Make Believe Melodies For April 8, 2025
Semi-Retired, Fully Going For It
Towa Tei — AH!!
There’s always been an odd streak running through Towa Tei’s career. Since the ‘90s, the electronic producer has been fascinated in seeing how he can bend and stretch ideas, whether it was in seeing how sample-based house sounds could groove or how to create smooth dance-pop about Guillermo Arriaga films. Not long ago, he made a whole Sweet Robots Against The Machine album featuring spoken word passages from comedian Bakarhythm.
Now saying he’s in “semi-retirement,” Tei’s latest album AH!! reminds of his love for the unlikely. The club-ready motion remains as does the star-studded guest list, but there’s something extra disjointed and playful about this offering, revealing a creator still eager to flip over the norm one dusty sample at a time.
Opener “THE FINEST” builds itself around what sounds like a voice from a commercial talking about “the finest turntable in the world,” and around this Tei constructs a rumbling beat interrupted by female vocals, British hype men and an appearance from VERBAL where he’s mostly sonic texture rather than guest MC. Like most of AH!! the fun of a song like “THE FINEST” is hearing something familiar be nudged towards the odd — like hearing a familiar track in the club, but something is off about it — and Tei revels in these moments throughout, whether on the fizzy CAPS LOCK-like shuffle of “LUDLOW” or the Midnight-Vultures-gone-Harajuku pop mutation of “GUM.”
As he tends to do, there’s also an examination of Japanese electronic music weaved in, here including a Vocaloid-grazed (itself a fascinating touch) techno-pop workout featuring the ever wonky Takkyu Ishino and “The Prophet,” an unsettling groove featuring playing from Haruomi Hosono and the late Yukihiro Takahashi. Tei even explores his own catalog on “B4GP4B,” itself a skittering re-imagining of 2013’s “Blue For Girls, Pink For Boys.” It’s familiar…but just different than you remember, from a creator who still can offer up sonic curveballs. Listen above.
Texas 3000 — Weird Dreams
A good snapshot of what makes Texas 3000 so compelling comes about halfway through delicate acoustic number “There’s Still Time.” Amidst this fragile recording, member Kirin laughs and quickly says “I just farted.” A moment of levity and unexpectedness silliness amongst something otherwise so emotionally wrenched…explaining the rest of the EP, albeit less crude. Get it here, or listen above.
CVLTE — bloodYhell.
There’s always been a sense that CVLTE was on the edge in early offerings, but at some point they plummeted over in the best possible way. “Why is everything so heavy / it’s crazy how the world keeps changing / and nothing stays the same” goes the hook as the music around it and the vocals themselves glitch out and practically go lilbesh-ram-kore. And that’s before the acid barrage comes in! This short set captures a group corralling chaos (and digital madness — the secret to this one is the vocal manipulation splattered all over the place) without losing its fest-ready center. Craziest still? One of the songs here is the ending theme to a popular anime series! Hell, maybe the whole industry took the leap. Listen above.
r-906 — “Yumemi”
You think I’m hear to talk more about “digital singers” and voice-generating software and the delights they can bring, as evidenced by this delight courtesy of r-906 utilizing the LeuR character from Voisona, right? Well kind of…but honestly, I’m more hooked by that flute-like melody drifting through, giving this one a particularly chill atmosphere. Listen above.
luca — Lost Halo
This two song set from creator luca starts as a near vaporous meditations, with luca’s singing rising above a fever-dream arrangement of synths to create a swirling effect. What makes it really work is how wonderful their voice sounds as it rises up like incense smoke, expressing longing and hurt in equal measures. Second number “pupa” adds a little more rattle rhythmically, but the bell chimes playing off over it still push it towards the dreamy. Get it here.
Licaxxx — I spoke directly to my brain, and it answered me:
An outlier in Licaxxx’s career in the truest sense of the word. I mostly associate the Tokyo DJ with live gigs, and often in those circumstances leanings towards crowd-pleasing funkiness rather than heady stuff. Yet that’s not the case on I spoke directly to my brain, and it answered me: which twists her sound around thanks to something bordering on the novelty: the four tracks here, originally released exclusively on some brain app (OK, understandeable jitters there), is based off of actual neuroscience with the intent of these four songs to actually alter the rhythm of one’s mind while listening. I honestly don’t care if that’s true or not — I got enough going in my head, I don’t need to be thinking about my thinking on top of it — but rather enjoy this release as a total left-field offering from Licaxxx. These tracks surge and whirl rather than shuffle ahead, with the beats often feeling disjointed (“Gamma” and “Alpha” coming to mind) and sounds prone to weird mutations that normally would disrupt the party — but here simply stimulate the mind. Whereas previous releases focused on the feet, this one aims for the mind…and comes out with among the oddest and most intriguing music in her history. Get it here, or listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of March 24, 2025 To March 30, 2025
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 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 trip down…the Oricon Trail.
Nogizaka46 — “Navel Orange” (483,817 Copies Sold)
Famous last words, but I want to write something longer about the current “idol renaissance” playing out in J-pop at the moment. The one hitch to it — the continued bigness of -46 groups, who have basically been consistently popular both in terms of cultural visibility and sales (unlike AKB48, which had a period of massiveness and a drop off to something still noteworthy but a shadow of past success). Here’s another strong seller from Nogizaka46, underlining that the last few years weren’t an idol ice age…just slightly less prominent in the zeitgeist, but still playing out.
What is definitely different between periods is the sound. “Navel Orange” sounds downright elegant, with those strings adding a swoop to the number that elevates above the usual idol rush. Compared to the bubblier and youthful propulsion of a FRUITS ZIPPER or CUTIE STREET, Nogizaka46 come off as mature. Which is exactly what they are…veterans coming in with a refined sound that isn’t quite of the moment, but gorgeous on its own. Listen above.
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For $5 USD a month, you’ll get one bonus post every week! Last time around, a special look at “Ghibli AI,” and coming this week…a venue review.
Make Believe Bonus: "Ghibli Style" AI (Newspicks)
It will not shock you to know that I was fascinated by the “Studio Ghibli style” AI meme-a-palooza that took over social media last week. All of a sudden, every platform I used — except Bluesky, which exists exclusively of Americans venting about the grim politics of the United States — was filled with people offering up anime-style pics of them or their families as if they were background characters in Howl’s Moving Castle. As goes the course of every meme, it was eventually embraced by no-swag brands and goober influencers, before going up a level with the likes of The White House and the Israel Defense Force busting it out. Finally, we had an ending point for this brief online phenomenon.
News And Views
Haru Nemuri shared a post on Instagram detailing her dealings with American duo Frost Children and their label True Panther, following the release of a collaborative EP last year. She alleges they bailed on a tour, uploading the album on Bandcamp despite the fact it couldn’t go up in Asia, and a bunch of other issues related to not getting her permission. Frost Children responded, prompting further revelation courtesy of Nemuri, and generally turning into a back and forth. Stereogum did a good job summing it up.
It’s a messy situation, but does hit on something that I think gets overlooked — the way the music business works in Japan, even in the more indie spheres, is much different than in other places. I’ve seen similar fissures between sides over the years, and if we are taking everyone at their word here, I wouldn’t be shocked if a lot of this stems from difference in general practices.While not a total lifting of the digital curtain separating them from the digital ecosystem, J-pop group SNOW MAN shared its first best-of album to streaming services this week. It’s still a big moment for the industry, with arguably the biggest pop group in the country finally putting the bulk of its hits on these sorts of platforms.
A pretty loaded Yellow Magic Orchestra tribute concert on the horizon as part of MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN.
HYBE turning into a FOGPAK compilation with the names of these new boy groups, yeesh.
Ivana E. Morales made a list for Grammy.com about 10 rising Japanese pop groups to know, including Number_i, FRUITS ZIPPER and SixTONES among others. It’s a nice list that a lot of Japanese and pop-leaning media aggregated, though as the piece states part of what it underlines is how much more active these outfits are when it comes to international touring (see also: Kenshi Yonezu holding successful shows in Europe and the US this past week). Which, hey speaking of…
Fujii Kaze prepping a North American tour, with another fest appearance slated for Outside Lands in San Francisco.
HANA made a big debut…and captured viral attention…with first single “ROSE.”
Also talked with American artist Sasami for The Japan Times.
A very important meeting of worlds between VTubing and AC-Bu.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Check out the Best Of 2025 Spotify Playlist here!