Make Believe Melodies For July 14, 2025
We Love Our Comps
Various Artists — Watashi Ha Koko Ni Iru
Compilations played a central role in the early to mid 2010s in introducing the diverse range of artists operating out of Japan. Whether zeroing in on genre-flipping dance as FOGPAK did or highlighting the eclectic state of indie-rock as done on Ç86, these collections were essential to giving burgeoning artists attention. I speak from experience — those albums helped me dig deeper into Japanese music, and I still get thrilled when a KAOMOZI or Siren For Charlotte come through with a world-expanding comp.
Watashi Ha Koko Ni Iru joins this lineage by shining a light on an eclectic set of sounds reflecting (primarily) modern Japanese underground music. Compiled by Sapporo-based DJ/organizer mostin, it’s a set leaning electronic but not entirely so, and quite chameleonic in how it has been curated. There’s nods to — and really, presences from — the past, but this is mostly a chance to capture the now.
The unifying theme of Watashi is the singer-songwriter in the modern age, whether they perform gauzy acoustic folk (Croatian artist isa alina, one of the few non-Japanese contributors here), crumbling collage (tensei ohsumi) or enveloping electronic bliss (dreamweaver). There’s multiple off-kilter rap numbers, fuzzy lo-fi loops and hyperpop-adjacent creator yuzuha coming through with…a surprisingly delicate number that would probably sound best while sitting out in a meadow? It’s a collection shaped by the internet but not reverent to it, and includes the first new song from Elen Never Sleeps in quite some time anchored by the line “the internet ruins your life.”
As a project meant to celebrate a wide variety of artists who otherwise might go overlooked, Watashi is one of the decade’s best compilations, revealing new corners and making fresh connections between them. Midway through the 2020s, it offers a look at where Japanese creators are at, and the many new perspectives being built. Get it here, or listen above.
xeno(n) — Claudia
Electronic artist xeno(x) creates a radiant sort of intimacy across new EP Claudia, but one that doesn’t hide in the corner. The sonic touches making up the sound of the five songs here blur together to make something dreamy — guitar plucks being swept up by xeno(n)’s coos while digi details streak overhead on the opener, or synth stardust and samples of nature falling over the gentle melody of “hokolvy.” Plenty of xeno(x)’s compatriots use a similar approach to layering to create a soundscape they can dissolve into, but the strength of Claudia comes from the clearness of the artist’s own voice coming through, especially on the near-ballads “even._small._things” and “off_to_me.” It draws you in…but never finds xeno(x) retreating. Listen above.
Smany — Yoru Ni Shizumu
A delicate set of demos offering a preview of Smany’s next album. Three of the four tracks here build around piano playing and the artist’s fuzz-dappled voice, though closer “Over” adds some extra drama via strings courtesy of world’s end girlfriend. It’s a great tease of what’s to come, though perhaps more importantly for now, it’s also a way for Smany to raise money as she takes medical leave and faces several hardships, as described on the Bandcamp page. Read that and get the album here.
4s4ki — “Performer”
4s4ki adds a gothic flair to her digi-damaged sound on “Performer,” which doubles as her first anime tie-up number ever for something that appears to be very much in her spirit based on the series’ site. That development aside, this number offers one of the more frantic backdrops for her to zip around in recent memory, with big drum beats giving her room to spit fast (and add some “woo woo” adlibs) before the hook speeds up. The best touch, though, is that piano line sashaying about the song, adding a Transylvania touch to the song that works in her universe. Listen above.
LIL SOFT TENNIS — “bape undercover”
Just a wonderful turn of phrase in any language — “bape undercover.” LIL SOFT TENNIS’ ode to Japanese brands gets extra lift from the club-ready rhythms he peppers throughout, giving it a disorienting energy that’s fun to get swept up in. Listen above.
Perfume — “Megu Loop”
Time to check in on Yasutaka Nakata. He has been in a throwback state of mind for most of the 2020s. I don’t know if it’s a post pandemic thing where he spent so much time in his own head where he’s now calling back to yesteryear reflexively. With Perfume, that’s most recently been via a deliberate choice to embrace retro sci-fi themes on concept album Nebula Romance, which often features stiffer synth-pop construction and even forays into a sound kind of resembling “city pop” (“Starlight Dreams”). “Megu Loop” continues building from that ‘80s glow, starting off practically as a ballad before breaking into a Italo-Disco-drizzled jog. It comes with the same details that hold the first part of Nebula Romance back a bit — call me old fashioned, but I’m always going to prefer Perfume’s voices having a digi glow to them instead of delivered straight — but also includes an over-the-top guitar solo that underlines the period he’s aiming to capture. Listen above.
Yet that’s not the only place he’s playing around with the past…
PiKi — “Kawaii Kaiwai”
Where exactly does Yasutaka Nakata fit in the landscape of 2020s J-pop? Save for long-running collaborations such as Perfume and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, he’s felt more like a special attraction capable of huge/notable moments rather than a consistent presence. He produced Ado’s smash “Shin Jidai,” arguably his biggest hit ever, but that was his only encounter with the Vocaloid-born generation dominating the decade’s first half. This year though, he’s getting more active…with idols.
After giving “new kawaii” outfit FRUITS ZIPPER establishment cred via its first-ever Oricon-topping number, Nakata craft the first song for KAWAII LAB crossover unit PiKi, featuring Karen Matsumoto of FRUITS ZIPPER and Haruka Sakuraba of CUTIE STREET. You can play this video on mute and guess what this is winking at…musically, Nakata leans big into late ‘80s synth-pop, built around jagged bass lines and funky machine beats. It’s not his first time going this way — Perfume’s “Morning Cruising” from last year sort of feels like a trial version of the sound here, albeit less cuddly — but “Kawaii Kaiwai” really pops, and offers an alternative angle on the neo idol sound. Perhaps he should be in the regular rotation of producers even more. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of June 30, 2025 To July 6, 2025
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.
TWS — “Hajimemashite” (150,054 Copies Sold)
Going full grandpa mode to say…why do music videos for generic boy bands need to pretend to be high art ever? “Hajimemashite” the song is fine, elevated by its playroom plonks and general shininess. Nothing remarkable and certainly not pulling male K-pop out of the 2025 doldrums, but hey it’s fun enough. Yet the video interrupts all this pleasantry for…silence, and a guy opening a classroom door? What the hell is that? Just make a regular music video of you guys wandering around school for goodness sake. Listen above.
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Help pay for my early retirement home fees, and you can get one extra post every week. Most recently, a report from Yuki Chiba’s Budokan show.
Make Believe Bonus: My Longest "Team Tomodachi" Yet
There are approximately 40 people on the star-shaped stage at the Nippon Budokan as Yuki Chiba revs up to do one more run through “Team Tomodachi.”
News And Views
Taeko Onuki announced she will perform in Los Angeles next February. Can’t recommend this gig enough for anyone who can go.
mei ehara revealed she will release a new album this September…and it includes a US tour! Lots has been made about the big J-pop names making global tours, but I think it’s just as interesting that an artist like ehara can manage one too. It really shows the depth of Japanese music being received by people abroad today.
Fuji Rock Festival announced that three-day and Saturday tickets (that’s the day Tatsuro Yamashita plays) have sold out. A pretty big deal for a festival that has not really come close to selling out in recent years, and I think there’s a real chance the entire weekend ends up being maxed out. Excited to see it in person in a couple of weeks.
Village Vanguard, a variety goods store stocking lots of indie and oddball music, will close 81 stores across the country.
Hikaru Utada and professor Yuval Noah Harari spent an hour talking about a bunch of topics, including a lot of AI chat. Watch it below.
The BBC wrote about the boom in anime songs, and how tie-ups between J-pop and cartoons is elevating the country’s music industry. It’s a good overview of one of the biggest global developments of the 2020s, and one I’m sure that will only reveal new depths in the months ahead — I just interviewed a band that does anime songs alongside originals, and there’s definitely an edge of “well, we have to do this.” It’s going to be an interesting tension ahead.
Worksight has an interesting interview with mappa records, highlighting the intersection of anime and J-pop.
Completely forgot to mention last week that Awich appeared on Club Shay Shay. Finally, Shannon Sharpe and I have interviewed the same person.
Gesu No Kiwami Otomoe announces the launch of an indie label.
I went to Oshikatsu Expo to see the future of fandom for The Japan Times.
Hey, a rap beef not involving NENE! And actually featuring someone very much in the Make Believe Melodies’ lane, even if everything associated with it is now offline. Earlier this year, MC Lil Ash Zange left the crew CNG Squad, organized by chaos-personified performer rirugiliyangugili. This boiled into an assortment of diss tracks over recent weeks…though something happened because they are all private or removed now.
Though let’s check in on the NENE situation…she talked about it on Block.fm.
Watch this new commercial starring CANDY TUNE…and think of it as a clue towards what my next feature in The Japan Times will be.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Check out the Best Of 2025 Spotify Playlist here!
The Yasutaka Nakata nod to Wink...feels like a coming full circle.
Previously you did a post on BaBe & "Give Me Up" as a genesis of JPop. However, to me, Wink's TV live performances of "One Night In Heaven" have felt more like the pregenitor of Perfume. Both born out of the specifics/'perceived limitations' of the groups.