Make Believe Melodies For August 16, 2021
Available On All Platforms Edition!
Seiho — CAMP
Osaka electronic producer Seiho has long operated in two modes. He can turn inward and pull out the ecstatic, bewildering, calming or disturbingly relateable. He can also work with others, whether blending into the background to offer up pop-appropriate versions of his sonic interzone, or bringing voices into it. That last manifestation of Seiho’s sound is quite rare, only appearing when he produces for rappers (Kid Fresino is a go to) or the occasional instance he finds someone who can jive with his mind (Kid Fresino is a go to).
CAMP, available for the last three months as an Amazon Music exclusive as part of a project called “Producers” which you can see above but now freed to all streaming platforms, pushes Seiho into this rare space. That’s partially thanks to what sounds like stipulations offered by an e-commerce juggernaut, but this is a case where nudging someone out of their zone results in some great music.
It helps that Seiho isn’t forced to like, work with Wanima or something. He’s coupled with rappers — including old pal Kid Fresino, who continues to reinforce my personal opinion that the only time Kid Fresino sounds good rapping is when paired with a Seiho track on the sexy jog of “If You” — and the rock band he ends up with is cero, similarly minded left-field thinkers who blend in perfectly with the liquid funk of “Shanti.” The biggest surprise comes with “Stay,” which finds Seiho working with ‘90s J-pop vocal force ACO, and having to slow down to match her husky delivery results in one of the more intimate productions featuring singing Seiho has managed in his career (bird chirps…great touch!). Listen above.
RYUTist — “Mizugurasu”
I don’t come here today to make promises…but I have opened up the “Make Believe Melodies’ Favorite Japanese Albums 2020: 10 - 01” document, with the intention of finishing it before 2022 begins. Pinky promise. As a gift to make up for that whoopsie, let me drop some bread crumbs leading to what actually makes the top ten…RYUTist, they made the best idol album of last year, and continue to impress a year after. “Mizugurasu” has been out for a bit, but just got a new video, so perfect time to praise its blend of idol cheeriness and disintegrating glitch. It’s not going haywire, but doing enough interesting textural work without losing that pop edge to underline why this group is one of the best J-pop reps going. Listen above.
Nemuigirl — “Sommeil Paisible”
Another one out in the wilderness but now available all over, the newest single from bedroom pop project Nemuigirl adds cramped-space drama to their dance-pop sound, as they offer up their interpretation of a ballad done from home. Listen above.
Bicco Beat — “FUYO FUKYU”
One of the more dedicated projects existing on SoundCloud is Nagoya’s Bicco Beat, a funk keyboardist seeing how much “strange pop” they can squeeze out of their instrument. Whoever is behind this project stays busy, releasing a new tune usually within two weeks, and has been doing this for years. Latest offering “FUYO FUKYU” shows why it’s worth a follow. A sweet, bordering on melancholic melody gives way to playful funk grooves and other offbeat touches that let a slight unease sneak in. Listen above.
Mito Tsukino — “Hikaru Chizu”
Of course the song I like from a popular VTuber’s music debut is the one produced by Hakushi Hasegawa. Give me more pop teetering on jazzy collapse please! Listen above.
Loota — “Barefoot / Holy”
Rapper Loota is turning into vapor. A longtime KOHH collaborator who also appeared on “It G Ma,” he’s been slowly allowing his music to melt down over the years, though he always stayed tethered to the beat with help from friends. Maybe getting closer to Tohji has allowed him to enjoy a kind of hip-hop out of body experience. These two new songs are his most transcendental yet, Loota’s voice blurring into the scenery on “Barefoot” and drifting over the beatless wisp of the particularly pretty “Holy.” I’d love to know why he’s gravitated this way, but also just happy to let these ones fill the air. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of August 2, 2021 To August 8, 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 trip down…the Oricon Trail.
