Music / NewsA Japanese guy remade The Life of Pablo without hearing itWith Tidal still unavailable in Japan, Kanye West fans haven't been able to hear his latest album legally — so one producer took matters into his own handsShareLink copied ✔️April 5, 2016MusicNewsText Selim Bulut If you live in a Western country, it’s easy to assume that your music consumption habits reflect those of the wider world — that no one buys music anymore, that everyone uses Soundcloud, that everything is on Spotify. In fact, in Japan, physical sales still vastly outnumber digital, while streaming services like Spotify and Tidal have still yet to launch in the country. This posed a problem for Kanye West fans. The rapper’s latest opus, The Life of Pablo, was until recently a Tidal exclusive, meaning that the album was off-limits to anyone in the country who wanted to hear the album without downloading it illegally. Frustrated with its unavailability, one Japanese producer decided to take matters into their own hands. TOYOMU, a producer from Kyoto, set about building his own version of the album without having heard it first. “In Japan, we couldn’t listen to TLOP officially because of Tidal,” TOYOMU told Pigeons & Planes, “Subscription services in Japan are too slow, most people are still using iTunes and buying CDs. I thought it might be a good idea to make the whole album without listening to it, (but) maybe it’s reverse thinking.” The result is 印象III : なんとなく、パブロ (Imagining “The Life of Pablo”), an amazing outsider’s take on the album built using sample credits found on WhoSampled, lyrics from Genius, a text-to-speech generator, and TOYOMU’s own imagination. It doesn’t really sound anything like Kanye’s original (although TOYOMU’s creative decisions do occasionally hit close to the rapper’s), but it is a compelling listen nonetheless. Stream 印象III : なんとなく、パブロ (Imagining “The Life of Pablo”) below. 印象III : なんとなく、パブロ (Imagining "The Life of Pablo") by TOYOMU Escape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 30,000+ creatives from around the world.TrendingGUESS Jeans taps Becky G for the low-rise renaissanceReleased this October, the B Jean puts a Y2K favourite back in rotationFashionLife & CultureThe Dazed 100 is back for 2027! Put yourself forward HennessyLife & CultureQuenlin Blackwell and Hennessy know it’s time to be outsideLife & CultureShould you be able to veto a friend’s partner?BeautyThis AI machine makes perfumes out of your memoriesArt & PhotographyPhotos from the world’s horniest art fairLife & CultureThe new war on chronically ill womenFashionWhy does everyone want to be Irish? Ask Ireland Fashion WeekLife & CultureThe uncanny rehabilitation of Mark ZuckerbergEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy