Thom and Jay of Donor Lens have pulled off what is essentially a musical magic trick: play the same song three different ways and keep the listener wanting more. I have been bouncing around between the three versions for a few days now, and I can’t pick my favorite one. They all have so many strong attributes that make for individually strong singles.
In order to create these three unique tunes, Donor Lens teamed up with three brilliant collaborators to create some of the most innovative synth-ornamented vaporpop earworms I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Those collaborators were:
The song was originally intended to be included on Donor Lens’ hit album, Midnight Store (Well, it was included...in a way...more on that later).
“It stuck out loads, because it was a summer city pop song. The rest of the album is about nights gone astray and...like...getting lost in the supermarket,” Thom mentioned. So they chose not to include the track...per se.
While this song has technically been eccojammed and recorded live prior to this release, the Ai Wana release allowed the tune to truly evolve and become a full sequential collage of musical moments. We get the song in English, Japanese, and then Japanese mixed with amazing MIDI saxophones!
Donor Lens is a duo of two very eclectic and skilled musicians/producers, Thom and Jay. They both come from wildly different musical backgrounds, which creates a surprisingly cohesive sound across the board.
Thom’s harmonic background is rooted in jazz/classical while Jay’s is rooted in metal/hardcore. They both have a strong appreciation for city pop, and that is what helped to create this one-of-a-kind banger.
Jay is a jack of all trades with involvement in a variety of musical projects from Timeshare’94 to 3PeaceSweetz (both v-wave projects) to being a co-founder of My Pet Flamingo and TimeSlave Recordings.
As I mentioned previously, Jay’s major influences come from death metal/hardcore, etc. from his younger days.
“I think I overdid it, and now my musical taste is all over the shop.”
Though it’s been a while, he is still heavily influenced by that realm of harmony regardless of the genre he and Thom are exploring at that moment.
Jay draws tons of inspiration from bands like Counterparts, Architects and Napoleon (especially in the guitar department).
Thom is also an incredibly well-rounded musician with participation in a wide variety of musical projects from the band, Habraxas (six-piece future-fusion/neo soul) to Love in Dust (ambient electronic) and Wichita Limewire (experimental vaporwave).
As I also said prior, Thom’s harmonic sense of self is rooted in jazz/classical music. This was incredibly apparent when he sent me over a beast of a chord chart for the tune (check out the B section especially).
Thom also filled me in, “Things that definitely fed into the tune: The Rah Band, Patrice Rushen, Salsoul disco singles by Inner Life...Surface…”Sprinkler” by Tatsuro Yamashita and other city pop bangers."
Donor Lens’ appreciation for charting out a tune allowed for them to successfully execute this truly collaborative project. Whether the remix was recorded in the studio in person or sent through stems via the good old interwebs, exemplary jazz musicianship prevailed in communicating through trusty charts, a process I’ve grown so fond of over the years.
/:P L A Y by P L A Y:\
The Donor lads decided to go in a multi-lingual direction a la 99 Red Balloons/99 Luft Balloons.
It was Thom’s idea to reach out to Tsudio Studio for the version with Japanese vocals. Both Jay and Thom adored TS’ music and style. They learned of TS through Pad Chennington’s Block Party.
