Make Believe Melodies For July 4, 2022
One Of The Best Continental Pop Exercises In Recent Times
Ink Warutorn Featuring THREE1989 — “LAST TRAIN”
Six months into 2022, and perhaps the most surprising event to stick around in my head involved two music industries long overlooked by those outside Asia coming together for a special showcase. T-Pop Stage’s special program from Thai Festival In Japan 2022 offered a wonderful moment in geopolitical pop exchange, with Thai acts getting the chance to flex their continental reach and Japanese announcers explaining what made this…and collaborations with Japanese artists…so interesting. This trend has been in movement for a bit now, via lesser known groups linking up to major acts on both sides collaborating on remixes.
Asian music, in the Western mind, tends to exist as a chain of islands…K-pop shines brighter than J-pop, China has its own ecosystem going on, and the rest is a bunch of Starcraft fog of war some aspiring Vice writer will one day clear out. In reality…and especially true in more recent times…there’s exchange of ideas, kerfluffles and intersections helping to shape everything. It’s not a flattening, but rather an acknowledgement that artists from these places are always interacting and inspiring one another.
Part of what makes “Last Train” stand out so much for me in this burgeoning relationship is who happens to be involved with it. I won’t pretend to be an expert on Ink Waruntorn, as she’s just a Thai artist I’ve come across via YouTube recs who always makes me go “yep, Thailand doing the city pop thing better than anyone right now.” But THREE1989, now that has my attention. You almost certainly know this trio as “that band that appeared a bunch on Terrace House” because member Shohei Uemura appeared on the show, at least until he launched dozens of thinkpieces after kissing a fellow housemate suddenly (remember when that was the biggest Terrace House scandal? Sigh). Anyway, that band continued digging into the smooth and funky sounds of Bubble-era Japan, and are actually signed to Avex as I type this. However, most of their music has felt a little toothless, pure diorama homework at a time when everyone suddenly loves the ‘80s. They aren’t bringing anything new to marble table, nor are they really nailing replication.
Japanese Version
At least until now, because “Last Train” casts them in the role they would have played had THREE1989 actually existed in 1989…a set of studio hands helping to make a singer shine. This is how you recreate the 1980s…load up on city imagery anyone in a global metropolis can relate to, drop some subtle references to the city pop of yesterday (you sing “Merry-Go-Round,” my mind is going one place) and just a great melody encased in million-dollar crystal. THREE1989 move everything along and Uemura provides some guest verses, but they are working in service of Waruntorn, who offers the late-night shimmers and pathos required of this song. Here’s the promise of cross-continent collaboration at its best…a pair of artists bringing the best out of one another, and showing the strength of a specific style for all to enjoy. Listen above.
Guchon — Secret Service
Set of reworks with all profits going to UNICEF? Featuring bootlegs of Snoop Dogg, Wildchild and “The Macarena?” From one of the best producers of the 21st century? What are you doing? Get it here.
Ableton Sisters — “Roulette”
Ableon Sisters return with a more spacious, chilled-out number to help cope with the scorching days of summer. Enough of a groove to get joints moving, but unfolding at a pace ideal for temperatures better spent under AC than out. Get it here, or listen above.
i-fls — undefined chill out EP
A great snapshot of i-fls in miniature. This EP, a “reissue of previously unreleased EP by various reasons,” features moments both melancholy (opener “Window Surfing” nailing the dreaming and ennui of suburban life) and celebratory (the chug of “PM,” the Garageband interpretation of French touch on “Draft Punk,” the bedroom acid ecstasy of “Midori B”). This unearthed bedtown artifact is both a testament to the emotional complexity of life outside the main train lines, and a reminder of just how much fun i-fls can sound. Get it here, or listen above.
DiverDiva — “Eternal Light”
A vague promise doubling as a threat — I’m thinking of going through the entire Love Live! after hearing this and other recent bangers from the multi-media franchise that is lowkey ahead of…all musical trends in 2022. Then again, I still have interviews to transcribe for this newsletter…
“Eternal Light,” specifically, stands out for the electronic rush illuminating it. The intro kills in particular, though the fact this song never lets off the pedal from there really works in its favor. Now, a bold take — I also think the raps included here are among the best to appear in a multimedia franchise like this, and actually rival what you find in top-level J-pop and K-pop, cramming a lot in a little without losing any intensity. Listen above or below.
WRACK — Topchop EP
A sweltering set for your summer revelatory needs. Get it here, or listen above.
Ayumi Hamasaki — “Summer Again”
There’s something exhausted about “Summer Again,” probably embedded right there in the title. Ayumi Hamasaki plays the role of gyaru Sisyphus, pushing the boulder up Shibuya 109 in an effort to bring those halcyon days of the early 21st century back, but always feeling slightly off from the actual trends of the day. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — her quest to find some summer salvation stands out in 2022, just because it is so at odds with everything happening in real time (she can’t even dip into irony, already taken!). Hamasaki has yet to see her moment of re-evaluation, like what Namie Amuro got ahead of her retirement, largely because she continues to zoom ahead backed by the big-tent sounds of a different era. Summer has arrived…for Hamasaki, that’s just another time to try to find her place in the modern world. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of June 20, 2022 To June 26, 2022
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.
HKT48 — “Besan Ha Naze Nakunarunoka” (127,375 Copies Sold)
There have been tremors of this moment throughout 2022, but this week marks the big seismic chart moment we’ve been waiting for — a ranking underlining the question “what is Oricon even?” HKT48 run away with the top spot on physical followed by a niche K-pop ballad geared towards older fans.
