For Immediate Release – (Tokyo, Japan) August 21, 2024 –Today, the acclaimed Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada, known as Cornelius, releases the “BAD ADVICE/MIND TRAIN” EP, available now via Like LTD. This three-song collection includes the previously released nine minute krautrock inspired opus “MIND TRAIN” and the new track “BAD ADVICE,” featuring the legendary New York No Wave artist Arto Lindsay.
In celebration of his 30th anniversary, Cornelius also announces the forthcoming release of 2023’s acclaimed LP “Dream in Dream” on vinyl. The deluxe package, available on September 27, includes a Rainbow Foil Jacket with Die-Cut Window, Zoetrope Slipmat, and Colored Vinyl, offering fans a collector’s item that beautifully encapsulates the album’s visionary sound.
Cornelius expressed his excitement about this milestone: “I never thought I would be able to continue making music for so long,” he humbly acknowledges”.
The EP’s standout track, “BAD ADVICE,” features vocals from Arto Lindsay (No wave iconoclasts DNA, The Lounge Lizards, The Golden Palominos), who reflects on the collaboration: “I love Keigo’s description of how collaborations work when he says that his influences are ‘strongly indirect.’ Lindsay raves of their ongoing creative partnership, “That phrase is a great description of how the best music works for us.” Lindsay adds, “Actually there was a Quietus interview featuring Cornelius and I was struck with his definition of my sound. “There is noise in beauty.” Usually people put it the other way around. But Keigo is right. If you look inside beauty there is always something hard and aggressive in there.”
Lindsay’s presence on the track exemplifies the seamless blend of his distinctive styles. Cornelius elaborates on the inspiration behind the song: “This song was inspired by the sound of Arto Lindsay’s 80s experimental duo Ambitious Lovers. I was able to create a song like it, so I really wanted Arto to sing on it.”
Lindsay, known for his passion of crafting lyrics that evoke their own unique mood, the lyrics for ‘Bad Advice’ continues this approach, allowing for multiple interpretations and letting the words naturally come together.
‘Nice red scar
Never heal
I cannot forgive your eyes
Bad advice
Given twice
What was double cracks like ice’
Never heal
I cannot forgive your eyes
Bad advice
Given twice
What was double cracks like ice’
The EP’s first single released last month, “MIND TRAIN” is an epic, nine-plus minutes of gorgeously ethereal spacepop, with its sleekly styled minimalist sonic structures breaking into moments of exhilarating chaos. Influenced by the music of his longtime hero and collaborator Yoko Ono, it’s very much meant to inspire inward self-reflection.
“MIND TRAIN” symbolizes a spiritual journey or inner exploration,” he explains. “It is intended to provide an experience for the listener to explore the inner self.” The accompanying video, by renowned visual stylist Keita Onishi, also feels like journeying into another dimension, with its stunningly realized retro-futuristic graphics leaving viewers to imagine their own individual interpretation. Oyamada enthuses, “Keita’s works are intended to evoke images and sensations rather than to convey a specific story or message, and to express the structure and texture of the music.”
The EP also features a remix of ‘Dream In a Dream’ track “Sparks” by Canadian multi- instrumentalist, engineer and composer Joseph Shabason. He has played and recorded with bands like Destroyer, The War On Drugs, Andre Ethier, and Alvvays.
Cornelius is also thrilled to announce that Money Mark, known for his work with the Beastie Boys, will join him as support on the U.S. dates of the “Dream in Dream” World Tour. This tour, which celebrates three decades of Cornelius’s genre-defying music, will feature Cornelius’ 20-year compatriots: Hirohisa Horie on keyboards (also a support member for Yukihiro Takahashi’s Yellow Magic Orchestra), Yuko Araki on drums (also a member of Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band); and Buffalo Daughter’s Yumiko Ohno on Moog and bass. Cornelius and his band will play songs from his five previous albums since 1992, beginning with the landmark LP Fantasma. Cornelius encourages both old fans and new to experience this next wave in sound in person. “We are grateful to everyone who has supported our activities. Please come and see us.”
The tour kicks off on September 1 at the End of the Road Festival in Salisbury, England, and includes stops in Amsterdam, London, and several U.S. cities, culminating in a headline show at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on September 24.
World Tour Dates
8/29/24 – End of the Road Festival – Salisbury, England
9/3/24 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands
9/6/2024 – Barbican – London, England
9/21/24 – Music Box – San Diego, CA*
9/22/24 – Pappy & Harriets – Pioneertown, CA*
9/24/24 – Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA*
9/25/24 – UC Theatre – Berkeley, CA*
9/27/24 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR*
9/29/24 – Neptune Theatre – Seattle, WA*
9/3/24 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands
9/6/2024 – Barbican – London, England
9/21/24 – Music Box – San Diego, CA*
9/22/24 – Pappy & Harriets – Pioneertown, CA*
9/24/24 – Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA*
9/25/24 – UC Theatre – Berkeley, CA*
9/27/24 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR*
9/29/24 – Neptune Theatre – Seattle, WA*
(* with Money Mark)
