangements and gorgeous melodies there's something of chamber jazz about it at times, so it's no surprise that Mitsunaga shares his love of Benny Goodman's small group playing."

Artist: Gratin Carnival

Label: Alien Transistor