Sexy Zone — “Summer Hydrangea” (249, 277 Copies Sold)
All winning streaks have to end at some point, and Sexy Zone have met the ace pitcher or emerging pugilist or uhhhh slippery horse race track to end their run of surprisingly strong singles. No shame in it boys! Delivering a ho-hum ballad in the depths of summer after the high-energy stuff they were on in the months before feels like a welcome breather. Just don’t get complacent.
Far more interesting is seeing 40 percent of the singles top ten occupied by animated pop groups. These range from the latest incarnations of THE IDOLM@STER, a schoolgirl anime troupe, a cartoon boy group and maybe most intriguing of all, a virtual set of girl singers collaborating with THE virtual singer Hatsune Miku for a layers-to-this take on post-Vocaloid gloom, below. With “avatar pop” and “metaverses” (???) becoming more prominent in global pop, it’s important to look back at a country that was on this trend a little earlier than the rest.
News And Views
The biggest music scandal of the week saw leaked audio of Oomori Seiko verbally abusing (and potentially physically abusing, though no clear evidence of that has surfaced, pure speculation) ZOC member Kannagi Maro. That’s the idol group Seiko oversees, and is also a member of. The audio, obtained and shared online by a third party, can be found in the link, and it’s a pretty harsh listen, with Seiko unloading on Maro in a way completely unacceptable for anyone in a position of power. The story quickly went big on social media, with many focusing on Seiko’s display of power harassment, though it didn’t quite reach the mainstream level of attention other recent entertainment stories have.
Seiko and Maro — real name Kanon Fukuda — addressed the audio at a show in Sendai on Aug. 14 according to this live report (hat tip J-Pop Project News for sharing that). The gist of it — both apologized for causing trouble, though Seiko definitely seems to lean into being in the wrong more here. It seems…pretty emotional, with a lot of crying across the group and a lot of making amends. Also worth noting that, as this scandal was breaking big on social media, Seiko and Maro shared a music video of the two of them performing a song, speculated to be a way to reduce the attention the audio was drawing.In lighter news…Japan Times’ Tomohiro Osaki talks to the folks who translated YOASOBI’s “Yoru Ni Kakeru” into English, which is an interesting angle on the world of J-pop (especially as it tiptoes towards more global moves).
AKB48 is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.
GQ named Fuji Kaze one of their “voices of the future” in a new package, zeroing in on his genre malleability. I think that’s both a fair pick for a global audience imagined by Conde Nast, but also makes me think of all the artists bending sound around over the last decade who were ignored because the idea of “global pop” hadn’t hit some New York editors brain space yet. Justice for 2015 — 2019 J-pop!
The Japanese pianist who was a victim of a hate crime last year in New York returned to playing recently.
Asian Boss followed JO1 around.
The biggest Tokyo-area music story of the week was news that the dual venue Studio Coast / ageHa, one of the largest clubs in all of Asia, would close at the start of 2022. This announcement seemed to catch a lot of people off guard, partially because this space on the east side of the city seemed too big to fail — but I also think the psychological trick many (including…and maybe just…myself) have played on themselves of thinking the part of COVID-19 that shutters live houses and clubs was over. This spot ran a successful crowdfunding campaign after all. Reality, though, is Japan is actually going through its worst stretch of the pandemic, and now one of the landmark superclubs of the country will close up its doors.
Footage of tofubeats’ computer falling over during a set at ageHa, bringing everything to a pause.
Plenty of time to reflect on the space, which is one I always associate more with dumb nights out than great music…until I remember all the great shows I’ve seen at ageHa over the years. So tucking that away for sometime in the future.Salute to these idols delivering pep in the middle of a deluge.
【お知らせ】 本日開催の「#富士山フェス」ですが、山中湖村からの要請により、安全面を鑑みて 本日の開催は中止致します。 なお振替公演は、 【来年2022/5/7(土)&8(日)】に 決定致しました。 また来年のGW、山中湖で会いましょう。Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