Then we get two potential song of the summer, J-pop edition, candidates that are also bound to be among the numbers 2022 will be remembered for…far, far more than one or two. Official HIGE DANdism released the Mixed Nuts EP, powered by a title track that has been out in the world for months now, and received a greater bump thanks to its usage as the opening song for the anime SPY X FAMILY. Then you have Sekai No Owari’s “Habit,” which has numbers behind it and a vague sense of “being everywhere” right now — TV, TikTok, convenience stores.
Avoiding a huge derailing paragraph about how Sekai No Owari came late to the pity party of the last few years, but still do it well and, critically, have a little bit of fun with it (Yoasobi and Ado didn’t have dances with their hits).
If you want to start prepping you 2022 J-pop time capsule, these songs go right in there, and the two have recently been swapping the top spot on subscription streaming charts for a couple weeks now. Yet on Oricon…meh, a footnote really, only really getting this high because people at their labels felt the need to put physical versions of huge digital hits out1. Oricon measures something and isn’t wrong…but remains askew.
News And Views
After all that…time to put way too much stock in Oricon’s midyear report! Snow Man stands as the best-selling artist as 2022 reaches June, beating out a lot of powerhouses also from Johnny’s, along with BTS, Mr. Children and YOASOBI (which, honestly, being in the top 10 so far this year might be the biggest surprise). King Gnu and SixTONES lead the combined single and album ranking respectively, though when you switch it up to just digital you get Aimer and Ado in those spots.
The Canadian Embassy of Japan providing the warm and fuzzy feelings this week, providing classic rockers reuniting with long lost instruments hits you in the heart. Randy Bachman of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive had one of his guitars stolen in Toronto 45 years ago, and it just vanished. Until showing up in a vintage instrument store in Japan recently. He got it back, with Marty Friedman cameo!
Just don’t record anything as bad as “You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet” now that you have it back!
The bands are coming back…Maroon 5, visiting Japan this fall.
UC Riverside has one of the largest collections of Japanese hip-hop in the States. Excited to donate all the AKB48 singles I found in boxes around my neighborhood to my alma mater, so they can throw them into Lake Michigan.
Great story by Matt Schley about efforts to prevent redevelopment and gentrification in Koenji.
A little outside of this newsletter’s purview, but can’t pass up sharing this interview Natalie did with Tom Cruise’s official interpreter when he comes to Japan.
I nearly…very, very nearly…ended up going to Anime Expo last minute, but was able to avoid the trip. Would love to go, but not after only a week of notice! Anyway, dodged that, but had I gone, I could have seen Travis Japan, who are just hanging out at the event.
Snapshot of Travis Japan interview! 🐯Watch the interview at AX LITE m.twitch.tv/animeexpo #TravisJapan #Ax2022
BUMP OF CHICKEN launched a TIkTok account, the latest major band to do so and thus also make their music available to the short-form masses. A trend here!
Everything is anime, yes? So why not make the entire group a tie-up? That’s the premise behind SG5, a group “based off Sailor Moon” according to a feature in Rolling Stone. Extremely eye-rolling lede about K-pop aside (oh, this group’s from Asia, better mention Blackpink!), this feature does offer a nice peak into a project powered by LDH, featuring former members of Happiness2 and one of the women from iScream. They performed at Anime Expo (oh shoot maybe I should have gone), including music produced by BloodPop.
Views: An intriguing idea, for sure, and smart to be aware that anime is the key to connecting with anyone. Though I’m a little unsure about the grand ambitions trumpeted out in the Rolling Stone piece (which, admittedly, might be a failing of the writer). They clearly are trying to solve the issue of how to develop artists outside of Japan (and, read that as, in the West), because songs attached to anime are already succeeding on a global scale. The trick is people are fans of Demon Slayer, not necessarily Aimer, though they’ll obsess over her theme for said series. By linking the group so closely to anime I’m…not sure it can really rise above being just an anime thing, though interest in that…and especially a series like Sailor Moon…might be so high as to work out? It’s more of a bet on anime becoming even more of a mainstream force than it already is, though hey deliver on the good music front and you have my attention (RIP E-Girls).
Maybe they can work with the guy who sampled JoJo in his rap song for a real multi-verse breaker.I really like this interview with Pasocom Music Club, especially because it isn’t tied to any new releases, but rather reflecting on…albums from last year. Beautiful and much needed in music journalism / criticism (including my own).
Save Our Space…last seen helping to fight laws aimed at weakening clubs and livehouses…is back, after former idols now running for Diet seats as members of the LDP banded together to promote one candidate.
Rolling Stone Japan with a good look at the return of summer festivals to the country.
You know what,…I think SG5 could work, but honestly right now, you might be better building a VTuber supergroup / music outfit, that has a greater chance at striking an audience via an unlikely point of interest in Japanese pop culture.
At long last, Hoshino Gen and Stephen Malkmus on the same song.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
If you counted HIGEdan’s release for the album charts…it is an EP afterall, so it kinda skirts the definition…it still finishes third, though that feels more apt to be honest. Also impressive, since this week’s album ranking features two legit heavy hitters via Tatsuro Yamashita and Stray Kids.
Pretty sure this was the LDH group 88Rising claimed they would bring to the West before ghosting them.