After four years, UK-based future funk artist Strawberry Station has returned to release a full-fledged album, ISSHO-NI!!!! The time between album releases has seen some experiments and singles here and there to keep listeners interested while allowing some different forms of expression. In 2024, Strawberry dropped Strawberry Computer Entertainment Europe, a walk into the burgeoning Y2K and low-poly jungle soundscape, which shows his ability to branch out into neighboring genres. I am still fond of Berry Aesthetics, the collaboration album Strawberry dropped under his “Berry Good Records” label, which featured new and classic vaporwave artists.
So what has Mr. Station taken from these past singles, collaborations, and detours into different genres? ISSHO-NI!!!! gives us a variety pack of new and old future funk sounds we have come to remember, as well as where this genre can go for future releases. Starting with the opening track that bears the same name as the album.
“ISSHO-NI!!!!” gives us a refresher on what Strawberry Station’s known for: classic French house drums with anime samples, particularly sparkle effects you might find in anime like Urusei Yatsura and Sailor Moon. Tracks like “ISSHO-NI!!!!” and the preceding “Horenaosu” and “Snow White” present the listener with a familiar soundscape that harkens back to the genre’s founding. This can be seen as a safe opening by some and stale by others; it’s all a matter of perspective when it comes to a genre with an established aesthetic and look. As a long-time vaporwave enjoyer, I understand the stigma all too well.
It’s a good thing, then, that Strawberry Station has some added features on this album. Our first is the title “Lucy in the DAW With Sidechain,” which features Toronto-based artist FreshAppleSlices. It’s worth noting that these two have collaborated before, recently on the track “Gone So Long”. On “Lucy,” we only get a hint of Strawberry’s usual anime sheen with a strong lean into disco with a sample of “Disco Lucy” by Wilton Place Street Band.
Not far down the tracklist do we find another great feature on this album with “Hideway” featuring Zai Kowen, an Argentina-based future funk artist who has worked with Strawberry before on “Smoothie Remixes”. The inclusion of vocaloid sampling elevates this track to something akin to kawaii super bass, a genre some might say is a cousin to future funk. During my listening sessions, I found myself coming back to this track multiple times, and it’s one I might add to my regular listening playlist.
From there, the back half of the album takes on a different vibe. We aren’t slowing down per se, but the beats are not as bombastic and the sugary sweet kawaii anime samplings, while still present, are not as forward as they were in the first half of the album. Tracks like “Feels Like I Know You” offer a nice groove that can sometimes slip into chiptune; the vibe is more chill than roof-raising. This trend of genre shifting is even more present on the penultimate track, “More than Friends,” which takes the tried and true chopped and screwed vocal samplings of vaporwave and gives it a funky BPM that I can’t help but appreciate. This all ends with the final track “Matteru,” which is so down-tempo it sounds like this was meant for a different album altogether. If this album were meant to be your typical upbeat slice-of-life anime, “Matteru” would be the ethereal ending theme, with all the characters gazing up at the stars.
In the end, “ISSHO-NI!!!!” gives us a sampling of what we have come to expect from Strawberry Station while also providing us with tracks that show he’s capable of new and, dare I say, exciting things. Earlier, I said it was the mark of any artist to be aware of the changing times in a genre or scene. While I believe it’s important to adapt, reminding listeners of what came before is important so that it’s carried over by newer artists. You can pick up a physical copy of ISSHO-NI!!!! On My Pet Flamingo’s Bandcamp in Vinyl or Cassette.
If there’s one aspect that is definitive to vaporwave, it’s nostalgia. The same goes for synthwave, future funk, and all those genres that came to be with the ‘80s revival that has been going on in the last few years. All of these genres are defined, at least partly, as being a sort of lamentation for the loss of certain aspects of culture: fashions, certain sound tropes, certain places, and the general feeling of novelty there was towards technology. But more than grieving them, these genres celebrate those aspects, presenting them with a sleek coat of varnish so as to show them in a new context.
But the fact remains that these genres were born as a way to seek familiarity. It’s not terribly unlike what one might go through after they’ve lost a close relative. One might find themselves going through their belongings, remembering the times spent together, and later, trying to re-experience their presence. A cardigan with that special scent, a wristwatch only for special occasions, the uniform worn to work for so long. The same thing happens with culture; one might find themselves looking for these “talismans,” because their absence is simply too painful. In being defined by nostalgia, all the aforementioned genres are defined by loss. Music, among all art-forms, is reproducible in ways that no other artform is, and thus, can be revived more easily
Which brings us to the album in question. What better genres to explore loss, regret, and, of course, the acceptance and optimism for the future, than these? Where else might one find this kind of respite? In a statement for UD, Strawberry Station told us:
“It’s a story of how I processed living through the pandemic and lockdown on my own in a foreign country. It covers all the emotions I’ve been through in the past two years – isolation, depression, loneliness, and regrets about missed experiences. But also acceptance, hope and optimism for the future.”
Strawberry Station presents the listener with an album that is, by his own admission, a departure from his body of work. Lowlight 2 is a multi-genre affair, notably distant (for the most part) from his usual future funk. Apropos to what inspired it, the album has a very wide range of emotions, with very distinguishable passages of melancholia. The whole project is imbued with a lingering feeling of lethargy, which at times becomes much more apparent. Certainly, a feeling that will come across as all too familiar. But, as we’ll see later in the album, this is not a permanent state of being. And that, above all things, is the most important one to take away from this project.
Now then, on to the album!
Album Art By Strawberry Station
(As the tracklist was not finalized during the review process, the final tracklist differs from what is presented below.)
