Make Believe Melodies For June 27, 2022
How Many gecs Can We Get?
Rikon Nozaki — We Are Alive EP
It takes three songs into We Are Alive until Rikon Nozaki goes to commercial. “We Are Alive CM Spot” riffs on the type of music ads once rampant on Japanese TV but now tucked away between segments of music-focused shows. It’s a quick aside, mostly meant to introduce guest vocalist Saejima Sanagi (who, to add to the layers here, is a character, played and voiced by this person) ahead of a skippy rock number called “50077 gecs.”
The latest release from the rapper and former member of the “internet hip-hop crew” Denpa Girl is both small scale and ambitious, leaning towards tradition and pushing towards something new…and bringing others along for the ride. Nozaki borders on poemcore, with many moments finding him practically talking through daily happenings punctuated by moments of greater clarity (see the fading electronic flakes of “Summer Haze”) or adding a little rhythmic spring to his step (aforementioned “gecs” song). He dabbles in rock, avoiding pop-punk trendhopping in favor of something way more Meet Me In The Bathroom on highlight “GTA’s Easter Eggs And Some Nostalgia,” while also dabbling in digicore on “MEMORIES,” where he’s joined by Nosgov and e5, two representatives of how this sound has evolved and where it could go next.
It’s the openness that makes We Are Alive an intriguing 2022 listen. In just 20 minutes, Nozaki explores familiar rap templates, indie-rock experiments and contemporary electronic movements, while never feeling like an interloper but rather curious party trying to find his own approach to it. Which sometimes means creating an imaginary ad smack dab in the EP. Hey, surprises welcome. Listen above.
BHS Svve — ourobros
No artist needs to turn to the album format to make a definitive statement, but even at a time when independent creators can simply drop songs when they feel ready, plenty still embrace it. Here’s an example of a young creator who doesn’t necessarily need to fixate on old formats turning towards it anyway…and really shining within it (though, at 18 minutes, kind of pushing the definition, but hey that’s part of the beauty too). BHS Svve floats in HyperPop waters, but first album ourobros uses that space to really dig into their sound and the world they occupy.
They gravitate towards darker, menacing sounds sometimes nodding to rock across these nine songs, putting BHS Svve in step with the “SoundCloud rap” generation of Japanese acts that set the stage for the 2020s. “CPU Overload” offers an interpretation on contemporary drill, while “The berserk summoner in the deep forest” BHS Svve adopting…an ogre flow? Just as important is who Svve lets into their ourobros. Aviel Kaei of CVLTE stops by on “Survive 4 U” to up the drama, while e5 continues her coming out year by helping close out the album on “Search Engine.” I’m pretty sure White Mask Skin is Sleet Mage, Svve connecting with one of the most influential rappers in this corner of Japan, helping properly establish their and this sound’s legacy. This is how an album should function for a young artist. Listen above.
4s4ki — “LOG OUT”
For all the sonic intensity and lyrical confession 4s4ki packs into her music — and those are both buzzing through on the first taste of her forthcoming album Killer In Neverland, with vocal ripples and an emotional tightrope walk between dark thoughts and seeking escape to some better world — she’s also just so good at creating something catchy underneath all the business. “LOG OUT” catches this duality clearly, offering up one of the most straightforward pop songs she has put together yet, complete with hook begging for summer festival performances. Listen above.
Femme Fatale — “Jet Coaster”
Kanano Senritsu — “Iceblink”
Two sides of Femme Fatale…and two sides of go-to producer Kenmochi Hidefumi. “Jet Coaster” keeps everything sparse, letting light electronics and a funk beat sashay along, living plenty of room for the duo to sing. “Iceblink” from the solo side of member Kanano Senritsu, meanwhile, is pure kinetic energy, embracing a fest’s worth of dance sub-styles and kooky energy to create a headrush. Minimalism and maximalism, respectively. Tying them together though, is Hidefumi’s love of constant mutation and Femme Fatale’s ability to keep pace. Listen above.
Shin Sakiura Featuring Kan Sano — “Tabi No Tochu”
KIRINJI “Rainy Runway”
A trio of artists who, in recent years, have offered some of the better interpretations of funk soaring well above simple city-centric chill, all in the details. Shin Sakiura and Kan Sano are two of the most important architects in modern J-pop today, and together they offer up easy-breezy sounds marked by jazzy touches, their shared calling card. KIRINJI, meanwhile, turns what could be ho-hummery into something much more interesting via the little electronic details playing out over the groove. Listen above.
