A new album release from Mitsubio travels the electronic landscape with a diverse array of songs that boast cinematic undertones, pop overtones, and experimental approaches that blend elements of EDM, ambient tones, and a brilliant combination of color and spaciousness.
Don't Say Anything comes right in with "Amanda's Return", which certainly delivers a bit of a driving force, classic house style, heavy-handed beats, unique synths and percussion sprinkled in, and this outstanding use of melody.
What's cool about this track is that it builds, and Mitsubio as an artist is not really afraid to throw in different kinds of tones and textures throughout his tracks. This one has a really cool synthesizer that runs through the under layer of the track and then about halfway through, becomes more to the forefront and performs a great progression. The synths bend between notes, and I love that kind of effect.
Those are the kinds of attributes that add a different kind of color to the track and almost take you by surprise.
Then there's tracks like "Keep It Light", which does indeed have a bit of a smoother kind of feel, but it's got this almost glitchy effect to it, along with these layers which give it depth.
I love that the producer uses certain kinds of effects like reverb, for example, to help give the track that distant sort of feel, which in turn, lets it breed more of a cinematic soundscape.
"Rhodeo" is one of my favorites on this entire thing. This is mostly because it stands a bit outside the box from the rest of them. The beat is a bit more mid-tempo, and it's got a touch of swing to it. It feels like a blend between pop, hip-hop, and a break beat, and the progression and melodies take you for a bit of a ride.
This is one of the tracks you can really jam and dance to. It showcases how Mitsubio also never forgets to bring in plenty of his pop influence.
There's something totally 90s about this track. It's that beat but also the synths that he uses as a bass line that capture this almost nostalgic, 90s approach.
That whole vibe is totally nailed.
Perhaps one of the most shimmering and well-produced tracks on this record is one called "Translucent", which comes in with this '70s vibe using a classic key approach that I can't really explain, so you just have to listen to it. It's like a late 1970s disco-funk-pop Style. It makes me think of old Michael Jackson songs.
One of the other things I really dig about this is that it's actually a bit more stripped down. It feels a little less cluttered but still very well put together and hard not to dance to.
The keys are very light and sort of ambient in a sense.
This artist almost always includes that aspect in his songwriting. There's always this element of atmospheric underbelly, and even when the songs come through with jiving, danceable, classic beats or even more house-oriented, hard-hitting ones, you still have that expansive and sort of spacious feel underneath it all.
Listening to this full record is an absolute must, simply because it spans a lot of different styles. It runs the gamut of electronic music but utilizes a lot of his influences, listening to music growing up, which is part of why this sounds so classic. He's able to really capture vintage sounds from the '70s, Hades, and '90s, but still has songs in there that feel super current and outside of all of that.
It is a great blend of approaches and experimental electronic music that all comes through as infectious.
"Just Fine" is the last track on the record and has a slight synth wave approach to it.
So, you can hear the slew of influences under Mitsubio's belt, and he's pulled from a lot of them to create this record. This whole thing was charismatic and colorful, bright but still a little edgy, danceable, and cinematically robust a lot of the time.
This is a record you listen to at a good volume and again, from start to finish.
Skipping around songs won't give you the full spectrum of what the whole album offers you.
Listening to the full record is a great experience, and I would definitely dive through this whole thing at once.
With the release of this record, I realized I had to sit down with John Leisure, the man behind it all, to find out where this stuff comes from and what might be coming up next for him as well.
So, while you listen to this record, have a read through of our interview with Mitsubio below.
Let's talk about "Don't Say Anything"! This was a great record with a blend of that electronic edginess and some vast underbelly as well!!! How long have you been working on this one?
I wrapped on ‘Round Two’ in October 2024, took a month off to get out of the production headspace a little bit, and then started thinking about this album. So from concept to mastering, it was about 11 months. I reckon I could have put it together a lot quicker than that but it’s one of a few projects I’ve got on the go, and I had some severe creative block going on at times, so it took its damn time.
There are some classic influences on this release. Old-school electronic approaches blended with fresh ones. Who are you listening to most right now?
Who have you been listening to lately? Who's in your headphones?
My favourite album of 2025 is probably Franc Moody ‘Chewing the Fat’ which came out in March. Also really enjoyed Emma-Jean Thackray, Sven Wunder and everything that Thandii have been putting out. I don’t know if any of those sounds have made it into my stuff but I always try and listen to how other songwriters and producers use reverb and stuff like that. I’ve been revisiting Andrew Weatherall’s ‘Masterpiece’ DJ mixes a fair bit this year too. He was one of a kind.
Did you record this at home, or at a bigger studio? What kind of synths and programs do you use?
All recorded at home. In terms of kit I use GarageBand on a MacBook Air, with several Phil Speiser plugins, but mostly The Instrument for synths. I have an AKAI MPK Mini keyboard, and for sound libraries, aside from the onboard GarageBand sounds, I have sample packs from Eats Everything, Purple Disco Machine and others. I use quite a lot of field recordings for texture too. I went to France in the summer and got loads of great audio from a food market, that’s definitely going to make it onto the next album.
Do you produce all your own releases, or do you work with another producer sometimes?
All solo. I’d like to collaborate with other producers in future but I might have to move to Logic or Ableton to do that - and that’ll be a mission! But I know I have to do it one day…
What's next up for you? Are you already working on anything new?
I’ve got two ideas for the next music project, and they’re quite different. One is a film soundtrack and the other is more of a straight up artist album. I can’t really say more than that at the moment. Maybe I’ll just do both?
What kind of things really inspire you to write music?
It comes out of nowhere doesn’t it, inspiration? And is often very hard to come by. I’m an open format DJ and so that’s how the music has come out. There’s tracks based around Latin hooks, there’s some Baltimore influence, there’s obviously house hooks too. The album is called ‘Don’t Say Anything’ because that’s the same initials as Difficult Second Album, and I wanted to allude to that. I tried a different workflow for this album where I started a load of tracks at the same time, and once I ran out of idea juice on one track I thought I’d switch attention to another, and that way I’d always be actively working on something, but I ended up not really getting my head into any of the tracks properly at the right time, so I changed the process part way through the production. So for the next album I think I’ll focus on one track at a time and get each one nearer to an end point.
You have been doing great! What sort of advice might you have for other up and coming artists out there?
I listen to a really good podcast called ‘Ableton and Music Habits’ which is brilliant for cutting through the bullshit of people convincing you that you need this or that bit of kit, and teaching you resilience about showing up to be creative and stuff like that. So my first piece of advice would be to listen to that podcast. And otherwise, the same with any creative project whether it’s a book or a play or whatever. Show up every day, even when you’re not feeling it. Habits over goals, every time.
What would you say people can expect from this record?
An extension of the sounds of Round Two - a wild mix of tempos and textures. I’ve DJed for nearly 30 years but I’ve kind of realised over the course of making this album that I don’t make music for the dancefloor. So treat this as a listening experience more than a dancing one.
Do you do collaborations with other artists at all?
All tracks on this album are up for remixing so get in touch! I’m up for working with other producers for sure. It’s always great to see how other people work and I’m always up for learning more.
How do you feel about the outcome of this album?
I actually felt quite bereft when I finished it, because I had been working on it for so long, but I was also relieved and excited to get it out there. I’m loving producing at the moment but I know I need to just write for myself and no-one else. The most rewarding stuff is when you’re not paying too much attention to what other people think, you know? That’s freedom. All that said, it’s nice if people like your music.
What would you like to say to any fans of the music?
Spread the word. And Merry Christmas!