The tome of Tomemitsu

Between the floral, fauna and concrete jungle with Tomemitsu; press photo courtesy of the artist.

Los Angeles beam of light Tomemitsu, aka Martin Roark, presents the much anticipated album Sun via the tastemakers at Friends of Friends Music. A record that rocks us gently and wistfully commences with the beloved "I'll Be Alright" lead single [of which we also received a treasured EP of the same name], to the desires for do-overs with lovely lounge swing of "Wish Erase" featuring Lala Lala & V.V. Lightbody, beforing wowing the listener with the sunbreak light watching wonder on the remarkable understated opus fittingly titled "And Now (Sunrise)". Meditations on the cycles of the day abound with a natural gravitation for connections to the earthy elements that mirrors the sublime spark of the human connection. "The River" rocks the heart and spirit like an anthemic love song delivered at an amphitheater in the middle of nowhere, as "So Quiet" basks in those spaces of solitude where feelings and thoughts reverberate in a spiritual blaze of heavy dream chords that inspire glassy eyes affixed upward flanked by raised hands reaching toward the nirvana of the other sides. Romanticism can be heard in every chord, the yearning breeze duet with Eva B. Ross on "Say You Want Me", to the utterly entrancing ethereal cathedral of the mind’s theater on “Secrets”. Tomemitsu shines with creating beguiling hymns of humanism like "Same Mistakes" ft. V.V. Lightbody, the interlude benediction of "A Little Prayer", departing with the lovely lullaby "When You Lay Your Head Down", complete with an acoustic duet with Steady Holiday on the finale "Waiting For Your Love". The arrival and dawning of Sun could not have arrived a moment sooner as the bright aura lamps of hope feel and seem a little bit brighter and hopeful now. Join us after the jump for Tomemitsu’s notes on inspirations and more:

Tomemitsu’s Week in Pop

phaserwave/slushwave, t e l e p a t h, M-F a little after sunset

I used to take the bus and train to work. Going all the way across town I could eventually find a window seat. There's nothing like riding the line just after golden hour and this is the soundtrack. I tend to think of my music as nap-rock, so I guess this kinda falls into "nap-electronica"? The phaser echo combination is just so soothing to me.

David Lynch morning weather report, M-F around 9:25am

We live inside a dream…but who is the dreamer? Auteur, artist, icon, weatherman — David Lynch; press photo courtesy of KCRW.

Since the pandemic started I switched back to driving a car to work. I listen to a lot more radio and often tune into the morning-becomes-eclectic show to hear David Lynch's voice. Hearing that voice on the radio just puts me in a good mood. He sounds like the fun-loving quirky grandpa you never knew you needed. If you say along with him, everyone... have a great day! then you will at least have a good morning.

She-Rocks radio show on KXLU, Wednesdays at 7pm

Courtesy of She-Rocks on KXLU.

If you are like me and are actively trying to hear more and new female-identifying voices then you probably already listen to the She Rocks radio show on KXLU. What's not to love about new music creatively curated by three of LA's finest DJs? I tune in every Wednesday to hear an excellent variety of classics from punk to country and the new dreamy bops too. KXLU is having a fundraiser right now so I'm going to call in to donate for the cute mushroom parade t-shirt during their show.

BBQ Bao from Won Kok, Chinatown, Sundays 9-10am

Via Won Kok Restaurant.

One of my favorite pastimes is grabbing some dim sum from Chinatown, then walking around with a smile on my face, a full belly, and a bag of afternoon snacks for when I wake up from my oncoming food coma. One time a couple friends and I did a bbq bao crawl and tried 7 different bao in a row. That may be too many bao in a row, but I still return for a couple more every month or two.

Andy Anderson, skateboarder

I got back into skateboarding a couple years ago with my bandmate, Justin. He and I were at a school near downtown when a small white ice-cream looking truck pulled into the lot. All these skaters started pouring out of it like it was some clown car and this guy with long curly hair comes up and just starts chatting like we were already friends. It turns out they were team riders for Powell-Peralta and he is an incredible pro-skater. I think it's really cool he wears a helmet, unlike pretty much every pro-skater. I don't want to break my music makers, so he makes me feel less like a dork about riding with my wrist guards on. Also this video has a rad Papercuts song, who I think are really great.

6. Honorable mention: Charlie the Kitty Cat

@charlieskittyclub on Insta, all the time.

Charlie is our precious foster kitty that the foster lady never asked to take back. He has made some background appearances on a couple tracks: the ending of "I'm just waiting for your love (feat. Steady Holiday)" being the most prominent one. Mostly it's just meowing. Petting a little furry animal is a perfect destresser after a day of work.

Tomemitsu’s Sun will be April 9 via Friends of Friends.

Read our interview exclusive here.