Make Believe Melodies For January 16, 2023
Truly Threw Me Off The Scent
CUBΣLIC — “Super Full Flat”
I’ve lived through many imitation Perfumes over the past decade-and-change, ranging from “underground idols” like Cupitron to the techno-pop unit they had on popular NHK children’s TV show Mitsuketa!, which was just three chairs singing about fruit. As far as attempts to recreate the electro-pop highs of Perfume in a new idol group…I think this trio might be the best doing it right now. At the very least, “Super Full Flat” channels the pop pleasure of Perfume fantastically, lightly digitized voices coming together over a wave of synths. I don’t even think it’s necessarily on purpose…they are “idols of future bass,” a kinda fake style that owes a lot to Yasutaka Nakata…but they stumble on it well…
…and then spin off into their own thing??? The excitement I had over hearing a we-have-electro-pop-at-home group actually nail it initially made me not pay attention to the great details sprinkled throughout. There’s the Jersey squeak right up front, piano and guitar notes, what sounds like Mario going down a Warp Pipe stumbling over itself and a bunch of other textural details that stick out. I fixated on the buzzy side of Perfume, but this is really a take on “Natural Ni Koishite,” where Nakata jammed a bunch of samples together between the synth flutters. Then they do…a kind of trap breakdown? And it turns into a delirious all-together-now passage…with like animal sounds? It’s the lyrics that give it away though — shouts out to “Chiptune,” “pop” and “original taste.” Oh…I thought I was listening to an adept Perfume copy band, but that’s just one part of their sonic DNA. This is a group doing something all their own…and that’s actually why it sticks. Listen above.
Amane Uyama — “Ghostyard”
Amane Uyama peels apart pop songs to reveal the grotesque lurking within. They’ve become a critically lauded artist in the past year for doing just this on their first full-length, though I personally think “Ghostyard” might be an even better introduction to Uyama’s strengths. The gentle melody at its core never collapses…comes close, but doesn’t…but rather Uyama knocks it off its axis via distorted bass blurts, sudden vocal mutations and general unexpected touches that turn it all unnerving. By the time it blows up…not collapsing…in the final stretch, it doesn’t feel like noise for noise sakes, but revealing the true nature of “Ghostyard.” Listen above.
Space Boy — “KINISHINAI”
Could be even more filled to the brims and I’d be pretty happy. One member of STARKIDS comes through with a busy blindside of a song, allowing himself the spotlight…as long as it can reach him over the rattles and chirps. Listen above.
Mondo Grosso Featuring Dongurizu — “RAVE (Hungry Driver)”
You think it’s the kids like Space Boy getting up to all the sonic hijinks, but here comes Shinichi Osawa to remind that even the post-50 set can get up to something disorienting. It helps when you link up with young goofballs like Dongurizu, who excel at getting silly and spend a huge chunk of this rave-up celebrating getting fucked up. Osawa’s music matches the party, hard-edged but swift, careening into new ideas whenever it feels like it. Listen above.
Le Makeup And JUMADIBA — “Alice”
Rub the morning dew out of your eyes and get to rapping over a beat bordering on the ghostly. Listen above.
Submerse — What You Wanna Do / Good Lookin Out
One of those “interesting” but ultimately all-too-common developments is the sinking suspicion of the crowd I used to be part of becoming…more mature, shall we say. It has become more apparent over the last years, seeing how much energy younger crowds coming out for newer names have compared to the artists and audiences out for creators that…were in that position a decade ago. It sounds pretty obvious typing it all out, but talking with other people recently reminded that one era is slowing down and changing…not a bad change, just a change.
I appreciate, then, the lighter touches and vocal echoes lurking throughout the two newest tracks from Submerse, a Tokyo-based artist who most certainly has existed on the same timeline I’m talking about. In these two jungle cuts, he uses spaces and lighter melodic touches set against the breaks to create something — to these ears — a touch more reflective, without losing the energy that powered his and many others work from the capital’s past decade. Get it here, or listen above.
emamouse — Kaminari Mapper
Speaking of speed…emamouse burning the rubber with 23 high-tempo songs clocking in at around 55 minutes. Familiar time and tempo has never been something I associate with emamouse, but hearing them push their dizzying bedroom sounds even faster reveals whole new layers to their world. Their voice goes beyond Chipmunk and practically burns up, while familiar sounds — a chirp, a bark, a bell — break apart to reveal…well, something not like what you thought they were. Imagine pop songs sped up for TikTok…now imagine those songs put into the Hadron Collider. This is what comes out the other side. Get it here, or listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of January 2, 2023 To January 8, 2023
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.
AXXX1S — “ResQ!!” (32,957 Copies Sold)
I’ll never stray from the Oricon Trail when it opens up rabbit holes like this.
AXXX1S — a male group whose latest single finds them partially dressing up as emergency rescue personnel, blurring very-J-pop-idol sounds with touches of K-pop’s visual flair (the little animations that pop up on the screen like augmented LINE stickers). I’ve missed their existence up until now, but they appear to be a merger of two discontinued groups with a concept built around (hat tip J-pop Wiki) “‘royal road + α,’ which is based on the genre of idol and incorporates the trend and individuality of each member.” That’s not a concept, that’s being alive! They have a variety show on one of Tokyo’s local channels.
