Photo by Repeat Pattern

Lee: TANHÂ (album trailer) (via SoundCloud)

Ryuhei Asano makes wide-eyed music that sprawls while feeling deeply personal at the same time. As Lee, the 27-year-old Japan native has released about a dozen sample-based albums on his Bandcamp over the last two years—including this week's TANHÂ, a collaboration with fellow Japanese artist Arµ-2—pinpointing links between old soul, reggae, jazz, and hip-hop. One song, “g roo v”, repurposes the Young Rascals soul favorite “Groovin’”; another uses ambient guitar and jazz piano to reshape 50 Cent’s “Wanksta” into something meditative; other samples are stitched together with bits of dialogue from Japanese film and TV shows.

His cut-and-paste collections sound as though someone is struggling to find a specific FM radio station from a far-away city by turning a dial coated with dried syrup, and experiencing loopy bliss in the process. Asano’s deceptively simple music works like the best homegrown secondhand sounds—think Dilla, Jai Paul, Madlib, the Books—drawing from a deep well of curiosity to encourage a similar sensation in its listeners, making them take in familiar material from new angles. 

But while each brief track feels almost accidental—they’ve got names like “thx”, “lalala”, or “with my lovely cat”—there’s careful calculation in Asano’s presentation. Each song is paired with one of his original drawings, gently odd sketches he’s been making since he was a child. The soft-spoken artist recently called me on Skype from his small, dorm-like apartment in Bangkok, Thailand, where he’s been living for about a year.

Pitchfork: What brought you to Bangkok from Japan?

Lee: I’m from a small town called Koka, in South Japan. I went to design school in Japan, then moved to Thailand last March to study English and to see what happens here. There are a lot of fun parties in Bangkok, and a lot of art galleries opening right now, too. The artists I’ve seen here are growing quickly. I want to go lots of places to show what I do and meet lots of artists to make great, interesting things.

Pitchfork: Are you able to support yourself with your art in Bangkok?

L: Not really. It’s difficult. 

Pitchfork: How did you start making beats?

Lee: I started rapping first, in Japanese. I used to do rap shows in Japan and I would also do live drawing and painting while DJs play. Then, after three or four years, I started making beats. I use Ableton Live. Rapping is difficult. 

Pitchfork: Do you come from an artistic family?

L: My mother is a piano teacher and I used to take lessons, but I can’t play. I also have a brother, who's in L.A. as a swim coach, and a sister. I’ve been drawing since I was very young.

Pitchfork: You use such a wide range of samples in your songs. How do you choose what you want to use?

L: They're the songs that I like and usually listen to. Sometimes I play music on iTunes randomly before I go to sleep, then when I hear a great song, I wake up and think, "OK, I can sample something." 

Pitchfork: Who are your influences?

L: Mainly other artists from my hometown, like Ingenious Makino, and a guy from Japan named Olive Oil. Of course I like J Dilla, Madlib, and Flying Lotus as well.

Pitchfork: I really like how you title your songs. How do you choose one like “melt down. (r.i.p. kiroshiro)”, for instance.

L: Just my feeling, or what I want to say. Sometimes I use words from the original song. With “(r.i.p. kiroshiro)”, the original is called “melt down.”, and it’s about nuclear things. There are lots of problems. The vocal already had the word “dead” in it, so that’s why I put “r.i.p.”.