Pontone presents a guide to Eric Kowalski’s Casino Versus Japan project which contribution to the field of electronica today seems to be greater than ever.
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PLAYLIST:
- Vessels That Float Out Of Metals That Sink (Part 1) (“Casino Versus Japan” Moongadget, 1998/2010)
- It’s Very Sunny (“Go Hawaii” Wobblyhead, 2000)
- Moonlupe (“Whole Numbers Play The Basics” Carpark, 2002)
- Nuclear Weapons Were Invented In 1945 (Part 2) (“Casino Versus Japan” Moongadget, 1998/2010)
- Windy Bubble Break (“Night On Tape” Attack9, 2010)
- Em Essey (“Whole Numbers Play The Basics” Carpark, 2002)
- Aquarium (“Whole Numbers Play The Basics” Carpark, 2002)
- Nameless Wireless (“Night On Tape” Attack9, 2010)
- The Open Face (“Night On Tape” Attack9, 2010)
- Paranoid (“Night On Tape” Attack9, 2010)
- Blue Vacation (“Casino Versus Japan” Moongadget, 1998/2010)
- Dialectric Saints (“Go Hawaii” Wobblyhead, 2000)
Casino Versus Japan is the moniker of one Eric Kowalski, who resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has been very slowly churning out some of the most sublime electronic music of the last ten years, well, the first 5 years of the last ten, as CVJ has not released a drop since 2004. Although he has garnered praise in his short career, he’s somehow slipped by the ear or has been written off by some of the most discerning electronic music nerds.
Most of the reviews tend to make an easy comparison to Boards Of Canada, which is more than fair, but it’s not the whole story. In fact, Casino Versus Japan released his debut EP the same year that Music Has The Right To Children came out, 1998. Apparently he has been making music since childhood, and it’s quite apparent that his childhood, much like Boards Of Canada’s, has seeped deep within the music. Samples of children’s voices, sunshine tinted synth lines, and an overall feel of nostalgia permeate the music, much as it does with Boards Of Canada. But, for the most part, Casino Versus Japan stick to the sunny side of refracted nostalgia, while Boards can veer towards towards the dark end of that spectrum.
Words by Mark E. Rich
