Make Believe Melodies For May 17, 2022
Back To Our Regular Schedule
ZOMBIE-CHANG — STRESS de STRESS
At long last, ZOMBIE-CHANG has room to stretch out and let her mind go off on whatever goofball flight of fancy it chooses. Back in 2020, Meirin Yung was in a situation familiar to most in Tokyo — cooped up, dreaming of getting the hell out of the capital and wondering “where’s my toilet paper?” But now it’s 2022! States of emergency are a thing of the past, and while we might still feel pressure to wear masks outside on the streets — at least as long as people are looking — it’s possible to actually go out. The door has been flung open, and on STRESS de STRESS ZOMBIE-CHANG tries to loosen up…at least until she spills into a whole new set of issues to vent about over a gabber beat.
ZOMBIE-CHANG has always been a bit wonky — can you track down her vaguely freak-folk debut album under UK Project??? — but here she approaches her ultimate evolution…becoming Bubble-B. Nobody can truly ascend to the level he’s achieved, but ZOMBIE-CHANG shows promise, especially as she runs through Nintendo Switch titles (adding a subtle Italian inflection to “Mario Kart”) over a pounding beat on “Switch” or repeating “double crochet” on the loopy “Granny Square.” The song “Stress” tries to delete our stress…but does so over a claustrophobic beat that’s anything but chill. There’s a song here called “PaRappa The Gabber” which finds ZOMBIE-CHANG quoting Master Onion before letting everything go to hell.
It’s a bit odd to describe music that often sounds so constricting this way, but STRESS de STRESS is just really fun. And that’s a really welcome attitude adjustment, choosing going off in its own wacky, thumping direction and just getting a kick out of saying “Bomberman” in a funny way or making MacSpeak say “don’t call me” over the sound of a flip-phone melody. Music for trying to readjust to “normal” society, failing, and getting a kick out of it. Listen above.
Kan Sano — Tokyo State Of Mind
In-demand as a producer and collaborator, Kan Sano makes sure to save some of his best for himself on latest album Tokyo State Of Mind. Here, he’s particularly interested in motion, both in terms of imagining actual physical movement (in Tokyo on the title track, all around the country and world on “Tohiko Records (98 BPM)”) and in his approach to rhythm. This is one of Sano’s liveliest offerings to date, whether unloading drums and horns over “image” or letting electronic flickers propel him and South Korean guest dosii forward on opener “I MA.” Listen above.
lil soft tennis — “tennis in the house”
Honestly impressed at how those whistles sound…should be annoying, but I keep playing it. Listen above.
six impala And MANON — “TROLL ME”
Tohji And Bladee — “Twilight Zone”
Tokyo’s youthful creative cutting-edge is starting to collide more with international ears, with these two collabs really standing out over the last two weeks. The first lives up to its name, disintegrating into emoji-shaped ashes, while the latter is a Euro-dance trip, with their voices getting lost in all the pulsations. Listen above.
Paperkraft — 1
A collection of unreleased songs from one of Kyoto’s finest dance creators. This comes from a particularly fuzzy period for the producer, the title track opening everything up with bird chirps and soft vibrations, before subsequent tracks pick up the pace. A nice snapshot of a period in time for Paperkraft. Get it here, or listen above.
Momoiro Clover Z — “Nantonaku Saiteina Hibi”
I haven’t spent too much time with the new Momorio Clover Z album yet, but the liner notes alone…Chaki Zulu, all over this!…make it an essential listen for curiosity sake and a good look at how a long-lasting idol group tries to float in the tides of contemporary pop. This one jumped out immediately from the page, seeing as how Mom (who also has a new harmonica-heavy song I almost included until encountering this one) handled every element of it. Best of all, it shows. This cheery pico pop number about feeling blah and living through “a blinding vortex of turmoil” (give that translator a fucking raise!) features electric guitar puncturing through the melody and some sudden tempo shifts that keep everything wobbly. The ultimate message is familiar — idols provide emotional comfort, after all — but the path to get their is wonderfully windy. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of May 01, 2022 To May 08, 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.
ENHYPHEN — “DIMENSION: Senko (Tamed-Dashed Japanese Version / Drunk-Dazed Japanese Version / Always)” (305,786 Copies Sold)
A game I used to play during the early 2010s Hallyu boom in Japan was “what’s up with this different music video?” A K-pop hit would inevitably get a Japanese version, and a new video alongside it, featuring radical changes (personal faves include “Gee” which keeps the concept of the original before going off in a totally different direction, and 2NE1’s “Go Away,” flipping the Korean video’s “race cars as metaphor for domestic abuse” into a night out at a club produced by what appears to be American Apparel).
There’s few opportunities to do this now, as most smart K-pop companies realize fans in Japan just follow along with what’s happening in real time rather than wait for a release tailored to them, and most “Japanese versions” now don’t come with…interesting videos. Yet ENHYPHEN’s “Tamed-Dashed” offers the rare chance to compare in the 2020s. The Japanese offering, above, is dark and moody, featuring frayed teddy bears and creepy merry-go-rounds. The Korean version?
As I often do when I’m confronted with something I don’t understand, I blame anime for this. Not that a rugby team pallin’ around the school grounds couldn’t make for a delightful 12 episode romp, just that the Japanese video for “Tamed-Dashed” feels more in tune with the mood most popular animated titles in the country boast. It’s dark, supernatural and a touch dramatic, which seems in line with the atmosphere of, say, Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen. Seeing as how on the ball HYBE is about navigating the Japanese market — they’ve had ENHYPHEN and TXT provide theme songs to anime, a great way to introduce yourself to a non-K-pop-loving audience here — this seems pretty savvy.
News And Views
Coming up in early June, Los Angeles will host a Japanese music festival. The line-up for Rising Japan Music features Travis Japan, Nulbarich, half of Def Tech and Shibuya Night Mayor Zeebra among others. A pretty eclectic set, but intriguing.
Domestically, Rock In Japan Festival — the biggest in the country, having been cancelled for two years and set to take place in a new venue — announced the first set of performers for this year’s make-or-break gathering. YOASOBI, [Alexandros] and Mrs. Green Apple highlight the first wave of acts.
Chu Kosaka, a founding member of Apyrl Fool and accomplished artist in his own right, died at age 73. He did a special chat feature video for Alfa Records a few months back I’d recommend checking out.
Ayumi Hamasaki out here calling transphobia out on Instagram.
INTERSECTION officially on hiatus, which is something you could see coming a mile away after how well individual members did on CHUANG 2021. Two of the former members will also leave Avex, while the other pair — who are killing it in China right now — will stay with the company. Making me misty eyed thinking about interviewing them.
Ichiro Yamaguchi of Sakanaction compliments how King & Prince fans smell.
Kenshi Yonezu celebrates 10 years as a solo artist with a pretty nifty display in Harajuku!
Audio equipment company Onkyo filed for bankruptcy last week. As numerous outlets have reported, this turn comes because the company, famous for their stereo systems, couldn’t adjust to the realities of music listening in the 21st century. So, another blow to the “Japan is stuck in the past with music” argument. Let’s take a moment to honor the company by checking out a classic Onkyo ad.
T-Pop Stage — a YouTube channel highlighting contemporary Thai pop — broadcast a special collaborative show with the Thai Festival In Japan, featuring a variety of acts performing and doing…segments, I guess you’d call them…with a specific goal of introducing them to Japanese viewers (while also bringing in plenty of existing fans). It’s a really interesting development in the sharing of pop across Asian countries, and hope more broadcasts like it emerge.
EXILE and the Ikebukuro Sunshine City Aquarium…together at long last.
The leader of British band Kasabian really loves Japan.
Rapper LEX shares 10 important songs for them…and opening up with Caribou is definitely a neat swerve.
Guy asks people in Tokyo what they are listening to. Shout out the person listening to Teriyaki Boyz.
Harry Styles talked with Zane Lowe about his new album Harry’s House on Apple Music. The big news…for, uhhhh, this newsletter…is that the name of the album was inspired by Haruomi Hosono’s debut album Hosono House. He listened to the album while in Tokyo, which I assume was the same trip where he sat in a coffee shop reading Haruki Murakami books. Big win for “cool, Japan!” and that’s before you find out the lead song on the album is called “Music For A Sushi Restaurant.”
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies