Bitpop

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Lain Trzaska - she

she is the project of Lain Trzaska. She…he, presents a fusion of many styles, electronica, house, ambient and industrial, all with a chiptune edge. she is the perfect example of Bitpop : using 8-bit retro gear to produce new music.

she is deliberately spelled with a lower case s.

Lain lives in Sweden but was born in Poland where he learned from an early age to play the piano. He started to turn his skills to electronic music, like many musicians (myself included) he used “trackers” like FastTracker, producing Nine Inch Nails covers as well as original works. Lain’s early work includes some pure chiptune music, as well more modern bitpop fusions with an ambient, dance or industrial edge.  Lain still uses tracking software to this day, his latest album Orion was produced using Renoise Tracker.

It’s a common misconception that Lain is Japanese, an assumption many make from the Japanese dialogue in his music and anime characters in his artwork. He is now also signed to Japanese label PonyCanyon and distributes through HMV Japan and YesAsia. No wonder everyone is so confused!  Also, the she character is always illustrated as an anime character, or Japanese girl.

Orion

Many of she’s EPs and albums are based around a story background, illustrated by the music.  It’s a bit like Jeff Wayne’s War Of the Worlds, but without the narrator.  Occasionally “clues” are to be found on the Shemusic.org site, or via Lain’s Twitter feed which give some insight into the story.   Three of the albums are clearly linked : Days, Coloris and Orion are all based in the same “universe” linked via their characters and back story.  Have a dig through the site, you’ll see what I mean. Hint : there is a old/hidden Days site and a Orion site.  Sadly, I’ve not found much on Coloris, but there is a mention of the “dancing girl” on the Orion minisite.

Clearly, this talented musician, composer and producer (and story teller!) is a popular choice in Japan and has a growing fanbase in the west.

If you’re already into electronic music, she is a good way to get into chipmusic. Just find the genre you’re into, download one of his free EPs, and get listening.

Recommended Listening

Mainstream release via Ponycanyon

• Orion – Dance/House/Electronica
• Coloris – Dance/House/Electronica

Digital Ambient Designs

Free release via Creative Commons

• Days – Ambient
• Pioneer – Dance/House
• Chiptek – Chiptune/Elecro
  
• Digital Ambient Designs – Ambient/Glitch
• Emit and Exude – Electro/Industrial

All can be downloaded for FREE from the Shemusic MP3 page

Other URLs

http://www.shemusic.org – Official Website
http://myspace.com/sheofficial – Myspace
http://last.fm/music/she – Last.fm
http://twitter.com/shemusic – Twitter
http://ilike.com/artist/she – iLike