Make Believe Melodies For August 7, 2023
We Want To Feel Bad, Or Feel Funky?
CHO CO PA CO CHO CO QUIN QUIN — tradition
No-Fun Version: Tokyo trio CHO CO PA CO CHO CO QUIN QUIN’s debut album is a scrapbook of the pandemic. It’s an inevitable truth surrounding not just tradition but the existence of the band itself — as they told Real Sound recently, CHO CO PA came together after the three lifelong friends reconnected during COVID times, gathering outside at night to jam and create something new after being stuck inside for too long. There’s a melancholy wisp throughout the songs here, sometimes obvious (is something called “Quarantine Mood” going to be a blast?) and other times more mysterious (highlight “Kayo Nenka” being a fever dream of imagined romances and realities…when you start invoking movie stars, the fantasy becomes clear). This is lo-fi ennui, trying to shake it all off but haunted by the world it comes from. Listen above.
Funky Version: Get that bleak shit out of here! Look, I concede this is very much a COVID collection…but mostly because of all the pent up fun these three kids want to have. Read that Real Sound chat again, and focus on how the trio behind CHO CO PA gathered inspiration from far-flung locations, especially the Caribbean, in order to create something groove-able. Sure, they had to make these songs largely outside due to the times…but what better place to cut loose? Check the limboing funk of “15 Eunomia” or the Hosono-lite grooves of “Watatsumi.” No, ignore the lyrics about being at sea for three years (metaphor!), focus on the limber melody my man! Hell, even the melancholy centerpiece, “Kayo Nenka,” it really moves! Plus, it largely samples the sound of a harmonica being played after bopping one of the members in the knee with some kind of mallet. If that isn’t friendship in sonic form, I don’t know what is. Listen above.
HOME — “Lucy”
Hell of a debut from Okinawan trio HOME, who celebrate their island home in the video for “Lucy” while laying down the kind of Aughts-era indie-rock drive I can’t help but fall for. There’s a passion — instead of NYC in the 2000s detachment — undercutting all of this though, giving “Lucy” extra kick and shooting these dudes up the ones-to-watch list. Listen above.
CVLTE — “scorpion.”
Already in favor of CVLTE’s whole sound, but extra impressed they avoided the easy TikTok bait of a “sped up” version in favor of a RVTURN.
Lilniina — “cigirl”
As vulnerable as Japanese “hyperpop” can get really, backed by plinky-plonk synth hits and a willingness to earnestly express longing through the imagery of the other major thematic concern of this corner…hedonism. Bonus points for letting loose at the end. Listen above.
Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku — “Summer Glitter”
I’m used to hearing a certain type of idol summer song — busy, bright and very bulldozer like in driving forward on good vibes. Shout out to Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku for mixing it up a bit with “Summer Glitter.” It’s sparser than most warmer climes idol work, relying more on the rhythm than pure pep to get across the feelings of the season. Better still is a pivot to a rap interlude that isn’t jarring or out of place, but a natural development from the guitar-backed stroll preceding it. Listen above.
nyamura — “You Are My Curse”
“Hyperpop” as a genre and idea has always been fraught — so it goes for something that Spotify branded so heavily — and I get the vibe in the West that the entire concept has gone belly up. Funny enough, the last few months in Japan have potentially seen something approaching a breakthrough for the internet nook courtesy of nyamura, whose “You Are My Curse” has been glued to various viral charts for like a month now. Gonna pin this one on TikTok, though maybe the kids are just particularly in their feelings this summer. It’s a more polished version of the SoundCloud-born raps of cybermilk chan and online escapism of 4s4ki (with whom nyamura shares a lot of producers), giving a general audience a rougher idea of what the style could be while holding on to the emotional core. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of July 24, 2023 To July 30, 2023
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.
Hinatazaka46 — “Am I ready?” (448,209 Copies Sold)
One of the trickiest groups to assess in Japan right now is NiziU. They’re undeniably popular, but also contained to just Japan — if you had told me three years ago that one of 2020’s two breakout groups would become a harbinger of J-pop change abroad and the other would be a domestic-only affair, I absolutely would have mixed up where NiziU and YOASOBI would go. But maybe it was more obvious at the time and I was blinded by that JYP sheen — NiziU asks “what if we did TWICE again, but younger and more Japanese?” This is a Japan-centric project, which has managed major changes in other Japan-centric corners of pop music.
Take this Hinatazaka46 song, which isn’t like a total copycat affair but definitely carries the same zest and color palette I associate with NiziU. Critically, it does what a lot of J-pop idol music tends to do when approaching K-pop-born ideas…it gets it wrong enough to be interesting on its own (the all-together-now energy of the singing plus a reliance on strings). The video is closer to being Nizi-True1, though I appreciate the little anime bit thrown in the middle. Not indebted, but perhaps a splash of NiziU, which is becoming a widespread choice in the idol field.
While we’re here though, let’s appreciate the madcap approach of another J-pop idol powerhouse, finishing second this week…
…give me all the speedy, goofy synth-pop you got! Earnest question for those following them closer…has Hello! Project ever flirted with K-pop concepts, because my initial reaction is “no, thank goodness?” I mean, this other song from this mega-single features a video that sorta reminded me of Red Velvet, though really I’m just seeing various fruits. But then the song is like…borderline polka. I love that, and that groups like this continue to create stuff unafraid to be silly.
