After a surprisingly quick flight (those Ambien really came through), Jeff was ready to hop off the plane and straight into the Tokyo nightlife. After a quick check in at their hotel, Jeff and his friends Al and Gordo popped into the nearest pachinko parlor with wide eyes, fat wallets, and ambitions of winning it big.
Pachinko kind of sounds like Mario Kart music, don’t ya think?
I tried to think cinematically when writing this one, and I think it shows in the arrangement. Structurally, this song is meant to pick up right at the end of Tokyo A Go Go, giving the feeling of hopping off the plane and rolling right into a Pachinko parlor. The high piano notes just before the drums kick in are supposed to sound like 3 symbols lining up on a slot machine, and the modulations in the bridge are meant to evoke a sense of rising stakes for Jeff, complemented by the spoken word section. You’ll notice that the voices cheering him on in the background aren’t those of his friends, but himself, because he’s basically delusional by that point in the song.
Pachinko is a HUGE homage to the sounds of Tatsuro Yamashita, the king of Japanese city pop music, specifically in terms of production and vocal delivery. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, it’s most likely because none of his music is on Spotify. Go figure. That said, there’s a treasure trove of incredible Tatsuro Yamashita songs to be found on Youtube for anyone willing to look for them.
This song is also significant as I feel it’s the first Raspberry Pie piece where our horns (The Molasses Brass) came into their own. While they featured previously on Star Sign, they’re truly present throughout Pachinko, and give it a real excitement that I hadn’t been able to capture on previous Pie recordings.
Speaking of Pie recordings, this one took FOREVER to mix! Not surprising, considering the total track count (percussion, multiple kicks, snares, gang vocals, horns, etc.) numbered in the low hundreds. In all, I believe we spent 24 hours getting this one to sound right, and credit to our mix engineer Zac Cabral, as it’s incredibly well balanced.
Tell us what you think of the song!