Jintana & Emeralds and the American Oldies / Japanese Ambient dream pop twist of "Oh! Southern Wind"

 

"la la lah lah la la"

Yokohama, Japan's time travelers, Jintana & Emeralds, craft glitzy, dreamy alternative doo wop sounds twisting American oldies with Japanese experimental ambient tones. The result is all encompassing and hyper realistic in it's lushness. The density of nostalgia not only can feel 60's Americana but mines touches of 70's funk and lounge and 90's house music. "Oh! Southern Wind" digs deep in a white picket fenced, 60's glitter ball prom night sound or high end club in a David Lynch movie. I toss in the Lynchian dark vibe because while Jintana & Emeralds blend a sound so purely rich and nostalgic, in the right hands it can feel contrarian askew too.

Band members Jintana, Kashif, Xtal, Toi, Cao, and Mami are back together after a 7 year hiatus to focus on individual projects. Look for the upcoming album "Emerald City Guide" this year.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Jintana & Emeralds are a six-piece band from Yokohama, Japan, with a distinctive sound that effortlessly floats between dreamy bedroom pop and nostalgic doo-wop. Band members Jintana Emeralds, Kashif Emeralds, Xtal Emeralds, Toi Emeralds, Cao Emeralds, and Mami Emeralds found themselves brought together in 2011 through their city’s local indie scene. Though their solo artistic projects are quite different from one another, the six of them connected through their mutual love of ‘50s and ‘60s groups like The Ronettes and The Diamonds. Together, they began making music equally inspired by these retro, refined sounds as well as the experimental, ambient production of artists such as Haruomi Hosono.

Jintana & Emeralds released their first single in 2012 to critical success, landing themselves in the Number #1 slot on Japan’s Jet Set Vinyl Chart. Their unique style, dubbed “chill-wop” by the band, launched them to even further heights in 2014. That year, Jintana & Emeralds’ debut release Destiny was crowned “Best J-POP Album 2014'' by esteemed Japanese music publication Music Magazine. The band has released music through several iconic Japanese labels, including P-Vine Records and Pan Pacific Playa.

After receiving these accolades, Jintana & Emeralds went on a seven-year hiatus to focus on their own separate projects. However, the band reunited in 2020, citing the need to come together and create beautiful harmonies in such an uncertain and divisive time. Their upcoming album Emerald City Guide is a bold exploration into their evocative project, detailing an ideal universe framed in the memory of the American Dream. Artist and collaborator Fantasista Utamaro assisted Jintana & Emeralds in their creation of this world, helping the band build their very own Emerald City.