Make Believe Melodies For August 8, 2022
Real Funk Wav Bounces Within
Gimgigam — Summer Deja Vu
“Summer songs” generally aim to capture good vibes and pure populism, underlined by a desire to be *the* defining number of the season, a concept that grows sillier and sillier as the music industry cracks apart. Credit to Summer Deja Vu for offering a more realistic snapshot of this period, at least in the 21st century. Moments of bliss and pure escape, for sure, but also a nagging unease and general sweltering atmosphere, where any rays of joy are soon undercut by the desire to take another shower.
That balance is a pure testament to Gimgigam, who has been on the rise in recent years but seems to be really hitting a stride in 2022. Summer Deja Vu is their sun-speckled highlight of a busy year, featuring emotionally complex city-pop pastiche (“Lucky Drive,” fidgety funk held together by a truly rich vocal performance from punipunidenki), instant-melancholy expressed via slow-burn fireworks (“awai,” featuring a pop turn from uami) and blissful dancefloor release concealing a touch of darkness (highlight “Aquarium Summer",” with Minori Yoshikawa, which becomes slightly less sweet when you realize the central metaphor isn’t as bubbly as you think…huge slab of glass between you and the one you love! But fucking slick all the same). Breaking up these cuts are instrumentals on the more hazed out side, including one imagining what the theme song to Better Call Saul would sound like extended and topped off by a sax solo (“Tonttu”) and a particularly loopy number about being stuck in an airport (the sweat-drenched “Airport Dub”).
This is a true summer album for modern times, disorienting and kinda sad, but always offering a little bit of welcome escape, even as the bad vibes creep into frame. And it’s a real breakthrough for Gimgigam, already showing plenty of talent but now making it all connect cohesively. Get it here, or listen above.
Tokyo Girls’ Style — Nocturnal
Wherein Tokyo Girls’ Style indirectly re-imagine their careers, picturing a path where they chose to embrace pre-algo-powered city pop instead of venturing into a more scattershot set of sounds (which, let’s be clear, they often do really well). Like, just listen to large chunks of Limited Addiction (album art featuring Roman busts before that was a thing!!!) and you hear an idol outfit accidentally on the cusp of a new kind of retromania. But hey, lost futures! Now we have Nocturnal, vaguely city pop-ish but best read as more “adult” for a group I once interviewed as high schoolers that are now firmly grown up. The funk and jazz-accented numbers of their early years return in full lounge glory, with smudges of modern electronic technology helping to add a blur to the songs here (the brief Auto-tune touch on “Girls Talk,” now that’s what I’m talking about). It fit them well then, and still delivers now. Listen above…or below!
Nornis — “Daydreamer”
I wanted to just highlight this initially because of how…modern it all is. A superstar team of VTubers from the agency Nijisanji craft…a “city pop” number complete with art of them cruising along the ocean in convertible. Yet I have to say…I think it kind of rules? This is a great example of recreating the resort-ready vibe in less-than-sunny times well, realizing it isn’t all about being chill (as groups like Yona Yona Weekenders have recently tried to do, to diminishing results) but also adding some maximalism, both musically and emotionally. This knows how to be big at the right moments, and underlines it with equally large-scale emotions. Again, VTubers did this. Reality doesn’t let us down. Listen above.
Various Artists — ARK005 (Feel EP)
Kyoto becoming a hotbed for Japanese dance music…a very welcome development! The latest from fledgling operation Arkuda Label gathers together some promising trackmakers…with me personally being drawn in by the always-great Paperkraft, here going off in a more revelatory mode on “Experience Feelings”…who all offer upbeat tracks perfect for the night. Get it here, or listen above.
Kuon Neon — “Denno Metamorphosis”
“Produced by KOTONOHOUSE” all I needed to hear. Listen above.
ao — “Change”
The “vibe shift” in J-pop has been impressive, even to someone who could see it coming a mile away after two years of bummer tunes. Whereas topics like being alone on your birthday or craving a new epoch shift would have been delivered with glumness or rage during peak COIVD-19 times, this year they’ve come via party-starting pop hiding dark humor and anthems about self determination (and I guess pirates). The clearest example of more downtrodden pop…and arguably the biggest hit of the year…comes from Sekai No Owari, and even it seems a little silly with its accompanying dance and influencer covers.
