“Well, what was it?” is the rough translation of Aili’s debut album Nandakke?: a Japanese phrase for when you’re looking for a word you’ve forgotten. It harks back to the attempts of Aili Maruyama — one half of the Belgian-Japanese electro-pop duo, together with Orson Wouters who she met at a party in 2019 — to communicate with her Japanese father after she left the country aged seven. Many of the duo’s songs unfold in this unique version of Japanese, alongside vintage synths, playground songs, and a takoyaki recipe.
Country: Belgium
aili.computer