Nana Yamato – “Do You Wanna”

Nana Yamato – “Do You Wanna”

Nana Yamato is a bedroom pop artist out of Tokyo, making music that’s reportedly influenced by daydreams as much as the quotidian bustle of a major city, music that’s insular and personal but derived from an indie rock awakening after spending time discovering artists in a Harajuku record store. Her debut album is due out in a couple of weeks, and it’s arriving via Dull Tools, the label run by Parquet Courts’ Andrew Savage. So far Yamato’s shared a single called “If,” and today she’s back with another one.

Yamato’s latest is called “Do You Wanna.” Here’s what she had to say about the song and its accompanying video:

This is a song about self-transformation, what I felt in the process. When I was younger I thought I was an independent person, but in fact, I was selfish and left it all to others. All the things I thought I don’t like were actually caused by myself. When I realized that, I felt like I was the only one who was left behind in the world. I was ashamed of myself. I had to change myself. It wasn’t easy for me. I’m still in the process. I wonder if this is what it means to become an adult.

This video is about the journey of the polar bear and me. The white bear in this vid is modeled after my treasured old stuffed polar bear. My grandmother gave it to me for the first Christmas (when I was 5 months old!). I’ve been with him ever since. He was the best friend I ever had. I remember the bear disappeared from time to time. I looked and looked, but could not find him anywhere. I was so desperate to find him that my father soothed me by saying, “The white bear has gone on a trip.”

“Do You Wanna” is a floaty, meditative synth-pop song. If you’ve ever spent much time in a city, grinding through the endless subway commutes and listlessly drifting under the bright lights of tall but anonymous buildings, the song might conjure a familiar feeling. Check it out below.

Before Sunrise is out 2/5 on Dull Tools. Pre-order it here.

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