There’s an Aztec city building game called Tlatoani. It’s in early access, but has enough meat on the bone that it’s one of my goto games.

Out of curiosity I checked Steam DB for active player numbers. I have discovered at any given point I am 10% to 25% of the given player base BY MYSELF. I am 1 of 4 people playing this game right now in the world. With the prevalence of the internet I always assume whatever weird bullshit you’re into there’s at least a thousand people talking about it; making memes outsiders could never comprehend. It’s actually novel to fly under the radar for once.

What do you do that doesn’t have a community associated with it?

  • fleck@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I really love Japanese jazz fusion. None of my friends understand my excitement about the EWI solos, they just say it sounds like Mario Kart music lol. I’m also into Buddhism, but dont have anyone else with this interest.

    • Soggy@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Any specific recommendations? I’ve been into prog/jazz/funk for the last few years (thanks to Louis Cole’s various projects for opening that door) and I know Japan has a strong scene.

      • fleck@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Absolutely! These are the obvious ones, maybe you already know them:

        • T-Square
          • “TRUTH” is an absolute classic, just like “サーキットの放浪者”, and “Travellers”
        • Casiopea
          • I think “Be” is my favourite Album, but all are solid
        • Masayoshi Takanaka

        And then also some that are maybe lesser known (no particular order):

        • Katsumi Horii Project
          • They have quite a lot of songs. “Way to morning” or “Flashback” are good examples. I also like “Jungle of Heaven”
        • Trix
          • “ECCENTRIX” is really nice, just like “An Index”
        • Dimension
        • Himiko Kikuchi
        • Naniwa Express
        • Yuji Toriyama
        • Chikara Ueda & The Power Station
        • Toshiki Kadomatsu
        • The Gran Turismo soundtrack also has some hidden Gems here and there

        I think what I like about this genre is that it combines very catchy melodies/riffs and chord progressions with really creative jazzy solos. I have not really found much recent stuff (>2010), though. But I can recommend SOIL & Pimp Sessions. They are more recent and more traditional-jazz-oriented.

        Bonus if you like light prog/math rock: Check out Elephant Gym. Spring Rain (春雨) is one of my favourite songs.

        • Krudler@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          I’m a huge jazz fan and all of these are on my huge jazz/fusion playlist. You’re not alone.

        • Soggy@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          My familiarity with Japanese jazz is very limited to even the “obvious” ones are a treat.

          In the interests of fair trade, here’s a scattering of what I’ve enjoyed lately. Some of it has a similar sound but there’s a lot of variance in the “jazz fusion” space and I like experimental stuff:

          • Peela
          • Lydian Collective
          • Giraffes? Giraffes!
            • More Skin With Milk-Mouth remains excellent
          • KNOWER
            • Their latest album in particular, as well as the most recent solo work of constituent parts Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi
          • DOMi & JD BECK
          • Jacob Mann
            • Jacob Mann Big Band is more traditional and I’m a sucker for a good brass section
          • the olllam
            • I don’t actually know how to describe this but Irish folk is involved and “with pure crystalll teeth” fills me with dopamine
          • Sungazer
          • The Fearless Flyers
            • Tailwind is a really good album
          • Moon Hooch
            • They’re silly and frenetic but I did say I’m a sucker for brass
          • fleck@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            Thanks a lot :) I do know Giraffes? Giraffes! a bit, and I’m also a great fan of math rock. This is also something my friends don’t understand haha. I think all of your recommendations are awesome after checking them out! I will definitely put some of those in my music library. I liked Peela a lot, feels almost like a more modern blend of T-Square and Casiopea.

      • fleck@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I know them only from a feature with Soft Lipa but never really checked them out separately. Gotta do that!