Make Believe Melodies For May 1, 2023
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Suiyoubi No Campanella — RABBIT STAR ★
Call me naive, but the current popularity of Suiyoubi No Campanella 2.0 didn’t hit me until last Friday. Despite being responsible for a TikTok tour de force and now having performed on a bevy of TV broadcasts, my brain didn’t fully register the project’s newfound bigness until I saw current animating force Utaha eating a pseudo calzone.
I wanna eat the Hut Melts
Utaha serves as one of the primary faces for a new Pizza Hut Japan ad campaign. Again, it shouldn’t be too shocking…back in its first version, KOM_I was also popping up all over the place…but this doesn’t seem like a project that should be mainstream in the uber-fragmented 2020s. In much the same way primary produce Kenmochi Hidefumi — once a Nujabes disciple releasing songs titled “Sakura Mentos” — shouldn’t be a central J-pop powerhouse. Yet he is, and might be the most vital producer in the country today.
RABBIT STAR ★ provides a summary of post-virality Suiyoubi No Campanella, showcasing both a more comfortable and confident Utaha (check the way she keeps pace with the stuttering club rush of “Shichifukujin,” or how she carves out her own flow on “Kongo Rikishi Zo”) while also further underlining Hidefumi’s general wildness when it comes to creating these songs. I’ve already touched on a handful of these and how they help to reposition Suiyoubi as a Gen Z concern — “Nabe Bugyo,” still goes! — but the key remains Hidefumi’s sonic curiosity and an interest in making lyrics as knotty as possible. Numbers dwell on ancient gods and old statues, while new highlight “Shadow” pulls of a classic Suiyoubi No Campanella trick by finding Utaha naming off tunnels, highways, rest stops and beyond (shout out NEXCO, shout out Iga near where I used to live!!!), yet threaded together by Kenmochi’s rumbling guitar-assisted music to make what could just be a Wikipedia list sound thrilling. That this is now close to the center of J-pop — and pizza ads — makes it even better. Listen above.
femme fatale — fuckin’ sisters
My god…they really went and called it that…legends.
Hidefumi has become a more in-demand name with Suiyoubi 2.0 and a variety of established J-pop acts, but I’d argue his best work of recent memory has been with sibling duo femme fatale. While not the primary producer for these two — and not responsible for their big TikTok hit, which is an idol-pop sugar rush — he honed his club-meets-pop tendencies with songs like the escapist “Club Moon,” the tight funk skip of “Pupil,” and the neon-tinted dance-pop of “Jet Coaster.” The best parts of fuckin’ sisters come courtesy of him (though, shout out two very strong De De Mouse entries), and seeing as this is basically a collection of singles from one of the most fun idol projects of the last few years, it doubles as a fitting time capsule of how Kenmochi’s sound has developed too. Listen above.
rirugiliyangugili and Lil Ash Zange — SHITTY
This one’s an instant classic from the jump, because you’ve got rirugiliyangugili chanting “don’t do drug kids” over a blown-out stomp. Perfect collaboration for folks who want their music to sound like a Strong Zero bender. Listen above.
e5 — “Luv In Grave”
Recent e5 songs have been all about versatility, showing off her sonic and vocal range. “Luv In Grave” returns to her earliest SoundCloud uploads and large parts of breathtaking debut Cassette, by leaning into a digi-damaged take on rap with an emphasis on wordplay (and one very catchy sing-rap segment late). Always good to polish up the foundation while pushing forward. Listen above.
DJ WILDPARTY Featuring fu_mou — “Banggggg!!”
Two netlabel cornerstones try to keep up with the kids by going hyperpop — and sound alright doing it! More of a thrill in hearing familiar names tackle something new, though they bring the energy. Listen above.
Purukichi — I am…
A delirious set of hyperspeed dance tracks courtesy of producer Purukichi. Their best ability remains the ability to fit vocals in without losing a step, finding a way to get the drama of their guest singers across while still barrelling ahead. Listen above.
Ryujin Kiyoshi — “Trick Art”
Goofy fun courtesy of an anime ending theme to a show I haven’t watched yet. The real draw personally comes from arranger Tomonori Hayashibe of Plus-Tech Squeeze Box, helping give this ditty a tasteful Shibuya-kei energy without ever becoming too stuck in the past. Listen above.
AFAMoo — Newcomer AFAMoo
Long-running house producer AFAMoo takes a step towards something bigger with their debut album, backboned by breezy house but made intriguing thanks to skippier drum ‘n’ bass experiments (“Tokyo Highway”) and delirious acid trips (“Girl talks about Acid”). Also features a skit where AFAMoo pretends to operate a clinic where they help producers maximize their career. Listen above.
mental, blxty and lazydoll — “lovely”
Japanese artist lazydoll links up with creators blxty and mental for a bit of heart-on-sleeve rap. This song is fine, though I’m way more intrigued by this one appearing on the same album.
Great Uchu Nekoko sample (with a featuring credit, which seems quite nice), feels like an under-explored world of collaboration between young very-online electronic creators and Japanese indie bands, as they tend to float in very similar emotional waters. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of April 17, 2023 To April 23, 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.
Hinatazaka46 — “One choice” (473,084 Copies Sold)
Always here for a good “behind-the-scenes look at idol life presented in idol fashion” music video, and this one is particularly great. Also hints at something J-pop idols do well that is actually pretty tough to pull off…this nails the you-ain’t-seen-nothing-yet! bombast of Broadway really well, but the members of Hinatazaka46 know how to sell it. Maybe not “cool” in a 2020s sense, but overflowing with showbiz charisma.
