Make Believe Melodies For May 13, 2024
Featuring A Very Painful Mea Culpa
tofubeats — NOBODY
Inevitably, there’s going to be a song or release utilizing AI in a way that either aims to make a point / subvert or forces discussions about the use of the technology beyond extremes (“this is the greatest thing ever!” / “this is an abomination you should be ASHAMED”). NOBODY isn’t quite that record, though it inches closer to the edge of this potential discourse than any Japanese release I can think of this year. One of the hooks rolled out in headlines about the latest from tofubeats notes how the vocals are all AI generated. A juicy point, but one that isn’t quite right. The producer used Synthesizer V to create the singing appearing here, but the software functions almost exactly as Vocaloid does (I think AI just helps it sound more polished, but even then there’s plenty of cases here where…it doesn’t sound human, and that works well). As he detailed in a great interview with Natalie, he sees it as a tool to try something interesting…and play around with some tech-facing concepts, without sacrificing the groove.
Really, the vocals are just another layer to what is a high-energy house EP. He opts for a straightforward, monotone blending in well with the bounce and fizz around it (while also offering some nice emotional clashes…club cliche about escape delivered flatly). Save for the comedown screw mix of the title track ending the party, this is one of the most uptempo club releases from tofubeats in a while, getting in pop-adjacent floorfillers (“I CAN FEEL IT”) alongside one of my favorite sub-genres of tofubeats, his “THIS CITY”-core ecstasy (“Remained Wall”). At its best, the Synthesizer V singing gets nudged just a little closer to the unreal and trips out alongside the beat and deeper distorted on “EVERYONE CAN BE A DJ,” a sort of mantra urging everyone to step up to the decks. There’s something different about it thanks to the voice…but with the familiar fully intact, interacting with a new element to create a blast of an EP. Listen above.
ODETRASH — “C3PO”
First off, genuinely funny to name a busy song like this after one of the goofiest Star Wars characters, respect.
Not to get too far ahead of future posts, but one of the elements of Japanese underground music I respect the most is a refusal to just move alongside trends. I saw a DJ set the other night that leaned heavily into hyperpop — a niche that feels was abandoned abroad, but here continues to get tinkered with by young artists, even though they are often hesitant of being labelled as such — reminding of how much more can be drawn from this blown-out sound. ODETRASH’s “C3PO” combines the familiar digital scuzz of the genre (shout-out producer hirihiri, a master of the sound) with choruses of ODETRASH’s, strings and piano twinkles lending this one cinematic scope. Imagine the soundtrack of Your Name. handled by an early 20-something with a MacBook. Listen above.
SUE ME — “where you at”
Fantastic provocation, and I feel bad sharing this because it could help the artist name come true. SUE ME (with assist from producer Cubase1000) warp Taylor Swift’s “Style” into a kaleidoscopic electronic backdrop over which SUE ME sings about youthful longing. Listen above.
Hakushi Hasegawa — “Boy’s Texture”
You’ll definitely be seeing more writing by me as Hakushi Hasegawa’s first album on Brainfeeder approaches, but “Boy’s Texture” highlights a lot of what makes them such a thrilling listen. Specifically, it’s the sonic contrasts at play — delicate touches and singing interrupted by machine thumps and wilder vocal samples. One of the sweetest songs verging on collapse you’ll hear this year. Listen above.
Hatsuboshi Gakuen — “Kokei”
What excites me just as much as Hasegawa’s Brainfeeder debut is how they’ve managed to become a presence in mainstream and mainstream-adjacent Japanese music. Here’s Hasegawa bringing their thundering percussive taste and melodic sensibility for some kind of game in The Idolm@aster (on a soundtrack that is actually loaded…uhhhhh, stay tuned, real “is this gonna be a top ten 2024 release for me” potential). “Pop” might not be quite right, but Hasegawa’s imaginative flights can, it turn out, also fit into something a touch more accessible. Listen above.
And while we are here…shout out Hasegawa for one of the most personal and touching revelations from a Japanese artist I’ve seen, all in the service of the first official photo of their face ever. The issue of revealing personal details — including what one looks like — has been a long-term challenge in writing about Japanese music, albeit one I can be sympathetic towards. Still, I applaud Hasegawa taking this step and explaining why they both hid their face and now share it, explained in a genuinely moving way.
