Sendai, Japan. The first time I heard about Rain Paints was thanks to a tape released by the very fine Japanese label Miles Apart Records in 2014. It was a tape that was part of their Cassette Tapes Club, and this one was the third release. It was showcasing 2 songs by Rain Paints, “Funeral Rain” and “10miles” and had the catalog number of MAP-007.
This tape, limited to 100 copies, came with a cool art of a boy and his dog eating a sandwich. It also gave us the details that the music was made by Yasushi Matsuo and tdsgk. Lyrics are also credited to both. The songs were recorded and mixed by Yasushi while the mastering is credited to Koji Takagi.
But this wasn’t the first time Rain Paints were releasing music. Previously, in 2013, the band released a self-titled 7″ with Beko from France. The 7″ included the song “The Sun is Down” on the A side and on the B side there was “The Sun is Down (The Beauty Remix)” on the B side. I didn’t get this record as I didn’t see the point of a B side being just a remix. I know. There was a version of this 7″ though that was much more worthwhile to get. One that included a 3″ CDR that came with the songs “Sunday”, “Anything”, “In the Clouds” (which featured La Neige), “The Sun is Down” and “The Sun is Down (The Beauty Remix)”.
This same year, 2013, a cassette titled “Sense of Lost” was released by Bikini Lounge from Japan. This tape was a split tape with another Sendai band, Thee Loves. Each band contributing 3 songs. On the B side is where we find Rain Paints with the songs “The Sun is Down”, “Come Just Make You Happy” and “Sunday Morning”. All of the songs of this tape are on Soundcloud.
2015 would also see a release that flew under my radar. A split 7″ on the Alone Together (AT004) and Bikini Lounge labels. The split had the Manchester band Horsebeach on the A side with the track “Broken Light” whereas Rain Paints appears on the B side with the song “Kill Me With Your Smile”. This release is on Bandcamp too if you want to check it out.
When it comes to compilations I know they had the song “25th December” on the compilation tape “Christmas Small Gift Vol.2” that Miles Apart Records (MAP-010) released in 2014.
And then this is where I lose track of the band. What happened to them after? Japanese friends, can you help me?
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