QUEENDOM — “Chikichiki Banban”
Hot Gyaru Summer arrives…or, how the theme to an anime about an ancient Chinese war strategist transported to modern day Shibuya to help an aspiring artist climb the club and fest circuit became a 2022 highlight by embracing the garish shine of Eurobeat and letting it glimmer for all its worth. Real surprise from the full version…the rap section is great! Also, told you so. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of June 13, 2022 To June 19, 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.
NEWS — “LOSER / Sanjyushi” (132,021 Copies Sold)
Absolutely damning that the better song of this pair — the second one — features heavy involvement from GReeeeN, the singing dentists who regularly make music providing the aural equivalent of Novocaine.
If you need a greater trend to drill into, the fact this NEWS’ single easily tripled up on the latest single from OCTPATH (“Perfect”) reminds of the physical power Johnny’s groups still hold over the new generation. Though then again, the fan OCTPATH wants to attract is probably among the millions checking out their basketball-themed video on YouTube, where they tower way over the numbers either NEWS’ song has put up. It’s a good reminder that for talks of change and shifts…from me included!…that really everything in Japan is just so fragmented, and getting a real sense of anything requires divining a bunch of different charts and data points instead of holding up weekly Oricon or a views counter as the be-all-end-all stat.
Some insanely ugly NBA jerseys on display here.
News And Views
Avex CEO Max Matsuura runs a YouTube channel, wherein he largely shares videos of cars and fishing trips (and interviews with Ayumi Hamasaki). He also does the occasional livestream, and on a June 19th edition wherein he sported a shirt that looked drunk, Matsuura shit-talked a whole bunch of women in the Japanese entertainment industry. This did not go well! Dude just keeps on truckin’ though, having uploaded a day-in-the-life clip of what it’s like to be Avex’s CEO and another livestream which starts with maybe the funniest YouTube thing I’ve seen all year…Matsuura pulling a very shaky (maybe terrified!) puppy out from under his desk and jutting it at the camera. Demented shit, but that’s what I call content baby.
When you wish you could have been born as the puppy HIKKAKIN got instead
Coming next January to Osaka…new live venue GORILLA HALL.
Nariaki Obukuro to produce a special “Summer Night Festival” for the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Eriko Imai formerly of SPEED, currently of the LDP, out and about campaigning for upcoming elections.
Fun fact…was going to write about how a handful of artists are trying to re-imagine what the album can be in 2022 for this newsletter, but turned it into a feature for The Japan Times doubling as a midyear check in. All albums named are great, however they are presented.
Also looked into the rise of “The Fox” via the kitsune dance at Japan Times’ Pulse.
The HyperPop chats continue, with i-D chatting to MANON.
Homicidols interviewed Korean idols NEKIRU, and offer a real interesting glance into the J-pop-inspired corner of idol-dom in South Korea today. Reject competition narratives, embrace ones about musical exchange and collaboration!
While everything seems to be coming up live music industry lately, the recent cancellation of a performance of Guys And Dolls in Tokyo reminds how the pandemic is, in fact, still going on and can derail events. Here’s hoping this only impacts musicals, which…ehhh, we could do with less anyway.
Amuse introducing a new department focused on “technology and next-generation entertainment,” fronted by the producer behind BABYMETAL. I guess get ready for Southern All-Stars NFTs sometime soon.
Missed this initially but very telling…dance festival Balance+, created by the same folks behind the Labyrinth techno event, is under criticism for an all-male lineup for its latest installment, save for the addition of Sapphire Slows after one act pulled out. Russ Monk, co-founder of organizing group Mindgames, issued a statement that (here’s the views) really goes off the rails and starts talking about “cancel culture” midway through. Feel like this isn’t going to be the last time you hear about this…
One festival that has long had a more diverse and interesting lineup than Labyrinth? That would be Ultra Japan, back this September.
American artist Ginger Root is one of the more prominent examples of a creator drawing from city pop, and their forthcoming EP takes it all a step further (while offering up a great example of “cool, Japan!”). A concept album…about writing songs for idols in the ‘80s and then becoming a star yourself??? Hey, got my attention.
This week, support National Network Of Abortion Funds.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies