Make Believe Melodies For April 12, 2021
Abbreviated Version This Week!
Kabanagu — Oyogumane
Trying to use the internet less really makes you appreciate all of the great parts of the web. A week after I decided to spend less time logged in — half too many bad vibes, half procrastination wrecking me — Maltine Records released this zippy set from producer Kabanagu. It’s everything I love about netlabels — maybe the single best example for me of what an internet community can be, an alternative space still capable of real-world connection — as it features a creator gleefully playing around with guitar strumming and digi-damaged vocals, imagining what Point-era Cornelius might have sounded like if he spent half his day on 2chan. Best of all…it’s a reminder of how fun this world can be. Listen above, or get it here.
Have A Nice Day! — “F/A/C/E”
Wherein a project usually operating in cinema scales it back to something maybe more fitting of a low-key TV drama. I think this is the best they’ve sounded in a while, as Have A Nice Day! give slow-burning tension a go and make it work for them without losing any of the emotional spark. Listen above.
kZm — “Aquarius Heaven”
The best Japanese rap finds an angle on the genre nodding to another corner of Japanese pop culture. Rising star kZm brings Masafumi Gotoh of Asian Kung-Fu Generation into the fold for "Aquarius Heaven,” adding a blast of Aughts J-rock into his sound, pairing well with similar nods to 2000s indie from last year. Listen above.
chelmico — “COZY”
Some sweet mid-tempo rock for chelmico to head into hiatus on, as member Rachel prepares to have a kid! Listen above.
Mikazuki Bigwave — Maho Sensen
Every future funk artist either finds themselves stuck in an amber made from “old Japanese music” YouTube searches…or they accidentally find themselves making all kinds of other styles of dance music. Get it here, or listen above.
Masayoshi Takanaka — “Mambo No. 5 (Disco Dango)”
The Japanese government named recent efforts to curb COVID-19 “manbo,” prompting no shortage of gags referencing “Mambo No. 5.” Most go for the low-hanging fruit of Lou Bega, but let’s show off are big brains by celebrating guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka’s 1977 interpretation of Dámaso Pérez Prado’s number.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of March 29, 2021 To April 4, 2021
Back in the day, the Oricon Music Charts were the go-to path to music stardom in Japan. Acts of all sorts traversed these lands, trying to sell as many CDs as possible in order to land a good ranking on a chart choosing to only count physical sales, even as the Internet came to be and the number of versions offered for sale got ridiculous. Today, with the country finally in on the digital, these roads are more barren and only looked at by the most fanatic of supporters needing something to celebrate. Yet every week, a new song sells enough plastic to take the top spot. So let’s take a drip down…the Oricon Trail.
Jaejoong — “BREAKING DAWN” (38,352 Copies Sold)
Maybe the future of J-pop is…writing for K-pop? This has always been an overlooked intersection between the two countries, and has felt more pronounced as of late. BTS offers up a song for some boring looking drama movie (written, fittingly, by boring-looking-drama-movie soundtrack staple back number) while a growing number of groups are contributing themes to anime. One recent example comes from Jaejoong of JYJ, who gets an assist from HYDE of L'Arc-en-Ciel for this one. I can’t imagine a stronger pairing in modern global pop culture than anime and K-pop.
News And Views (the “not checking Twitter” edition)
The celebration of Hosono continues, with some reviews of his ‘80s output over at Pitchfork.
This week in the continuing embrace of Vocaloid into J-pop…longrunning producer DECO*27 has written a song for Johnny’s group Hey! Say! JUMP.
Was aware of Netflix’s Ride Or Die starring Kiko Mizuhara…but did not realize that Honami Sato, better known as the drummer from Gesu no Kiwami Otome, also stars in it until I read James Hadfield’s feature on it. Meanwhile, I think Enon Kawatani just started his 50th band.
And here’s your WACK update for the month….
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)