Young singer/songwriter ao isn’t quite at the levels of anything mentioned above, but newest single “Change” might capture this emotional sea change better than any other. Immediately, the dramatic chug of the last two years vanishes in favor of bang-on-the-bleachers pomp and funk swagger. The video proves essential, with a gaggle of school-uniform-suited students gathered in a classroom, but whereas “Usseewa” imagined societal upturning, “Change” pictures a dance party. It’s not pure escape — “Change” marks the first great effort by a Japanese act to imitate the sweet-and-sour balancing act of Olivia Rodrigo, the tell being the pre-chorus bit where the distortion gets some time up front. Yet after a period of time where hits were defined by people hurling themselves off buildings and longing for a better world, the more individual optimism of a “Change” feels stark. It might not be a hit…though it could be…but here’s a sign of the times. Listen above.
woopheadclrms — Decolorized idylls
Less words, more chaos! Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of July 25, 2022 To July 31, 2022
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.
KinKi Kids — “Amazing Love” (235,030 Copies Sold)
One of the reasons Tatsuro Yamashita’s newest album Softly charmed me so much was how it reminded of the pop maker’s continued interest in playing around with sound rather than settling for easy nostalgia bait. Well, “Amazing Love” pulls off something similar, albeit with less dazzling vocals.
Yamashita and KinKi Kids have been tied together since the beginning of the latter…literally, as the former wrote their debut single (with lyrics courtesy of Takashi Matsumoto, making for one of the highest-profile J-pop entrances ever). Even back then, Yamashita was integrating electronic textures and then-on-point J-pop sonic trends in constructing their music, reminding of his desire to not be a museum piece but rather an active player in the moment. “Amazing Love” isn’t quite as daring…”Love’s On Fire” this ain’t…but alongside the giddy melody and gradual build towards shiny center, there’s touches of modern electronic music in that lift, adding extra oomph to the peak. Still, this boasts all kinds of commercial demands his more artisanal solo work can skirt (while still being a chart breaker). Toughest to shake away…KinKi Kids have to be involved, and their singing is just…very idol, and grounds the song’s potential. A reminder of Yamashita’s continued tinkering spirit, but not a highlight.
News And Views
CHIBA ERII HIVE, OUR TIME HAS COME. Not long ago, she was charming the Produce 48 audience thanks to her stale-bread attitude towards everything and general low-effort performances, leading to a magical moment of TV that MNET wishes they could have faked, but is too real at all times. Now she gets to be the center for an AKB48 single. Don’t dwell on what this means for the already-frayed reputation of AKB48 in 2022…just savor the moment.
My Fuji Rock coverage is out now…I detailed the artist experience at the festival via Night Tempo, and also offered up thoughts on Friday at Naeba along with the impact of streaming on fests in general, for The Japan Times.
This weekend…the first leg of ROCK IN JAPAN, now based in Chiba. I can’t make it out (saving my remaining fest energy for Summer Sonic), but sounds good so far, and after Indigo La End (filling in for Enon Kawatani’s other band, Gesu No Kiwami Otomoe) had to cancel, Polysics stepped up to perform which…I’m more of a Kawatani-music-defender than most, but is probably an improvement.
Maybe Kawatani was too busy planning Gesu No Kiwami Otomoe’s music NFTs, as this article reveals. I avoid the low-hanging fruit of slamming NFTs most times but gotta say, this conversation is pretty insipid, the equivalent of two dudes spinning around in office chairs forever.
A wild story involving a YouTuber, old photos and Minami Minegishi.
Hideo Kojima…going down the same path I did in 2011.
I rarely get angry about movies coming out later in Japan than in other markets, yet Bullet Train should absolutely be in theaters here right now, the Shinkansen is a star! Anyway, it appears to feature a bunch of Japanese artists on the soundtrack, including Avu-Chan!
Japanese music bars inspiring new venues in Austin, now that’s “cool, Japan!”
Bringing in anime and manga to discussions of the Bubble era, along with music…that’s a must read.
Just LiSA and May’n taking in some baseball.
Here’s one of the first pandemic-era stabs at a real special music event in Tokyo, presented by Coca-Cola. Featuring Charli XCX, Tohji, Jamie xx and…uh wait, Rhye, that can’t be right owing to the whole “being sued for sexual battery” thing. But…guess that is the case? OK well uhhh let’s see how that goes.
Great look back on Tomato n’ Pine, reminder that I should do that too…
Masa Citypop met Hiroshi Nagai…at an event where you can digitally immerse yourself in his world? Huh, maybe those metaverse guys were on to something…
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies