Make Believe Melodies For July 10, 2023

An Absolute Mess Of A News Week

4s4ki — CODE GE4SS

The best way to score a hit as a Japanese artist in 2023 is to be connected to an anime series. It’s a market reality that’s hard to grapple with — these circumstances are helping performers who would otherwise never have a shot at recognition at home or abroad gain attention, but also arguably not fostering a long-running career. Save for the YOASOBIs of the world, there’s a good chance you end up being “that band that did the anime ending song” instead of a established performer on your own.

This is why, I admit, kind of bristled at the idea of a 4s4ki album inspired by alternate-timeline anime Code Geass. I thought she had already established herself as one of…if not the…most thrilling creators in the country. Why spend an album linked to an anime series?

Here’s the thing though — most anime tie-ups are ultimately the result of business demands and commercial ambitions. CODE GE4SS sounds achingly personal, allowing 4s4ki to explore new ideas and produce a compelling work on its own terms.

I of all people should have understood this — when I talked to 4s4ki for Pitchfork, she was wearing a patchwork Code Geass shirt, and I really don’t think she was playing some 4-D promo chess. She’s an artist who appreciates the escapism that the internet, games and anime can provide, so her creating 30 minutes of new music inspired by this story wherein she distorts samples of dialogue from the show and even messes around with songs from the series, weaving and reworking the material of the show into her own stitched-together sound hitting on everything from nu-metal lurch, 8-bit-frayed balladry and EDM theatrics.

Part of it seems to be freeing to 4s4ki — working under the constructs of an anime-inspired album, she’s open to expanding her sound in a way I’m not sure she would be able to do via her solo albums right now. See the lighter touches and birds chirping of “Irei Bun,” and the operatic glitching of “Euphemia li Britannia.” Still, she’s doing well with her web-shaken approach to sound, just see the rattling “Flying Lotus,” especially the vocal samples deeper in the mix, or the speedy Kotonohouse collabs “rolo.” What’s clear, though, is this is 4s4ki operating with full confidence, using a piece of animated art close to her to channel something new of her own, and find new angles on what she does. Listen above.

Le Makeup — “Taxi”

A more frantic side of Le Makeup, featuring guitar darts guiding everything forward and pitched-up vocals crashing in to the song to keep everything agile. It’s disorienting, but Le Makeup anchors the dizziness to reality with an interlude featuring samples of him and others chatting while waves crash into the shore, helping the song itself calm down for its calmer closing segment. Listen above.

Mall Boyz — “My Life”

No such thing as cheesy when you are this committed. Listen above.

chelmico — “JUNEJULY♡2023”

One of the best chelmico was among their earliest — “JUNEJULY,” released in 2016, nailed a nerby netlabel-born electronic sound, all with the duo hop-scotching over the chaos overhead. They’ve revisited it as part of their ten-years-together anniversary, with a new version that swaps out the bright-synths for something more wobbly and fizzy, albeit with the energy intact. The biggest shift? How much more laid-back the members of chelmico have become, flowing along with the music and delivering their lines with a more laid-back energy than the frantic something-to-prove approach from the mid 2010s. It’s fitting for an outfit that has made it to the decade mark. Listen above.

Azuma Lim — “Motorcycle Girl”

At long last…the tweest corner of Shibuya-kei arrives in the realm of VTubers. How blessed we are.

Virtual YouTuber Azuma Lim loves motorcycles, so a song called “Motorcycle Girl” makes perfect sense for her entire vibe. Recruiting the blue boy himself Hideki Kaji to write the song…now that’s inspired! “Motorcycle Girl” is literally a Hideki Kaji song, joining the likes of “Tropical Girl” and “Caterpillar Girl” in his “girl” song book. The only difference? A young woman takes the lead, adding a new voice to the indie-pop sounds of the 1990s. Listen above.

Oricon Trail For The Week Of June 26, 2023 To July 2, 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.

Sakurazaka46 — “Start over!” (439,419 Copies Sold)

“So late in the night, at a convenience store / microwaving a bento / what miracle are you waiting for?” Jesus, go straight for modern life’s throat why don’t you, Sakurazaka46.

J-pop’s gloomy period of 2020 has largely passed, replaced by honest-to-goodness hope or knottier reflections on fame and identity that aren’t as outright downtrodden as what came before. Yet that mood can’t be totally shaken…welcome to the 21st century!…and Sakurazaka46 gleefully take up the role of societal shit-stirrers with “Start over!” You can read it as a general celebration of escaping the doldrums of modern society and the lukewarm meals accompanying it, or dare interpret it as a commentary on idol-dom if you focus too much on the “I want the freedom of obscurity” line, as I choose to do.

Either way, it’s deliberately prickly towards Japanese life circa 2023, boasting a sound not far removed from the similarly sneering pop of Sekai No Owari’s “Habit.” Yet whereas that 2022 hit felt like a group late to the pity party, Sakurazaka46 have technically been out in front of all this — back when they were Keyakizaka46 and using idol energy to glower at modern life and search for something better — and because they add welcome theatrical lift late providing catharsis.

News And Views

• Nikkan Gendai published an interview with 78-year-old actor and musician Kichiji Hattori this week wherein he alleged Johnny Kitagawa assaulted him when Hattori was eight years old. Hattori was the son of a famous Japanese composer, and his family had a close connection with Kitagawa in the 1950s, who at the time hadn’t founded the talent agency bearing his name yet. This account offers one of the earliest allegations of sexual assault against minors against Kitagawa, and another in a list of continuing-to-grow allegations against the deceased Kitagawa (not being flippant by saying this, but I can’t keep up with them), as more victims feel empowered to come out and speak about their experiences.
  

• As mentioned in last week’s newsletter news section, prolific music producer Kiyoshi Matsuo tweeted out that his Management Company Smile Company let him out of his contract unexpectedly, allegedly because he talked about the claims of sexual abuse surrounding Johnny Kitagawa to the media. Part of the hook of this story was the implication that artist Tatsuro Yamashita, prominent Smile member, agreed with the decision to let Matsuo go early. Matsuo expanded on the situation and offered context for Gendai this past week, going over his history with the company and the tight connection he had with Yamashita and his wife Mariya Takeuchi. He also elaborated on the early termination of his contract, noting that he hadn’t talked to Yamashita about it (and appears to have not talked with him since) and reminding that Yamashita plus Smile have had a long history of business with Johnny’s, including Yamashita’s latest single serving as the soundtrack to a beverage commercial starring a Johnny’s talent.
  

• Yamashita addressed all of this on the July 9 edition of his weekly Sunday Song Book radio show on Tokyo FM. Note: I haven’t listened to the audio yet, but am basing the rest off of reports and transcripts, so putting faith in Japanese media that this is accurate. Yamashita said up until the reports this year that allegations against Kitagawa were just “rumors” that he didn’t hear much about over the years. He stressed that if the allegations are true, it’s obviously unforgivable and he hopes a third-party investigates everything that is coming out. Yamashita says his focus has always been as an artist and composer, so he’s never known about any of these murmurings. Then, he talked about his history with Kitagawa, and how the chance to work with his talents via Johnny’s since the late ‘70s allowed him the chance to work with a wide variety of talented individuals such as KinKi Kids and Arashi. He respects Kitagawa’s entertainment industry achievements and what he did for post-war Japanese music, while also going into a bit that I’d paraphrase as “separating the art from the artist,” or in this case “the art from the talent agency.” Regarding Matsuo, Yamashita appeared to deny he had anything to do with it, instead it being a company issue, though all of this sounds kind of vague (probably because there’s still a lot of contractual issues to figure out).
  
  Matsuo responded on Twitter later that day with disappointment, noting it wasn’t a very mellow Sunday.
  

• Views: There’s about a dozen threads to explore with the above — the classic “art vs. artist” debate, re-examining the pre-Reiwa Japanese music industry, the fact it appears Smile and Yamashita don’t have a good PR team to prep them for responding to this though I’d argue this is one of the most honest responses to this whole scandal to date, for better and for worse — but what jumps out to me is…this is the first true entertainment industry specific (ie not related to crime or human rights) fallout from the renewed focus on Kitagawa’s alleged sexual assault. I think it’s fitting that this came from two artists not directly associated with Johnny’s but in their orbit — despite some vague rumblings from TV stations about “reconsidering” the use of Johnny’s talent, the actual members and groups with them right now have yet to truly be impacted and frankly are flourishing so far in 2023, at least in terms of sales and commercial visibility. Nobody is ready for that talk yet, and might never be.
  
  Instead, it’s much easier to focus on a scandal within the scandal a little further out from the center, sparked by an, in my opinion, unfair move by Smile to let a composer go for comments made to the media. It has everything people want to talk about in regards to the industry, running from the media / industry’s hesitance to bring Kitagawa’s alleged crimes up over the years, the tension between entertainment and “real life” for lack of a better term, changes in how people at large approach all these matters in Japan¹, and more. It won’t be the last case of this though…because Johnny’s is still a functioning talent agency producing popular pop and managing performers who are still in huge demand. That relationship is only going to cause choppier waves in the months ahead.
  

• OK, geez, let’s take a breather, because we aren’t done with Johnny’s stuff. Really like the memes on YouTube using the Oshi No Ko — a show doing a fantastic job of poking at the entertainment industry, by the way! — ending theme for sudden turns of fate.
  

• One of the underlining topics — and in some cases, desires — of the Kitagawa reckoning in 2023 is if this signals a potential moment of downfall for Johnny’s. Based on how the year has played out in terms of sales and attention…absolutely not, because the group’s under their management remain huge sellers capable of selling out domes and getting eyes on TV. Something something “separating the talent from the talent agency.” I think a lot will change…would be WILD if they keep calling themselves “Johnny’s” after all of this…but anyone dreaming of the government demanding the agency be dissolved should probably be a little more realistic.
  
  But…I do think this confrontation with Johnny’s demons has the potential for new agencies to take a bite out of their market dominance, and at least offer alternatives. Enter former Johnny’s talent / executive Hideaki Takizawa’s TOBE, which earned huge attention by announcing former King & Prince members Sho Hirano and Yuta Jinguji joining the agency this week. What they’ll actually do remains to be seen, but the fact recognizable names have joined an alternative is still noteworthy. Coupled with the continued existence of LDH, new players like BMSG, hybrids like LAPONE and further Korean ventures into the boy band market from HYBE and beyond, there’s actual room to actually add some agency diversity into the J-pop landscape, which would have been welcome even without any of the circumstances surrounding this corner of the industry.
  

• For a brief second last week, I thought the news that Crunchyroll uploaded a variety of video materials from visual-kei band The GazettE’s catalog (outside of Asia) would be the top story in this section. Oh how naive I was! Still, this is the latest example of how the anime streamer is trying to venture into Japanese music too, and this shift is going to have a lot of implications on the industry moving forward (for example…good intel I’ve gotten from my sources inside the industry have hinted at worries about what happens if the Sony-owned Crunchyroll decides to go all in on Sony-owned acts. Wait and see!).
  

• Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall in Tokyo will be knocked down, but will get up again…later this decade.
  

• Mayumi Natsu, prolific choreographer who worked with Morning Musume, AKB48 and many more, has died at age 61.
  

• Early P-Model albums now on subscription streaming.
  

• One of the most important Japanese songs of the 2010s ended up on THE FIRST TAKE this week…with fun ad libs!
  

• Great article in Billboard looking at how Japanese pop culture has influenced Spanish-language music. Go listen to that Tainy album!
  

• How do you write a song for a Johnny’s group and guarantee you won’t go through the social media / tabloid ringer? Why, be Sheena Ringo, who has already been the subject of like half a dozen controversies in the last decade. She will write, compose and produce a new song for Sexy Zone later this year.
  

• This Side Of Japan with the top 50 idol songs of the year so far.
  

• Loved this interview with CHO CO PA CO CHO CO QUIN QUIN, a trio responsible for one of my favorite songs of the year (or at least favorite songs of the year actually released in 2022, below). Interesting seeing how young creators approach music, how a shared love of Latin music shapes what they do and how social media influences what they do.
  

  Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
  Twitter — @mbmelodies

  Follow the Best of 2023 Spotify Playlist Here!

1. See precursor scandal via Cornelius, an incident which sparked a re-evaluation of ‘90s “bad taste” culture. Though, I do think it’s kinda important to note…this element is still very much a Twitter-centric discussion, which is still important but for the most part people and publications are mostly focused on the scandal of it all.