If Sufjan Stevens Was Japanese...

...He'd be Shugo Tokumaru.

I caught wind of this multi-instrumentalist (and by multi- I mean many. Dude plays almost 50 instruments) from Paste Magazine's Rachael Maddux's Shugo Sleep Experiment.

According to the post, good old Shugo wrote most of the lyrics to his new album (relatively, that is. It was released last year in Japan) called Exit based on dreams he had and miraculously remembered. I have a hard time remembering what I had for lunch or my dad's birthday (Which is today. Happy Birthday, Steve!), let alone what I dreamt about.

Regardless, he's the musician and not me, so I digress.

Of all the music I've come across in, say, the past month from bloggers and publicists, this might damn well be the most original.

Remember how blown away you were after hearing Sufjan Steven's Illinoise album? That how-the-hell-did-he-write-that type of amazement?

Swap in Japanese lyrics in a voice just as lofty and ethereal and you've got Shugo. The sounds of a whole playground of instruments dance around in these songs like drunken lovers spilling out of the bar and into the streets.

The melodies (instrumental and vocal) are playful little aliens and they'll creep into your brain and keep on dancing.

The twang of traditional Japanese music (or, rather, the sounds I'm used to hearing in Japanese restaurants) are sprinkled gently on top of the whole carnival. The Sufjan comparison comes not so much in the sound, exactly, but rather the creativity and orchestral lushness of the whole thing.

While Sufjan's work sounds like it was recorded with a whole symphony of flower children on call, Shugo's could've been laid down in a big kitchen with a whole array of oddball tools, bells, whistles and plenty of counter space to bang on.

Anyway, here's the moral: If you check out one new artist this week, make it Shugo Tokumaru. To whet your whistle, here are some of his videos: