Fantasma

Electronic · 1997 · 13 tracks

Fantasma

A kaleidoscopic masterpiece of Shibuya-kei where 60s pop melodies collide with surgical sound design and playful sample-heavy experimentation.

August 6, 1997 · Trattoria

Fantasma is less an album and more a meticulously constructed sonic theme park. From the moment the binaural 'Mic Check' begins, you are transported into Keigo Oyamada's hyper-vivid imagination. It is a record that rewards deep, focused attention, specifically through headphones, where the extreme stereo panning creates a three-dimensional world of sound. One moment you are floating through a lush, Disney-esque orchestral arrangement, and the next, a jagged heavy metal riff or a glitchy breakbeat shatters the peace. It is this constant state of surprise that makes the album so enduring.

Tracklist · 13 Tracks

01

Mic Check

3:02

02

The Micro Disneycal World Tour

3:38

03

New Music Machine

3:53

04

Clash

5:38

05

Count Five or Six

3:02

06

Monkey

2:14

07

Star Fruits Surf Rider

5:42

08

Chapter 8 〜Seashore and Horizon〜

3:25

10

2010

2:04

11

God Only Knows

7:39

12

Thank You for the Music

4:53

13

Fantasma

7:56

14

Fantasma Spot

16:48

Moments Worth Listening For

the aggressive heavy metal guitar riff that abruptly cuts into the sunshine-pop of New Music Machine

the immersive binaural recording of a match being struck and someone breathing in Mic Check

the way Star Fruits Surf Rider transitions from a surf-rock motif into a swirling, electronic orchestral climax

the rhythmic use of a ticking clock and mechanical sounds that anchor the melody in 2012

Reviews

AllMusic

Where This Album Departs

How does Fantasma sound next to the rest of Cornelius's catalogue?

Sample Based+1.2σ

The production is pushed notably harder into sample based than this artist usually allows.

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