Make Believe Melodies For Jan. 17, 2020
You know, I really wanted 2020 to be far away before finishing the Favorites lists
Haru Nemuri — “bang”
Intensity defines Haru Nemuri. Her commitment to letting emotions flow forth through her music in all their rawness has made her one of Japan’s most breathtaking acts of recent years, highlighted by 2018’s Haru To Shura, which confronts the heaviness of living while celebrating the escape music itself provides from the tedium of living. New single “bang” continues to bear-hug the extreme, screaming at god (or choosing outright blasphemy) and decrying cynics wishing for an easy end to everything, delivered through singing and screaming. She even tiptoes into the political…though anything on that front is vague, especially when compared to her tweets calling former PM Shinzo Abe a “dotard.”
Just as important to Haru Nemuri’s status as an artist you really need to be paying attention to is her continued disregard for genre. This newest number uses rock as a foundation — guitars! — but her delivery remains somewhere between rap and poemcore, spiked by some metal inclinations. Putting together the 2020 albums list has underlined how this style-blending approach has become the norm, but Haru Nemuri was one of the notable internet natives to really showcase this shift, and “bang” continues to stress this. Now, though, it doesn’t sound like an exception, but part of the emerging norm. Listen above.
SKY-HI Featuring Kan Sano “Shiawase”
SKY-HI has exquisite taste, and has an ear for what’s connecting you wouldn’t expect from a guy stuck in an Avex pop factory — like, this is ahead of so much. He’s more on trend with “Shiawase,” which finds him squeezing some of the magic out of Kan Sano (though not too much — this track is still largely done by his go-to production team, just with a squirt of what has made Sano such a force in modern Japanese music) to create a feel-good pop-rap number that’s right between the mainstream and Tokyo’s cool corners. Bonus points for giving rapper Namichie — of Zoomgals, and of a solo album you will be seeing more about soon (wink wink, meta newsletter list hint) prominent screen time, though I think she probably could rap circles around SKY-HI.
Fellsius “Night”
Someone shared this tweet, about a government-sponsored party at Tokyo club Contact, and besides making me smile at how of course this would be the line-up for a Diet-backed party, it made me internally frown realizing I haven’t been to a live show in nearly a year and I’d be shocked if I see one anytime in the following 12 months either. Responsibility…it’s great, do the right thing everyone! But you also have all rights to sit at home and sigh at how much it sucks. Tracks like “Night” offer a welcome night-out adrenaline shot that at least let me imagine something I won’t experience for a long time, highlighted by a dizzying center that would sound even better in a big pit of people. Listen above, or get it here.
Ableton Sisters Sewing Machine EP
On a similar vibe — I miss being stuck in some dank club out in Shibuya for the night, just wandering from room to room, and running into a dance track that’s mindblowing whatever condition I’m in (most likely, not good). Trio Ableton Sisters — riffing off a hedgehog family in Animal Crossing — nail that thrill on the Sewing Machine EP, gliding from techno stab-a-thons to sample-heavy meditations. Highlight goes to Asami’s bubbly “Ginger Ale,” which packs a lot of lift into just over two minutes. Click the link above to get it!
Nogizaka46 “Wilderness World”
I’d love to write more about this one — and, specifically, the image of idols packing firepower — in more detail sometime in the near future (laughing at to-do list), but for now just want to point out what a great song this is, with or without J-pop performer bearing arms. It’s all about that understated chorus, backed by robo-talk that adds just the right amount of unease to everything.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of Jan. 4, 2020 To Jan. 10, 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 drip down…the Oricon Trail.
Poppin’Party — “Photograph” (10,432 Copies Sold)
Please, do not focus on the anemic sales numbers that remind you this reflects the doldrums of early January…instead, cherish this moment where three of the top ten Oricon singles of the week belong to virtual idols. Besides the peppy rock of Poppin’Party, you’ve got the first single from D4DJ anime outfit Peaky P-Key at third along with boys virtual idol group MooNs appearing at the nine spot. That none of them focus into the chart factoring in all corners of the music market — aka the internet — shouldn’t detract from the joy of seeing a bunch of cartoons find space on Oricon.
News And Views
I’ll just start out with this feature I wrote for The Japan Times about trends I expect to emerge in 2021 out of J-pop. Fun behind-the-scenes fact — these aren’t me just pulling from my own experiences, but also is shaped by some ~industry gossip~ I’ve heard in the air recently.
This week in Avex Alert — the company has signed a licensing agreement with Chinese video-sharing site bilibili (both feeling too-little-too-late…and coming off as a massive risk given everything involved with going into the Chinese market). Then…they announced sponsorship of a competitive dance team!
I guess CHAI aren’t in the bad graces of traditional Japanese entertainment, because they appear in a new ad with a former member of SMAP.
Weekly TV show Music Station is launching a new programming corner called “Spotlight,” which allows young acts to perform songs suggested by viewers. Here’s the first installment. I’ll defer to @ziwzih to sum it up.
threatened by the first takeMステ (Music Station) youtube channel will launch a new project called 「Spotlight」a project for J-pop's next gen artists. You can request your oshi to sing a song you want them to sing through the form (idk if it's limited to their own song or they can sing other artist's song) https://t.co/Za4Bcm9tft
アリカ @iamicchaannI will not try to fake knowledge of the Chinese entertainment industry and pretend I know anything about the group SIS before seeing on Twitter they…might use Hatsune Miku in an upcoming song? This is a bit of a banger, so I’m optimistic.
Let’s stay in Mainland China, because there’s a new Chinese singing survival show, and it is loaded with former Johnny’s Jr. performers and…three-fourths of J-pop boy band Intersection, with some silly cartoon bios on their official Instagram confirming it?
Live music venue Studio Coast is now…USEN Studio Coast. Hope the naming rights can keep the place open through the current COVID wave! (Seriously!)
As the final installment of the Evangelion movie keeps getting pushed back due to the pandemic, so to does the Hikaru Utada song that goes with it.
Ian Martin shared his top 30 Japanese albums of the year, and you better believe that you should spend some time listening to those (as should I, as Ian covers a lot of my personal blind spots…and consistently spotlights great works).
Enon Kawatani has formed a production team that includes…Parkgolf? Years of netlabel fascination have finally paid off for ol’ Kawatani!
Uhhhhhhh way too much text, uhhhh here is a guessing game!
Did you guess it right????????
Programming Note: I swear this week the next part of the 2020 list will come out! It’s open in another tab, and I’m constantly looking at it, in anguish!Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
