Make Believe Melodies For February 12, 2024
Bloggers Lost In Caffeine
Takuma Matsunaga — Epoch
There’s something very inward looking about Takuma Matsunaga. The artist makes music that feels like it is constantly gazing into himself, and at times plays out in slow motion. Starting out in 2021 with the SAGAMI EP, he’s been building his own world at his own pace. The big clue, though, came when he threw a release party for his first album, released last year and feeling more like a sketchbook of what was to come, featuring rave revivalists Minna No Kimochi. That, coupled with new album Epoch, makes everything click into place — this is an artist documenting the feeling of the new underground in Tokyo, but from a vantage point allowing for more reflection.
Epoch is Matsunaga’s artistic breakthrough, channeling the everyday observations of a Le Makeup but letting them play out against slower-paced synth melodies. Everything hangs in the air, starting from opener “July” which finds Matsunaga singing at the same pace throughout but the electronics around him warping throughout. “Oh No” takes even more time, while “Mori” embraces meditative qualities as it slowly skitters forward towards revelation (multiple Matsunaga voices brushing up against one another, real vision-quest stuff). Epoch is an out-of-body experience, capturing the feeling one would find as a new cohort of Tokyoites discover rave, but looking at it from the perspective of someone lost in the moment.
The giveaway — and moment of catharsis — comes on “Boys Lost in Acid.” Here Matsunaga gets out of his head and gives himself over to the moment, letting the piano and beat carry him wherever it might go, the world around him dissolving. All of the reflection to this point gives way to escape, and gives Epoch a feeling of something bigger. Listen above.
IA Featuring lilbesh ramko — “Zankyo Distance”
The entirety of this new album from virtual artist IA is worth your time — Nanba Shiho pops up, bringing me right back to 2011 — but this is the obvious highlight. IA links up with producer hirihiri to give some punk-pop-flavored digital chaos a go, complete with an appearance from underground disruptor lilbesh ramko. Given how essential virtual idols such as Hatsune Miku have been to the roots of “hyperpop,” it’s fitting to see one embrace it with polygon arms wide open. Listen above.
kamome sano — “Kienai (Masterpiece)”
A college-course experiment in virtual singers, this one finds indie electro-pop maestro kamome sano recruit Makana Yagime to serve as the voice for an imagined virtual artist. Heady stuff — very grad school — but the pair’s ability to match bouncy, bright melodies with lyrics about a virtual singer vanishing into the digital ether — which, to be fair, feels quite pressing given how VTubers can just disappear at the whim of a company — works wonders, and makes this accessible. Get it here, or listen above.
sober bear — gem EP
Speaking of taking me back — Osaka’s sober bear recalls the glory days of early 2010s SoundCloud texture experimentation with the rollicking gem EP. Bringing to mind the wonkier sonic moments of Taquwami and mind-warping party starters I associate with INNIT (“sylt”), it’s a very welcome reminder that this approach to dance music hasn’t gone anywhere, and can sound as urgent as ever today. Listen above.
Skip Club Orchestra — Minimal Primitive 07
Japanese footwork staple Skip Club Orchestra has recently been focused on stripping out elements without losing the essence of the Chicago-born style. Consider 07 a point to jump in to this series, and see how creators long exploring the genre continue to play with it. Get it here, or listen above.
T.M.P — “Pure Na Mama”
I recently saw T.M.P live and…honestly, incredible, the sort of show that makes you want to throw all responsibility to the side so you can hope to capture that same energy one more time. I’m not sure anything recorded can quite capture the life-affirming qualities of the duo live, but their newest single is pretty darn good, and makes me want to run out the door to find somewhere to mosh. Listen above.
m.o.e.v — “Gravity” (Pa’s Lam System Remix)
Some weeks, I watch like two anime episodes and I’m like “tee hee, I’m turning in to a weeb!” Then I find an album like this and am like “what is Lucky Star again?” There’s a reason I don’t write too much about anime.