News And Views
A United Nation’s human rights investigation group has been in Japan in recent weeks investigating numerous negative elements of the Japanese workplace. As part of that, they’ve spent some time — not all of it, though, as initially reported by many media outlets — looking into the allegations surrounding Johnny Kitagawa and how the company he founded, Johnny & Associates, has been addressing them. The group held a press conference at the Japan National Press Club to talk about their findings…and there’s a lot going on here. You can watch the whole press conference here.
I can’t stress this enough…this press conference focuses on a whole range of workplace issues in Japan, with Johnny’s only appearing for a bit in the initial portion of the event. Still, there’s actually some significant news on that front, as the UN reps mention that, after speaking with people on all sides of this, that there’s still doubt over them handling this along with questions about the “transparency and legitimacy” of the third-party investigation group Johnny’s commissioned in the wake of this story becoming big again. The company responded with a post on their website saying the group would share their findings at the end of the month, with a press conference to be held.
That’s newsworthy, but the actual press conference is…kind of a mess. Again…the UN did not come to Japan to look into the dealings of a pop company, but rather at widespread workplace concerns, which are far reaching and simply exemplified by the alleged abuse found at Johnny’s. This ranges from racial discrimination in the workplace to the negative (sometimes fatal) impacts of overwork. But the media gathered for this only care about Johnny’s, asking exclusively about the scandal to the point where the UN officials remind them they looked at other issues too, could someone ask another question please? That doesn’t really work. Sorry Chinese factory workers, your plight just isn’t sexy enough!Views: The best examples of Japanese media approaching the Kitagawa scandal have been the ones letting the victims themselves step up and share their stories, putting a diverse set of faces to these allegations and just generally letting their voices take the spotlight. This entire UN story — from early reports to this press conference — show a much less flattering side of modern Japanese media, and one risking pushing a very important story into basic entertainment spectacle.
Part of the problem gets at one of the uneasy questions at the center of all of this…what’s the ending to this? The UN group investigating Johnny’s (in…whatever capacity) has appeared to me like an answered prayer to many critics of the company online and in the media. I truly think people believed the United Nations would step in, blow the lid off this and Johnny’s would have to be dissolved because António Guterres said so. And I get it…people want justice, but that’s complicated by Kitagawa being dead. So…what happens? The UN officials actually mentioned what could come down the pipeline, which would be an official apology and financial compensation. But the implication of this body getting involved, and much of the writing around it, was of something much heavier. That tension remains.OK, cool, quick “fun” transition…heavy rockers Maximum The Hormone shared a new music video for a song called “Koi No America.” The hook is…they’ll have some contest to see who can understand the lyrics best in September, and after that you’ll be able to see them by clicking on the “caption” button. Anyway, what I can tell right away is this band remains full of funny visual ideas that still feel a decade late at least (did they just discover chiptune???).
Japan-A-Radio, an online radio station playing Japanese music to the US for the last 22 years, has officially powered down.
K-Arena Yokohama, an imposing live venue boasting 20,000 seats, opens in September. That’s neat and all, but we really need more mid-tier venues, or else it’s gonna turn into a real “no middle” situation for bands.
Speaking of childbirth…remember when KOM_I said she would give birth to her first child in the Amazon rain forest, and Twitter got super mad? Well, she went and did it, revealing the news on Instagram (and sharing…barbecued placenta, hey why not).
We probably should talk about Yukopi, a Vocaloid producer responsible for one of the year’s most viral…and now commericially present…songs of the year. Back in March, they shared the charming, recorder-featuring tune and video below. Since, it has attracted over 44 million views.
It’s achieved something resembling meme status since, too, inspiring real-life versions of the video. Then it was rejiggered into a song for Cup Noodles’ summer campaign, with the food maker Nissin taking advantage of the moment with a cute ad. Which only further spreads the song…and inspired an even more extreme recreation of the video, below.
Sanrio Puroland in Tokyo has a Halloween music event…and WHAT A STACKED LINEUP.
I wrote a report about this year’s (great, hot, tech-challenged) Fuji Rock for The Japan Times.
Japan Rail got some Nogizaka46 members to record station announcements on the Shinkansen, a first.
88Rising’s Head In The Clouds festival went down this weekend, featuring three Japanese artists — XG, Atarashii Gakko! and YOASOBI. The latter two joined forced for “IDOL.”
chelmico celebrating 10 years together with a special series of videos looking back on their history, here’s part one.
A variety show asked people wearing band t-shirts if they knew the band. Most didn’t! Oh, pity The Red Hot Chili Peppers!
Tove Lo getting all swept up in “cool, Japan!” mania, with new music video for “I like u” drawing from ‘90s anime. Or does it?!?! This one’s actually knottier than you think — it’s actually a collaboration with Shinsei Galverse, a “digital collectibles” series created by Emi Kusano, of Satellite Young. If that’s setting off alarm bells, totally get it…but I will admit, this gets credit from my NFT-skeptical heart because it actually tries to flesh out that world and create…an anime out of it? It’s better than any of those Bored Apes, at least. Anyway, the key is…cool, Japan!
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
I instantly regret this one.