Wai Wai Wai — “peace piece pizza”
While on the fictional-idol beat, let’s take a moment to celebrate a song equating love to delivering pipin’ hot pizza pies. Based on previous videos1 that I would describe as “AC-bu coded,” Wai Wai Wai of the Love Live! universe seems slightly more silly than other mixed-media idol groups. That’s only underlined with “peace piece pizza,” which opts for “deluxe” when it comes to pizza metaphors…and gets, uhhhh, pretty bawdy about bringing a satisfying meal to the object of their affection. What makes it all the more tasty is production courtesy of Kenmochi Hidefumi, with an inspired beat drawing from shimmery idol pop, Jersey Club and a little bit of dancehall. And again…the pizza stuff gets wild as it goes on. Side menus and dipping sauces?!?! Listen above.
Big Dope P And Guchon — “Narita”
OK, let’s move the emotions aside for a second and get limber, courtesy of this muscle-moving’ track finding London’s Big Dope P linking up with Tokyo’s own funmeister Guchon. Get Big Dope P’s album here, and listen above.
monje — “Atsumare”
You have plenty of “chill” bands operating in Japan, especially in a post-city-pop-boom world, who craft music meant to get 20-somethings dreaming of imagined resorts and neon-light-soaked city streets. Then you have a deceptively “chill” sort of outfit that operates much more like a mitsume, in that they lock in to create hypnotic grooves, but there’s so much more playing out underneath it than just “vibes.” Duo monje fall in this second category, with “Atsumare” working in how the edges of its melody conceal something just off — maybe it is the extra voices piping up, or what sound like off-tune harmonica blasts during the guitar solo adding a lurch to their strut. Whatever it is, it’s way too interesting to daze out with. Listen above.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE — “Lilac”
Man…this one hurts…but I’ll be damned…Mrs. GREEN APPLE made a song I like.
Until this very moment, I would have pointed this trio as my personal least favorite J-pop act going, a project I’ve compared to Christian youth ministers aiming for cool, motivational speakers and, most recently on The Idolcast, the kind of rock played during middle-school lunch. At a time where it seems like Japanese music has so much forward momentum and excitement happening around it, Mrs. GREEN APPLE represent the mediocre middle. At best, they are sonic wallpaper. At worst — which is to say, “Dance Hall”— they are aggravating. They existed, for me at least, in rarefied air, of having zero redeeming songs.
And yet…hours after recording with The Idolcast, they pushed themselves out of the depths occupied by the back numbers and Yuuris of the nation in my mind with “Lilac.” I spent my lunch break checking out the baseball anime about amnesia that’s currently quite popular here, and was instantly charmed by the opening theme. “Oh, a stab at math-rock guitar, and a surprisingly bouncy melody with an electronic border when the verse starts. That part where the guitars get a little harder is fun too, and helps cushion the more ho-hum hook…but even that’s at least swift. Who made this?”
Oh no…oh no.
Dramatics aside, “Lilac” is a fun song, basically taking cues from “Where Our Blue Is” while adding in a bit more of a J-pop foundation. It works! I’m not going to declare this a song-of-the-year contender, but I enjoy it and the various ideas the band thread together, revealing an ambition (or at least savvy) I never saw in them before. Almost certainly an outlier…but gotta give them credit when deserved. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of April 29, 2024 To May 5, 2024
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.
SixTones — “Neiro” (523,078 Copies Sold)
Look, I ran down the state of male J-pop last week, I have nothing new to add on that front and I’m definitely not doing it for a medium-done ballad.
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News And Views
SEVENTEEN collabs with yakitori chain Torikizoku…maybe not the biggest news of the week, but the biggest to me (love that chicken).
Travis Japan prepping to play shows in Asia and the U.S. west coast.
I wrote about what the Kendrick Lamar - Drake beef says about Japanese rap for The Japan Times.
Joshua Minsoo Kim reviews Fishmans’ Long Season at Pitchfork.
It appears Dubai has its own version of MUTEK, and two Japanese acts headlined it this year.
XG throwing folks off the scent a bit regarding their upcoming “hip-hop” single by covering FLO (and reminding of the sound they probably should have stuck with BUT HEY prove me wrong).
Many Japanese bands, including Melt-Banana and MONO, paid their respects to Steve Albini, who passed away this week.
Hell yeah
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Follow the Best Of 2024 Spotify Playlist here!
To be clear…song and video both rule, especially the absolutely too-current nod to those goofy smartphone games where you shoot barrels or zombies or whatever.