As far as I can pick up, “Gravity” is a parody of sorts of Eurobeat in its original form, riffing on Initial D. Delightful! Pa’s Lam System’s remix requires no winks, though, because the electronic outfit simply zoom in to the dance floor ecstasy lurking within, and letting it all spill out, complete with goofy-ass dude sing-speaking. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of January 29, 2024 To February 04, 2024
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.
DXTEEN — “Snowin’” (35,111 Copies Sold)
If you ever wanted a clear snapshot of why Oricon has lost its luster, well this is the week for you.
The biggest song of the young year is Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born.” It’s a meme, it’s being covered a bunch, and now it is commanding the Billboard Japan Hot 100. This one’s defining winter for J-pop, while also making strides abroad. Who knows what will happen in the months ahead, but here’s the first undeniable hit…which actually is registered in Oricon’s combined chart this week, which takes into account the internet.
Yet the physical only side — which, reminder, still means a lot to some dedicated corners of J-pop — has it totally absent, as “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” only exists as a digital offering. Instead, this chart gets topped by…DXTEEN, a gaggle of adolescents emerging in the lineage of JO1 and INI. This song is powered by fandom…and really, not even that much when you look at the copies-sold data! Yet “Snowin’” will be celebrated as “important” despite not really meaning much to the state of modern J-pop.
Swerve time! It actually should though because “Snowin’” is great! This is slippery dance-pop with slightly mutated vocal effects I’m always here for, nodding to 2010s SoundCloud weirdness while maintaining a pop center. Someone get this in an anime! Listen above.
News And Views
Last Friday night, boundary-breaking Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa died at the age of 88. He was the first Japanese conductor to make headway into the Western world, most notably as the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He was an enormous musical presence in the world of Japanese music.
A day later, former singer for German band Can Damo Suzuki died at the age of 74. A vocal wildcard and true creative spirit, Suzuki stayed active in all kinds of experimental circles long after his run with Can (I had the chance to see him perform live once with a variety of artists in Osaka in 2011…one of those shows that sticks in your head even a decade onward).
Taylor Swift played four sold-out shows at Tokyo Dome last week…maybe you were aware of that? I talked to fans outside of the venue, and also attended night one. Overall, the string of concerts went off well, though there were a few hitches. She nearly fell off the Folklore cabin, and also nearly botched a chair spot (this one I saw). There was also a whole kerfluffle about some VIP ticket holders feeling ripped off because non-VIP Swifties blocked their view, which does indeed suck. The New York Times used this as a hook for what is ultimately a pretty general and solid piece on the Swift concerts — rough headline, and trying to tie it to "Japan’s mixed reception to the international tourists” is a stretch but hey ya gotta take swings sometimes, heaven knows I’ve done it. Anyway, I’d say 99 percent of the crowd was both enthusiastic and rule abiding, so feels more like a few folks getting some bad luck.
Let summer festival season begin! Fuji Rock announced its first wave of performers, with German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk being a headliner. So far, all international acts, and it looks like booking company Smash is going to roll out the headliners rather than drop them all at once. But gotta say…Kraftwerk alone might get me out there, great grab.
Going to be a lot of focus on Miki Nakatani in the months ahead, so glad to see NTS out in front.
Ado1 kicked off her world tour with performances in Bangkok and Taipei.
Suiyoubi No Campanella to perform at FC Tokyo’s first home game. May they channel the energy of KOM_I at a horse track.
Yuki Chiba retired the KOHH moniker a little bit back, and stepped away from rapping to focus on…essay writing for a literary magazine. Hey man, I wouldn’t recommend pivoting to the writer life, but you do you! He stays connected to music — he helped put together Yan Seku’s recent album, an early AOTY contender for me — and just popped up with a new song under his birth name, below! Can’t resist the itch.
As mentioned back on the Oricon Trail…Creepy Nuts are killing it right now. The popularity of “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” means Jersey Club is in the air…and that Japanese YouTubers who do covers of songs only using their voice have to recreate the squeak sample vocally.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Follow the Best Of 2024 Spotify Playlist here!
Full disclosure: Have been hired by Universal Music Japan to write her English bio…which was updated this past week, so I can bust out these “disclosure” notes again.