The Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada – Cornelius – has announced his new album Refractions, out August 19th on Eat Your Own Ears Recordings.
‘Aeons’ is one of the most direct collaborations between the two yet – a friendship stretching back to the late 1990s, when Oyamada first encountered Sean’s work and was struck by its harmonic language and experimental pop sensibility.
That relationship deepened over the years through shared projects including performances with Yoko Ono’s re-formed Plastic Ono Band in LA, New York and London. Here, Lennon contributes vocals and lyrics to a track built around fluid forms and subtle instability – melody and texture appearing, fracturing and reassembling in constantly shifting configurations.
Cornelius on the album’s approach:
“As the world and my surroundings changed at an intense speed, I think all of that inevitably shaped this work. Rather than expressing these ideas directly, I approached them structurally – exploring continuity, transformation, and multiple coexisting states within a single, uninterrupted flow of time.”
Refractions marks a shift outward for an artist whose previous records leaned toward introspection. This one is shaped explicitly through collaboration – further contributions come from Arto Lindsay, Bid and longtime collaborator Shintaro Sakamoto. The album draws from psychedelic pop, ambient music, Brazilian tropicália, kosmische experimentation and minimalist composition, while resisting categorisation entirely.
♡ Nialler9 is independent and reader-supported. Support us on Patreon →
‘Yumenemi’ was his recent single a cover of a Balearic-adjacent original.
About Cornelius
Cornelius is one of my favourite artists – he has occupied a singular space in contemporary music since emerging with his third solo record Fantasma (1997) – a landmark in experimental pop – its collage-like production compared at the time to The Beach Boys, Beck and The Beastie Boys – and continues to find new audiences. B-side ‘Typewrite Lesson’ recently went viral on TikTok with support from Rosalía, nearly three decades after release.
Albums like 2001’s Point right up to 2023’s Dream in Dream have continued his singularly inventive output over the years. Fantasma, Point and Sensuous in particular revelled in the possibilities of technology-assisted musical playfulness. Whether it was the giddy digi-rock of ‘Count’, the looping notes of ‘Wataridori’ or the aquatic rhythm of ‘Drop’, the sense of possibility and sonic exploration was key to his appeal.
Cornelius live dates:
10 Sep – Yokohama, JP – KT Zepp Yokohama
12 Sep – Tokyo, JP – CLUB QUATTRO
13 Sep – Fukuoka, JP – Zepp Fukuoka
19 Sep – Sapporo, JP – Zepp Sapporo
22 Sep – Nagoya, JP – Zepp Nagoya
23 Sep – Osaka, JP – Zepp Namba
26 Sep – Sendai, JP – Sendai PIT
2 Oct – Tokyo, JP – Zepp Haneda
3 Oct – Tokyo, JP – Zepp Haneda
6 Oct – Tokyo, JP – Zepp Shinjuku (TOKYO)
19 Jun, 2027 – London, UK – Barbican
Refractions – out August 19th on Eat Your Own Ears Recordings.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