For the second straight week, Oricon reveals a tension in how people approach J-pop. While this racks up sales, a different song is climbing up the streaming charts…specifically, the viral charts on streaming, which shouldn’t be brushed aside.
I don’t know why this FANTASTICS song has performed so well in this corner of digital ranking — maybe the ANA tie-up really speaks to the TikTok masses? — but it’s a nice reminder of how fragmented Japanese music remains today. Though it also presents a personal rarity — a moment where the Oricon-topping single is, to my ears, significantly better than the trending one. I’ll take racing acoustic guitars over bottle-service EDM-pop any day.
News And Views
Last weekend, I met up with a high-school friend I haven’t seen since the literal last day of my time spent at the premier Catholic school in the Antelope Valley. He was visiting Tokyo with his girlfriend, and reconnecting ended up being…truly…one of my happiest moments of recent times, both thanks to the chance to reflect (and goof on) on times I thought were long lost and also to see what path he had gone on since our teenage years, and find common ground in 2023 despite very different life journeys.
I mention this partially because it feels like a good metaphor for where AKB48 is at in modern times…but also, because he and his girlfriend just naturally brought up AKB48 as a group they know is related to J-pop, which completely threw me off but reminds of just how big an institution they are. Well, that biggie-sized group had quite the week. First, they joined on HYBE’s Weverse platform, expanding their global reach and also allowing them to pull in some sweet, sweet Jelly, the official “currency” of the platform. Second, they…announced plans to abolish the team system that has been in place since the project started in 2005, with plans to switch to a system featuring “members'“ and “research students” moving forward, which is much more simple.
Jarring, but also…maybe necessary for an outfit well past its peak? I would be lying if I said I won’t miss it — the world needs more unique cultural corners, not everyone jumping on some goofy social network to scam fans out of their money by buying fake money (that’s why we have CDs, damn it) — but also AKB48 just signed to Universal Music Japan, and they need a jolt to stay relevant. Plus, with 20 years (!?) of existence on the horizon, maybe this is a worthy path to explore.Speaking of, I profiled the creator behind Oshi, a new audio social platform in Japan focused on anime voice actors, musicians and VTubers for The Japan Times. This caught my attention because it’s one of the first times I’ve seen the outside world — in this case, the tech sphere — acknowledge how Japan’s idol economy has become something of a global norm.
EXILE ATSUSHI taking a break due to…possible carbon monoxide poisoning?
Ahead of the huge Tatsuro Yamashita re-issue push over the next like six months…more soon????…his team released an official video for “Sparkle.”
Big week for themed cafes based off of musical properties…will you go to the Bocchi The Rock!! cafe at Tower Records, or the “Matsuken Samba” cafe at Shibuya Parco? Maybe I’ll go to both!
Johnny Kitagawa update for the first week of May. Yomiuri Shimbun shares comments from the heads of major TV networks in Japan, all of whom use Johnny’s & Associates talents in their programming, which boil down to “sexual assault is bad, let’s see how the case (?) plays out, no changes to our plans now but never know.” That’s mostly pretty boilerplate "next question” responses, and I have a hard time believing anything about now would change seeing as how Johnny’s talent do bring ratings to shows. Still, question being raised, which is a development. The topic also has become the topic of YouTube videos, most notably by Nakata University (an “education” channel hosted by one of the guys from “PERFECT HUMAN”) whose hour-plus look into Kitagawa’s history is, in my opinion, much better done than the BBC’s documentary, though that might be thanks to simply running through all available info in an undramatic way. So thorough, with actual industry context surrounding the allegations.
Festival season is oh so certainly back in Japan, to the point where we are getting a bunch of new ones plus some intriguing developments at existing ones. South Korea’s Waterbomb, a music festival mixed with a water park, is coming to Japan this July, featuring K-pop acts such as Treasure, Winner, Mamamoo, Jay Park and more (extreme nerds voice: ummmm, much water waste methinks?). Meanwhile, Thai Festival Tokyo 2023 is bringing a bunch of T-Pop acts to perform! They did something similar last year, but due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns, that was just a livestreamed event. Do I dare the crowds to see 4EVE?
YOASOBI’s “Idol” — massive hit, and appears to have global wings based on Billboard charts. Yet it hasn’t broken through into streaming charts internationally yet, though I’m sure that will happen soon. Yet two Japanese songs have crashed the edges of Spotify’s Viral 50. Sheen Ringo and millennium parade have zoomed in…as have rising singer Yuka’s cutesy “Baby you,” which I’ve been told is killin’ it in Southeast Asia right now.
I had zero idea Up Up Girls — an idol group that has been around for quite some time, I remember seeing them live like, nearly a decade ago? — have a wrestling sister group that puts on wrestling shows…and hosted an event in the States??? Thank goodness for Jack Wannan documenting the experience over at This Side Of Japan.
Travis Shosa offers a great look at the possibilities of J-pop over at Bandcamp Daily, featuring some blog favorites such as punipunidenki and Okinawa Electric Girl Saya. It also arrives at an interesting time where terms like J-pop and (especially) K-pop are once again going under the microscope — read Billboard’s recent K-pop issue, including this story about “American K-pop” to see this tension in the spotlight — but I like that Shosa underlines the sonic variety of found within the term J-pop while also highlighting the importance of the language itself in it.
JP The Wavy joins Singapore’s ShiGGA Shay as guests on Thai rapper’s F.HERO and JARVIS’ “GUMMY YUMMY.” Important development in the continued exchange of musical ideas across Asia…though the song itself is, pretty silly (listen to the way JARVIS says “yummy”). Captions on for sure.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Love the Wednesday Campanella revival, but still hoping to see a song like Aladdin from their new formation.