Jap Jap biography

Jap Jap is the solo project of Jasper Boer, originally from The Netherlands, now living in Raglan, New Zealand. Jap Jap demonstrates a depth of musical maturity many commercially successful artists are still striving to attain. A formally trained musician, Jap Jap plays the piano and electric guitar, and exudes an inventive modesty on the drum kit and vocals. He draws inspiration from dreampop, synthpop, postrock and electronica chill out genre artists Ulrich Schnauss and Manual.

High-tech art auteur, Jap Jap is a purveyor of a glistening electronic language that runs the IDM, jazz, drum-n-bass, chill out, trip hop musical genres gamut.

ap Jap's audio sketches of intricate beats and calm mellifluous melodies placed judiciously amongst contrasting shyly quiet rhythms produced with a shimmery quality and studio wizardry are just plain exemplary and brilliant, clean and essential. He has created a synthesis of simplicity and electronic overdubs that supersede other IDM/chill out artists. He masterfully blends and mixes all his compositions with rhythm-conscious production consisting of well thought-out beats, bass lines and electronic treatments. Ambient keyboard segues and layered effected guitars are complemented by occasional dream-like vocals that float atop tender timbres of surreal and effervescent melodies that are alluring and enrapture the listener.

arly in 2006, Jap Jap's full-length album Blue Shimmery Fall was released on net audio label Maetrixsolution and unofficially deemed by net radio listeners and critics as one of the best chill out net-releases of the year. His follow-up release Wish For Impossible Things hit the i-net in February 2007. 2008 has been a busy year for Jap Jap with his third full length release This is Where We'll End and the release of an ethereal remix for Ulrich Schnauss. Also that year he appeared as a producers finalist in the most prestigious Dutch competition for undiscovered national artists: the Dutch Big Prize! Jap Jap is bubbling-up!!

Jap Jap is best summed up by the "In the spotlight" review on Dewtone:

...everything is so charismatically written and it's actually refreshing to hear when modern day composition techniques aren't being abused for the sake of being original. Plush environments and simmering rhythms are teased with minimalistic effects, sounds and soft leads that seem to play off each other effortlessly... Before you know it, you've set your finger down on the repeat button, again.

Setting a high standard with his early productions, in 2009 Jasper releases another EP. A Resonant Discovery is a selection of earlier unreleased works remastered and compiled. October 2011 Jap Jap's 4th full-length album The Ever Expanding Light sees the daylight with a well received first single with the same name. Also 2 new collaborative projects are born. Brim Liski is a project with shoegaze band A Shoreline Dream's frontman Ryan Policky and producer Justin Gitlin (Cacheflowe). tono vala is an ambient electronica project with producer Michaël Jacobs (Morgenfish). Both projects result in a memorable release...

Because of the collaborative success another Brim Liski EP The Repetitions appears in 2012. In 2013 a compilation of remixes was released.