Here is the lyrical transformation:
Your face
Remember wherever you are
Only for me
I know you're not you
Oh but this love
I believe there is no substitute
Dance in the palm of your hand
I can't go back in your trap
Oh but this love
I believe there is no substitute
Dance in the palm of your hand
A stupid man struggling in your trap
Everyone tells me it's miserable
I know all the truth
Oh but this love
I believe there is no substitute
Dance in the palm of your hand
I can't go back in your trap
Oh but this love
I believe there is no substitute
Dance in the palm of your hand
A stupid man struggling in your trap
Kimi no kao
dokoni ite mo omoidasu
boku dake no
kimi janai no wa chanto wakatteru
Ādakedomo kono koi no
kawari wa nai to omoikon deru
tenohira de odoru
kimi no wana de mogaku mōmodorenai
ādakedomo kono koi no
kawari wa nai to omoikon deru
tenohira de odoru
kimi no wana de mogaku bakana otoko
Daremoga boku
ni mijimeda to iukeredo
hontō no
koto nante zenbu shitte iru[[
Ādakedomo kono koi no
kawari wa nai to omoikon deru
tenohira de odoru
kimi no wana de mogaku mōmodorenai
ādakedomo kono koi no
kawari wa nai to omoikon deru
tenohira de odoru
kimi no wana de mogaku bakana otoko
愛罠
君の顔
どこにいても思い出す
僕だけの
君じゃないのはちゃんとわかってる
ああだけどもこの恋の
代わりはないと思い込んでる
手のひらで踊る
君の罠でもがくもう戻れない
ああだけどもこの恋の
代わりはないと思い込んでる
手のひらで踊る
君の罠でもがく馬鹿な男
誰もが僕に惨めだと言うけれど
本当の事なんて全部知っている
ああだけどもこの恋の
代わりはないと思い込んでる
手のひらで踊る
君の罠でもがくもう戻れない
ああだけどもこの恋の
代わりはないと思い込んでる
手のひらで踊る
君の罠でもがく馬鹿な男
If you haven’t listened to Tsudio Studio, you’re missing out. It’s a brilliant blend of synth pop, chillwave and more decorated with a gloss of autotune and nostalgic wonder.
Check out Tsudio Studio’s music here:
https://tsudiostudio.bandcamp.com/
Jay mentioned, “Originally, we collaborated with Jana Tyrrell on the first version, Love Bizarre. We actually chopped up and repurposed the track on our album Midnight Store and recorded a live version on our Live at Pink Bird album.”
Prior to release, as Jay mentioned, they eccojammed the unreleased track. You can hear shadows of the track on it on Out My Head (A Love Bazaar) and It’s Hard to Describe (A Love Bazaar) on DL’s LP, Midnight Store.
Jana’s solo material is lovely. Be sure to check it out here!
You can also check out a video version of Love Bizarre with Jana Tyrrell in this clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yiJEzbj6rU
Check out Eyeliner’s music here:
https://disasteradio.bandcamp.com/
Also, if you haven’t heard this one, this was my jam in college:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-LKa1Y9_ok
DL/:analysis.exe
That pedal tone sets a feel that completely opens up and throws us into a whirlwind of melodic bliss.
This chorus though. This chorus is so satisfying.
After hanging out in the world of F for so long, hearing a beautiful IV, V, I vi is just so pleasant.
This motif drives the entire musical project.
It screams summer vacation, late nights staying up watching movies, hanging out at the beach. It’s just so much joy in a single progression.
On the word, “Love” we land on the I chord. That is such a magical moment.
The second half of the chorus is filled with borrowed chords/thirteen chords. It’s marked as Gb/Ab. That dominant chord borrowed from the key of Db major really throws me for a loop. It’s lovely.
Then, in the second half of the chorus, we don’t get that I down to vi. Instead we get a Db/Eb followed by an Eb/F. It’s like they were looking for borrowed chords, and the only people that could loan the needed harmonies were the vapor gods themselves.
The half diminished chord followed by the altered chord. It’s a great example of jazz fusion mixing into this beast we call vaporwave.
The bridge is really something harmonically. I think John Coltrane. I think Bill Evans. I heard Herbie Hancock. I thoroughly enjoy hearing improvisation over these changes. It’s up there with FM Skyline’s latest album for the vaporwave version of Giant Steps.
B_O_T_T_O_M (line)
C:\Where?
The EP/single was released by My Pet Flamingo virtually as well as on tape cassette.
https://mypetflamingo.bandcamp.com/album/ai-wana-love-bazaar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeN19jcEzPk
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