Bless the tradition of super slow January release schedules for allowing AXXX1S to enter this newsletter’s orbit via physical-only sales, we need more novelty. That said, looking down one spot points to a development that’s important albeit predictable. This week’s singles silver medalist won the gold when you peek at the combined chart…a space AXXX1S finishes fourth…and again, not shocking, it’s gonna probably be their year.1
So is the song called “NewJean ‘OMG’” or what?
News And Views
Yukihiro Takahashi, a prolific artist who was also the drummer in vital Japanese groups Sadistic Mika Band and Yellow Magic Orchestra, died at age 70 sometime last week, according to an announcement made late Saturday night. “Music legend” is an understatement — he’s rightfully being celebrated for his role in YMO (dude wrote “Rydeen” and made it zoom!), seeing as how that trio achieved massive global success and exists in the DNA of…almost every major electronic genre since. Yet Sadistic Mika Band was among the first Japanese bands to ever get any attention from the Western world in 1975, and Takahashi’s solo output…man, where do you even start. Grateful I had the chance to briefly chat to him once, and I’m sure you’ll see even more thoughtful memorials in the days ahead.
Back to the industry slog…Johnny & Associates going after Shukan Bunshun for a post on King & Prince, with hopes they take it down. Standard operating procedure for one of the most litigious talent agencies in the country.
Ado’s Kohaku performance potentially pre-recorded, according to one outlet. Which…I think is kind of common? At least for the big special guests (Mariya Takeuchi, Fujii Kaze, Kenshi Yonezu). The contention is since Ado (errrr, Uta) was on the main roster, she should be singing in person. But also…it was literally a cartoon performing? Views, never take Kohaku too seriously netizens.
On the topic of that NHK bonanza…thanks to Dan Orlowitz for sharing this graphic, which shows that Kohaku has a big ol’ generation gap in what artists people check out. The acts most viewed on YouTube to the left, those on traditional TV on the right.
Fuji Rock Festival…happening.
GYAO!…disappearing.
Gwen Stefani…Japanese (in her mind, at least) (and not to dwell too much on this extremely dumb celebrity moment, but she’s been saying this since the late ‘90s…which makes it extra mind boggling).
I wrote about Kyoto’s NC4K — a constant around these parts — for Bandcamp Daily. Love Kyoto’s electronic music community right now, and everything they are building out there. Not the last story by me about it either!
Scan a QR code on a stamp, access a song on streaming, thank you Japan Post.
All things old become new again…Sony is bringing the Walkman back. Sorta.
フラッグシップの高音質技術を継承し、バッテリー性能も向上したストリーミング対応ウォークマンハイエンドモデルNW-ZX707とコンパクトモデルNW-A300シリーズを発売します。 ウォークマン 『NW-ZX707』 bit.ly/3C3bcER ウォークマン NW-A300シリーズ bit.ly/3WDn602
It’s closer to an audio-only smartphone than anything you would have plucked off the shelves of Yodobashi Camera in the ‘80s, but still an interesting high-end gamble. It does not take long looking at the Sony site for the revamped product to realize this is geared towards audiophiles with money to burn (the lower-end model is about $500 USD, while the deluxe goes for over a $1000!).
As I often am, I’m repulsed by the “ummmm does it fax too ;D” crowd, largely because this isn’t an example of Japan being bogged in the past…this primarily plays subscription streaming services, which actually reminds of just how huge a shift the industry has undergone in just a few years. This is…a way to listen to music in advertised good quality, something that isn’t possible even on the newest iPhone model (source: me everyday). Now, is it worth the extra investment? Not sure2, but an intriguing proposition at the very least.Is…is that really the artist with the strongest SEO to go with, Nikkei Asia?
Orono Noguchi of Superorganism has a very conflicted relationship with Japan, which Shaun Curran explored with her ahead of the band’s Japan tour for The Japan Times.
Rolling Stone Japan looking at major global music trends of 2022…and (correctly!?) pointing out that Enon Kawatani was the only guy in the pop sphere doing the sped-up song thing.
When I traveled to America recently, it dawned on me one of the definite “ins” you will see this year…quirky airline safety videos. Remember those? That shit was click gold back in the day, people tripping over themselves to see K-pop stars sing and dance while gently reminding you about how to inflate a vest? That’s coming back, calling it. What I didn’t also see returning…goofy promotional videos geared at getting tourists out to far-flung places. Kagoshima, hit it!
Honestly, looks fun!
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Follow the Best of 2023 Spotify Playlist Here!
Also, another reminder…the era of “Japanese debuts” are really a relic, K-pop fans in Japan are up on every development, they don’t need a Japanese language version of “Ditto.” Morning shows are already covering them!
Though! The fact you can use wired headphones…god, one of the few areas where I approach going full “we have to go back” mode.