Yamantaka // Sonic Titan is “…both pop and J-pop, British prog and Japanese psychedelia, punk rock and Iroquois core, black metal and Chinese Opera, noise music and Noh theatre,” otherwise known as “Noh Wave.” You may already know “Noh”—it’s a form of Japanese musical theater dating back to the 14th century, and it adds a cultural element to the band’s music that is also reflected in their music video (above) for the single, “Hoshi Neko.” The look and feel of this video is quite stunning, especially when you learn of its creation—the hand-made artwork and puppets, a traditional multi-plane animation stand and the use of 16mm film. The video was directed by Yamantaka // Sonic Titan’s singer, Ruby Kato Attwood and video artist Emily Pelstring.

When it comes to live performance visuals, Joshua Light Show wrote the book. Those blooming, psychedelic, lava-lamp-inspired forms you’re used to seeing behind old-school images of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix can be attributed to Josh White, the founder of JLS and a pioneer of live concert visuals. Recently, the group played three shows at Germany’s Transmediale Festival, and unlike many of the computer-generated light shows currently in favor, Joshua Light Show creates their visuals with handmade or repurposed machinery operated by a group of artists backstage.

To get a sense of Josh White’s world, check out the video above from last year’s performance at New York’s American Museum of Natural History.

More from The Creator’s Project.

DJ Food began as a collection of loops and samples distributed by London’s Ninja Tune label, but has since become the identity of multiple DJs, the most recent being Strictly Kev. The latest DJ Food/Strictly Kev album, The Search Engine, boasts a limited edition version that comes in the form of a book filled with art, illustration and photography. The publication includes the full album on CD as well as a bonus track on a removable transparent vinyl acetate (see center image above). Some amazing artists contributed to the release, including illustrator Henry Flint, and photographer Will Cooper-Mitchell.

DJ Food is one of three new inventive February releases profiled by Creative Review.

Apparatjik World is a new hybrid album/app/magazine (iPad) from Apparatjik, an electronic act formed in 2008 by musicians from Mew, A-ha and Coldplay. The app is quite rich in content and design—more in-depth and well-rounded than most any other album/app we’ve covered so far. There’s no shortage of experimental design, art, video, sounds, interactive elements, photography, typography and collage. It’s terrifically dense, and fun to explore. I probably could have spent another week swiping through the app’s pages, but I would still feel as though I had just scratched the surface. AW comes complete with the band’s most recent album, A Square Peg in a Round Hole, but I almost feel the music is secondary to the abstract digital world that the band has crafted to deliver their music. Apparatjik World is, in fact, a new virtual planet—full of sights and sounds that result in quite a trip.

The iPad app was designed by London’s Aspire Design Studios and is completely free.

A random selection of album art for impending releases. The album featuring the photo of a blonde kid (Lucas Vercetti) is Odd Future’s new release; the horned skull is new Demon Hunter. What’s appealing and what’s appalling? That’s for you to comment on below.

Awesome mix of animation and live action in this video for “Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men. Love how the dark tone of the piece is disrupted by moments of brilliant color. The video was directed by two creatives who go by the name of WeWereMonkeys.

Anonymous Ink & Idea make killer posters. Unfortunately, they have stayed true to their name and don’t possess a killer About page, so there’s not much more to say. No worries, I think the work above speaks enough to the skills and clientele the designer(s) have achieved.

The resurgence of vinyl has apparently spawned a deep interest in reviving the mechanized machines that used to turn and play the discs. RokRiot recently profiled an account of the turntable’s return via Soundmachines, but we have since come across two other record players—one which reaches 33 RPMs by hand, and the other—it plays wood. Yeah, we’re talking cross-sections of trees here. Both are equally interesting, but the “YEARS” wood disc player stands out, as it translates a tree’s age rings into music. YEARS was conceived by artist Bartholomäus Traubeck who modified a PlayStation eye camera to read the thickness and darkness of tree rings. The rings’ details are then fed into a computer where their parameters are converted into sounds from a piano.

Read up on YEARS here. To discover more on the human powered gramophone and its creator, Livia Ritthaler, click here.

Electronic act, Icarus, have created an album that will sound (and look) different for each purchaser. Icarus’ newly released Fake Fish Distribution manipulates a musical composition through generative software that alters the album for each customer—even the cover art changes from purchase to purchase. The album is being sold as a limited edition release, with only 1,000 copies available for download, and what’s really setting this concept apart is that, as a purchaser you retain certain rights to your copy of the album, so as a “Fake Fish Distribution” owner, you have the right to collect 50% of the royalties should the music from your personal copy ever be licensed. That’s quite a bonus. Icarus is the songwriting and coding team of software engineers Ollie Brown and Sam Britton, and it seems they are ushering in a new way to experience music as well as a future business model for the recording industry. I think bookmarking their site for future reference may be a damn good idea.

Much more to read and hear, including interviews, over at Create Digital Music.

Machine, dear are an indie electronic act who have just released a visually rich piece of packaging for their 2012 album, Killing Something That’s Already Dead. The album cover and sleeve interact to provide an optical effect that conveys movement and transformation. Check out the video above to witness the psychedelic interaction. The theme is carried throughout the packaging and onto the white vinyl stored inside. The sleeve and album art were designed by Danish design agency, OddFischlein.

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