“Yes, No, Maybe”
Somewhat reminiscent in form and feeling of HOME’s Resonance. It fills the listener with a sensation like looking out the window of a spaceship. The repetition of the main “phrase” of the synth creates a sensation of calm wonder, a sort of relaxed uncertainty.
“Things You Can’t Fix”
The closest in sound to Strawberry Station’s former work that the album gets. The song opens with a robust bass section, punctuating with a playful “Oh well!” It’s a very stark (yet friendly) declaration of powerlessness. It’s a call to snap out of a funk and spring into action regardless of bad circumstances, which is very appropriate. This track marks the start of an emotional high in the album, if placed a bit early. This peak is signaled not by the tune, but by the beat.
“Still Here”
The strongest song in the album. The beat in this track is decidedly in the trap side, which is then balanced by the synths, which keep it “on topic”. Strawberry Station noted this album marks his debut on the vocal section, and he does so outstandingly. Combining soft, harmonic passages with strong rhymes, he states, in very succinct terms, what he wants this whole project to be: “I’m staying right where I am, and I’m still here, under cloudier skies.”
“Stay Strong”
A combination of the first and third track. Much more emphasis is placed on the beat, similar to a french house track. The feeling of uncertainty from before is explored again, in a much more confident manner. The vocals remain soft, as they were in “Still Here”, so as to signal the stability the artist had found and which inspired the creation of the album.
“Comeback Kid”
With certain shades of Trevor Something and Slick Moranis, the new sound grows more and more confident, this time entering the realm of synthwave. Of particular note are the vocals, which demonstrate how in his element Strawberry Station is with the genre. The faster pace and the lyrics match the title of the song, which continues the line of thought presented in the last track.
“Stay With Me”
In a marked change of moods, the album goes from synthwave to lo-fi. The title speaks of a separation, a plea of sorts. Which is, again, very appropriate to the subject. So as to not lose unity, the synths from the first tracks are reprised, and the sweet and playful voice sample used drives the point home in an almost painfully pretty way. It’s almost as if one were hearing the voice of a loved one in their mind.
“See The Sunrise (Ft. Phaun)”
The second cheeriest track in the album by far. If the rest of the album was an exploration of present circumstances, See The Sunrise is the setting of a goal and a promise for the future: Eventually things will be better. The song states this with complete calm and conviction. It’s reminiscent of Macross 82-99’s “Aogashima Island.”
“Peace”
The mood changes once more rather drastically, this time into vaportrap. While not increasing speed, the song is very focused, as if made in a moment of pure inspiration. The vocals also change into something one might expect from the later works of Chester Bennington, only softer, so as to retain unity with the rest of the album. The most dramatic song in the album. While short and focused, it has a clear feeling of tension not seen throughout the rest of the album. It imbues the listener with the feeling of taking a big decision.
“My Oh My”
“My Oh My” feels like the climax of the album. It is the cheeriest track, and, in following with the themes explored throughout the album, speaks of a bright future waiting past the current hardship. In contrast with “See the Sunrise”, “My Oh My” speaks as if it were already in said future. Compared to the rest of the album, it’s relentlessly happy and playful. It would feel out of place in the album, were it not for the drums and beat, which keep the song in the context of the rest of the project.
“Filling In the Gaps”
Sounding like an early Aphex Twins track, “Filling In the Gaps” is once again a combination of the moods of two previous tracks. Here, the listener is presented with the focus of “Peace,” combined with the careful confidence of “Comeback Kid.” While one of the shortest tracks, it serves as a bridge between the earlier fantasies and real life.
“Bright Side”
We see some of the ideas explored earlier in the album revisited here. We have the vocals from “Comeback Kid”, the “call to action” feeling of “Things You Can’t Fix”, plus the addition of guitars and the fastest beat in the album. So as to cement its point, the album begins to close with this invitation to be optimistic while reminding that looking on the bright side means acting upon the things one is optimistic about.
“Bright Side (Reprieve)”
Finally, we reach the end of the album, which restates what Bright Side did, but shifts the pitch of the melody, giving it a sense of finality. But most importantly, so as to make its conclusion clear, the track restates (while lending the vocals more protagonism) what mattered most in the last track, and what is ultimately the whole point of the album: “we cannot erase the past, it’s a losing game”.
You can grab a copy of this cassette here from Business Casual Starting 9/17!
And so the album ends, in stark contrast to its hesitant opening, with complete confidence. This album shows us a more integral artist, molded by circumstances into a richer, more versatile musician. While certain passages feel slightly less confident than the others, the project manages to remain a cohesive story, and states its point loud and clear. This project, in line with the genres defined earlier, is defined by loss, but more so than loss, the will to overcome and dream of a better future.
We are backstage at Disco Forever, a livestreaming future funk and vaporwave URL event, streaming on Twitch on February 13th 2021, presented by Utopia District & ED., with some of the hottest musicians and visual artists in the game! Featuring unique ‘director’ commentary on the delightfully unexpected results of the matching of vaporwave visuals to dancy vibes.
We are thrilled to sit down with Discoholic, FIBRE, Mere, ED., Pan!c Pop, Cobalt Road, SleepPattern, All Hell Breaks Loops, Nicoquota, Gbanas92, Prenoko, SquizzkleKop, and Moirebender! Join us as we take you behind the scenes into the green room of Disco Forever and discuss the nitty gritty behind the event, production intricacies, performance stories, and a whole heap of laughter along the way.
Check out the full Disco Forever event details, our artist and musician profiles and more, on our event page:
