Make Believe Melodies For July 24, 2023

Guitar Angelicism

Siren For Charlotte — Xtalline : 001

No sub-mutation of rock has proven more long-lasting in Japan…hell, maybe Asia period…than shoegaze. They might as well teach Slowdive in schools, because anyone who gets into rock or live music in this country will stumble across it, both in its history and the hundreds of contemporary bands evoking the sound. This extends to “shoegaze idols” and even prolific electronic producers playing around with the sound (with more idols in tow).

It’s great in general, to see a scene digging into a specific style and still find new angles and life to it. Yet it can also be a thrill to tilt your head a different way entirely and wonder…what can come out of this exactly?

New label Siren for Charlotte explores, in their own words, “Angelic Post-Shoegaze.” Listening to their first proper compilation, I feel the unifying sound is a guitar base heavy on reverb, but not limited to the traditional ideas of what constitutes shoegaze, especially in a country where you do get people who get very sensitive about genre specifics. Adjectives can seem silly, but can also be freeing. Xtalline : 001 highlights what is possible when allowing a stream of new ideas in.

Creators both seasoned (world’s end girlfriend appears for seven-plus minutes of guitar squall and strings) and new (America Minyo Kenkyukai’s spoken-word surrealism, which shows talking can be every bit a part of shoegaze as like, an effects pedal) experiment with what’s possible. Vocaloid appears multiple times, including as a soft sonic counterpart to throat-wrecking screams courtesy of project that same street on “Vesuva.” There’s digital-age reflection courtesy of iga, and breakcore influences smashing into guitar courtesy of Brazilian creator Astrophysics.

That’s another important wrinkle to Siren for Charlotte, at least at this early stage — there’s an aim of connection, bringing in artists from around the world and especially linking up with similarly minded South Korean acts, here being Storm Drunk Whale and the name that has helped this comp grab some Western attention, Parannoul. That’s fitting though, because they are just part of a bigger happening, where familiar sounds reveal new shapes, and even time-tested genres can become something different. Get it here, or listen above.

Mainichi Unique — “PKNOUTA”

As someone currently packing for a trip, I appreciate oddball pop duo Mainichi Unique creating a song doubling as a checklist about what you should make sure to bring on vacation (with domestic and international verses!). Besides the helpful musical reminder to bring sunscreen, the pair transform the potentially mundane into something joyful and appropriately silly, with a follow-the-bouncing-ball delivery and samples splattered throughout to keep this one funny. Listen above.

Awich, NENE, LANA, MaRI, AI & YURIYAN RETRIEVER — “Bad Bitch Bigaku”

The last two names are the ones that make this one really crackle. This is probably the best verse I’ve ever heard AI, long-running J-pop rapper and someone who really did help pave the way for everyone else here, deliver. It’s pointed, sharp and with a swagger her true mainstream releases can’t have, and it’s an absolute thrill. Just as exhilarating — comedian YURIYAN RETRIEVER, best known by most for being on America’s Got Talent and possibly landing here because of her own Awich parody, pops up and kind of holds her own here, fitting in nicely alongside both rap trailblazers and the next generation. Listen above.

lil soft tennis And VaVa — “VIP”

Rising Kansai creator lil soft tennis continues linking up with bigger names, this time with rapper VaVa for the trampoline-like “VIP.” A bouncy bit of longing for the velvet rope life, this one gets a lot of assistance from music that never gets to busy, but offers enough lift (courtesy of some tofubeats-esque sample slices) to keep the energy up without exhausting. Listen above.

Carpainter — SUPER DANCE TOOLS Vol.3

One of the most consistent dance creators in Japan over the last ten years returns with the third installment in a series showing just how well suited their sound can be for the floor. A dizzying set of tracks begging for inclusion in a DJ’s toolkit, and one showing Carpainter’s range without ever feeling like diversions. Get it here, or listen above.

Neo Iceyyy — Haunted Killer

I don’t know what you want to call this hybrid of rock, nu-metal, hyperpop and rap — “Shinsekai Slap” or something, let’s all go into the lab on this one together — but I love it in all its grime. Neo Iceyyy conjures up one of the creepier interpretations of it — see the tingling keys on “Hungryyy” — while still finding room to boast and unleash the force of rirugiliyangugili twice over the course of these 11 minutes. Listen above.

Ohzora Kimishima — “Arashi”

Technically “˖嵐₊˚ˑ༄” but I have my limits with formatting around Romaji.

Deliriousness made light, with Kimishima setting guitar swipes and slightly manipulated vocals against sudden electronic crunches and a general sense of dizziness. Despite constantly being off-center, “Arashi” maintains a melodic consistency, making this kind of a kindered spirit to PAS TASTA or peterparker69. Listen above.

Peanuts-kun — “TwinTurbo”

There’s a timeline where the VTuber that manages a true mainstream breakthrough ends up being this peanut-themed creature. Peanuts-kun’s latest EP is totally worth your time, somehow offering an effective summary of underground trends over the last five years in under 20 minutes, while also building a whole track around a harmonica sample. “TwinTurbo” might be the highlight, teasing drill and netlabel throwbacks in equal measure, but also being the sturdiest flex this YouTuber has managed yet…all while still shouting out peanuts. Listen above.

Oricon Trail For The Week Of July 10, 2023 To July 16, 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.

B’z — “STARS” (117,600 Copies Sold)

Wait, the Oricon Single chart isn’t topped by a Johnny’s group? This…this isn’t another week with an idol group on top? Oh thank you sweet, sweet older-generation rock outfit!

