Make Believe Melodies For December 13, 2021
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CVLTE — Hedonist
Sleet Mage…so, so ahead of the curve. The Hokkaido SoundCloud rapper wasn’t simply an early presence in this digital-leaning community nor were they just a constant at influential Tokyo rap party Tokio Shaman. Their approach to music — best captured on 2017’s Astral Body Boi — balanced the hype energy required to turn, say, Shibuya’s WWW venue into a space for cathartic release with introspection bordering on self-loathing, shaped both by the outside world and their own choices (they could make “skrrt skrrt” sound like Emily Dickinson). Everything bubbling up in the Japanese underground today — and a fair amount of music creeping into the mainstream — sounds indebted to Sleet Mage.
So credit to CVLTE — already responsible for one of the year’s best — for making the sonic connection clear on the opening song of Hedonist, their new EP. Sleet Mage — who is now kind of reclusive, at least in the world of constantly pouring-forward music releases — appears amidst the skittering, manipulated vocals and headbanger chug of “Amen,” fitting in perfectly alongside what feels like a very 2021 project. Outside of that song, Hedonist offers snapshots of this youth movement (the previously released 4s4ki collaboration “kuromi”) and the band’s biggest swing to date at something resembling a pop tune in the title track. It’s their ability to highlight how they got here…and who paved the way…that makes it extra special. Listen above.
Various Artists — DEATHTOPIA
Speaking of overviews of this “HyperPop” boom in Japan…here’s a compilation zooming in on the women thriving in the space. DEATHTOPIA shows how the intersection of rap and electronic music…with a sprinkling of rock…has empowered a lot of female creators, represented here by speed-trio Dr. Anon, skittering creator Yoyou and rapper Nakamura Minami who delivers a career-best number in the glistening “Roulette,” opting for melodic zooming over harder posturing. Listen above.
dj newtown — 2005
Though hey, if we’re going to talk so much about what’s happening in the genre-blurring now taking place online, it’s only right to devote some space to…the genre-blurring taking place online about a decade ago. Seminal netlabel cut “2005” by dj newtown got the Bandcamp reissue treatment, complete with all the remixes appearing alongside it. Like a lot of Maltine Records’ classics, “2005” wows with small details, dj newtown transforming a mellow tune into shifty 2-step complete with electro-manipulated vocals that give every second of this a sense of playfulness. You can hear a lot of what’s happening now in it, making this perfectly timed while still sounding as fun as ever. Listen above, or get it here.
Fellsius — “Mist”
Just a touch more laid back than Fellsius’ other 2021 output, but still with plenty of spring to get bodies moving. Listen above, or get it here.
South Penguin — “Thinker”
Have always been a bit hot and cold on South Penguin — at their best, they offer a welcome silliness to the often zoned-out world of Setagaya-ish indie-pop, at their worst they kind of just glaze over. This one falls somewhere in the middle, but drooping towards the good side. Mac DeMarco appears to still be a massive influence on the current generation of indie rockers, but South Penguin add a twist to it with the mid-song instrumental passages, topped off by a lovely rush of percussion. Just zonked out enough for its own good. Listen above.
De De Mouse And punipunidenki — “Midnight Dew”
Familiar sonic territory for punipunidenki, but something rare for De De Mouse, who often opts for the kinetic over the chilled. He handles it well, mostly by understanding when you have punipunidenki onboard, you just have to let their voice linger in the spotlight as long as possible (though extra points for the string swoops). Listen above.
Taku Inoue And Mori Calliope — “Yona Yona Journey”
Wherein promising producer teams up with a sassy Virtual YouTuber for a song…that sounds nothing like the stuff coming out of the VTube music world and doesn’t really capitalize on the visual side of said character? Bold, and ultimately a good choice as it avoids the pitfalls of so much other music associated with Hololive VTubers. It’s also just personally more my speed, largely ditching the harder rock and rap elements the Mori Calliope character has long dabbled in for something that just glides ahead, and features one of the gnarliest sax solos of the year. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of November 29, 2021 To December 5, 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.
Snow Man — “Secret Touch” (734,494 Copies Sold)
Pretty much everything about this is expected — both in hearing a standard ballad arrive just in time for the holidays, and seeing that Snow Man is just a Johnny’s force with potential to be the biggest of their new groups if they play it right. Yet none of that’s interesting, per se.
Now, the “combined” charts this week…way more interesting, and probably not in a way helping out Oricon’s bid for relevancy. The single side matches the physical-only chart for the first three spots, which can be excused given Snow Man’s YouTube presence (despite not being on subscription streaming). Yet it’s the album chart that reminds, hey, Oricon still puts an emphasis on physical over digital.
You show me this on the physical-only ranking, and I wouldn’t be shocked (though YOASOBI, a digital-first group, selling over 80,000 physical copies is strong for them, while HKT48 doing just over 94,000 is a reminder that their glory days are behind them). Yet seeing this on combined is a bit shocking! In that vague “you can feel it in the air” sense, YOASOBI is clearly more prominent than HKT48…and also so on the much more concrete strength of YouTube plays and subscription streams. Yet HKT just gets ahead thanks to physical, which still counts for a lot on Oricon.
News And Views
Sticking with charts for a second, Billboard Japan shared their year-end ranking, and it feels far more “this seems right.” BTS, BTS and Yuuri’s “Dry Flower” top their respective major lists.
What’s the one thing less essential than a music chart in the fragmented 21st century? An awards show, of course. MNET’s Asian Music Awards at least have the decency to not pretend they carry any ~artistic~ importance (Grammy Season is coming, prep your muted words!), so we can appreciate Japanese acts JO1 and INI winning at the show for what it is — MNET giving a big thumbs up to projects born out of the Produce 101 universe while the channel itself prepares to enter the fellas dimension.
Return to normalcy? Not sure if South By Southwest is the best way to measure everyone learning to live with COVID-19, but it’s going on. And the latest Japanese artist invited to play…4s4ki! The artist behind Make Believe Melodies’ favorite releases of 2020 (and, spoiler, a top-ten presence this year too) seems to be at least considering more international play, which is great, seeing as she’s the best doing it right now.
Mulboyne always coming through with the history.
Recently learned Herman's Hermits toured Japan in 1966 on account of Catholicism. Here's the band in Japan with Father James Hyatt, who arranged the visit.
Advert for the 1966 Japan tour by Herman's Hermits. Probably the first use in Japan of the term "Manchester Sound", years before Factory Records, The Smiths and Oasis. https://t.co/BjGQNSauCz
Mulboyne @MulboyneHello! Project introducing a new group for the first time since 2018…with a heck of a name.
Real Sound has an interesting feature where they interview artists who have “broken through” thanks to TikTok, with the most recent installment featuring the singer asmi, who starred in a viral hit made by producer MAISONdes. The piece is an interesting look at the surprise shift a TikTok hit can have…and reminds that, for all of this newfound digital success, her ultimate goal is to offer up a theme song to a drama program.
Top 100 Idol Songs Of 2021 from This Side Of Japan, out now!
Hojo with a review / look-back on Cyber Trance Presents Ayu Trance 2 over at Asian Junkie.
Yukihiro Takahashi reissues reviewed on Pitchfork…uploaded just as I’m working on this newsletter! Thanks timing.
Usually want to end on something funny…or at least visual, you know, make you go down to the bottom for a little kicker…but kind of dry this week. Uhhh, have swag panda.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies