The 2026 album from Foodman, HIKARIGASASHIKOMU, can be translated from its two root words: “hikari” and “sashikomu.” The former refers to light, and the latter, “to shine into.” As such, the album from the Nagoya, Japan-based producer Takahide Higuchi is a reflection on the light that comes through, the need for perseverance during particularly bleak moments. Built as an expansion of Foodman’s 2023 Hyperdub EP Uchigawa Tankentai (inner journey), HIKARIGASASHIKOMU explores the forces that weigh on the human experience. The album centers Foodman’s vocal experiments, with the producer looping, splicing, and chopping melodies alongside words and tunes from other sources. Take “Hard Reclining,” which is an almost psychedelic interpretation of what ends up being a pretty spectacular pop song. It begins fragmented in a million pieces, only for the various instruments—guitar chords, handclaps, drums—to coalesce around the layers of voices. It arrives fully formed, a jigsaw puzzle completed, without any idea as to how it was finished. Wackiest Moment: The bizarre, joyous vocal mishmash on interlude “Hoso Michi.”