I have a feeling the second half of 2023 is going to see a lot more “established” artists get media attention and chart success, after a first half where Oricon in particular felt completely dominated by younger idols. Old people buy CDs too. Southern All-Stars just put out a new single, and here is heavy chuggers B’z taking the top spot with some familiar B’z rock. Nothing special, especially as B’z have reached a point in their career where they don’t have to get too out there to score a hit, but honestly after the last like three months of wandering the Oricon Trail, I’ll take this, even just for a week to break up the same-old-same-old.

Programming Note

I’ll be going to Fuji Rock Festival next week, from Friday until…Sunday night? Monday morning? If you are going, let me know! As a result, not sure when next week’s round-up will go out (potentially taking a week off?).

Also, unless some modern-day saint comes through in the next week and can direct me to actual lodging in the greater Naeba area, I will be camping during this festival. I have not camped since I was in the fifth grade, when my family had a “camp night” in our backyard (never again). There’s probably a decent 10 percent chance I end up with a horrible injury and/or bizarre disease. BUT…I will definitely write about it for the paid bonus post, so subscribe / upgrade now to see what will surely be a comedy of errors.

News And Views

• Sticking with B’z for a second…they’ve collaborated with Ado on a new song for some kind of submarine-centric movie coming out this fall. Hear a snippet of it in the trailer below…and hey, you can watch some planes dropping bombs on the ocean too!
  

• Further “old dude fall” evidence…Mr. Children will put out a new album this October.
  

• Meet the oldest idol duo going, set to perform at a festival in western Japan.
  

• Japan Rail changed the official chime used on the Tokaido Shinkansen (the one connecting Tokyo to Osaka, so safe to say the most used bullet train in the country) this week, moving from the TOKIO-penned “Ambitious Japan” to artist UA’s “Ai Ni Ikou.”
  

• OK, cool, we did some lighter stories so we can get into our weekly dose of Johnny Kitagawa and his alleged sexual assault against minors. Kichiji Hattori, who previously revealed to Nikkan Gendai that Kitagawa abused him when he was an elementary school student in the 1950s, held a press conference where he detailed more about all of this, and YouTube-centric media channel Arc Times has the entire video up. There’s no new revelations within you wouldn’t find in the first Gendai interview, but it reminds of one of the most important reasons Kitagawa’s actions have become so much more discussed online and in the media in 2023 is because victims have come forward and put a face to the allegations in a way never done before (I get why people point to Twitter for being an engine for all this…but the truth is, YouTube and the ability to share video outside of the traditional broadcast structure has been the true catalyst for this).
  

• Meanwhile, older celebrities continue to reveal an alarming lack of any PR team around them begging them to avoid tweeting. Business woman and TV personality Dewi Sukarno shared a message on Twitter expressed shock and outrage at how Kitagawa was being portrayed in the media, writing that she had known him well and that he loved the young entertainers in his agency, to the point of bringing them lunch everyday, before implying this is something everyone already knew and that he’s dead…what are you going to do about it? You could imagine how netizens took this. Weirdly, what kicked this mini rant off was Sukarno mentioning reports of the UN investigating Johnny’s…which, based on available info shared last week, has no real validity to it. Good reminder to be media literate, and to run all social media posts by your team if you are famous.
  

• UPDATED AT 8 PM, DAY OF BUT AFTER SENDING: OK the above is now clarified in a way that was still misleading via early reports, but now becomes a little more clear and also knocks the comments from the Japanese government official back a bit last week. So according to The Japan Times (good work!), the United Nations group coming to Japan in the near future is investigating “the impact of business operations on human rights and the environment in general by meeting various ministries, human rights defenders, academics and representatives of business enterprises.” So that gels with what the official said last week…they aren’t coming to investigate any specific case. However, where that ended up being vague (and where I acknowledge my skepticism was only like…50 percent correct), is the Japan Times report makes it sound like they will interview alleged victims of Kitagawa…albeit as part of this larger report. It’s also worth noting that this report, while helping clarify, is still kind of confusing, with no quotes from any UN officials and still sorta implying…but I could see it. So, the UN is not investigating Johnny & Associates based on info we have now, but rather folding in this case to a large study related to human rights and business operations in Japan. Which could still be significant, but remember this story made it sound like a UN convoy was flying in to raid their Nogizaka offices.
  

• Yuuki Mochimaru of idol group BANZAI JAPAN performed at Japan Expo in Paris, but had her passport stolen. So…she stayed a few extra days, before getting back home.
  

• Twitter might become just X? OK cool great. As no shortage of Japanese users have noted, this would flip “Twitter Japan” to “X Japan,” which also happens to be the name of an extremely popular band you have possibly heard of. Yoshiki himself definitely noticed.
  

• Sony’s Soundmain music platform will end service later this year.
  

• Have questions about Pokemon? Send them to Nocchi of Perfume, and she’ll ask the team.
  

• Have only just recently learned about Nagasaki Biopark’s YouTube channel, which features occasional videos of popular J-pop songs featuring animals, with some musical touches courtesy of the critters. Here’s “Idol.”
  

• Remember Yasushi Akimoto’s virtual idol project? Welp…it’s still going.
  

• Kaigai idol group SORB3RT announced plans to disband, after an episode earlier this year where they were “discovered” on TikTok, where users there and beyond accused them of cultural appropriation and then just bullied / doxxed them. One of the worse social-media happenings of 2023, and that’s saying something.
  

• Ichiro Yamaguchi of Sakanaction getting into the podcast game.
  

• DAOKO to perform in Mexico.
  

• Negicco humidifier!!!!
  

  

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

  Follow the Best of 2023 Spotify Playlist Here!