Make Believe Melodies For September 12, 2022
Reiwa Sadistic
Miyuna — Guidance
Sheena Ringo herself hasn’t been far away from modern J-pop herself in recent years, but her influence might cling even closer. Younger women who grew up with Ringo now channel her through their own work, Ado being the easiest example (working directly with her now), but also emerging from vocalists hovering around the post-Vocaloid scene or even SoundCloud-centric rappers open to screaming and distorting their own voice. It’s a natural creative connection — Ringo’s music spiked familiar pop with feelings of modern displacement and anxiety, which is second nature for any 20-something today.
Miyuna captures all of this better than most on debut album Guidance. Across these songs, she breaks into yelps, leans into higher pitch and also manages a sing-song-ey delivery pairing well with the string arrangements and synth glow surrounding her songs. Moreso even than Ado, Miyuna stands as the clearest example of Ringo carrying over to Gen Z, to the point of feeling almost cynical (this comes out via an Avex sub-label, and you could imagine the folks in Aoyama hearing “Usseewa” and then rushing out to find their own female voice of a generation). Yet she does it so well…and imbues it with her own angle…as to overcome any trepidation.
Key to Foundation’s strength is variety. There’s plenty of gloomier material and high-energy odes to being buried in the ground with someone you love (above), but those are balanced out by the delicate food-centric come-ons and skitter-skattled ballads going full earnest. She’s also open to dabbling in all kinds of sounds — straight-ahead rock centered around bittersweet summer memories, jazzy sprints and something approaching folk on the closer. Alongside that exploration, she’s also figuring out how she fits into all these spaces, and how she can move forward. Now that’s a fitting tribute to Ringo. Listen above.
For Tracy Hyde — “Milkshake”
A live staple of For Tracy Hyde shows for a bit now, the appropriately thick and sweet “Milkshake” sees official release as part of a split single with Thai group Death Of Heather. For all the guitar swirl, this one’s a highlight of singer/guitarist Eureka’s vocals, nudging themselves out of the feedback to deliver a soaring hook that makes the noise around it land all the stronger. Listen above.
Superfriends — “Afterglow”
If “Milkshake” reminds of the emotional squeeze shoegaze is capable of, “Afterglow” jogs straight at the adolescent heart ready to be broken over and over again. Indie-pop project Superfriends have always struck me as too cozy in their rock — the group’s EP from last year showcasing this well — but “Afterglow” avoids the mellow or muscular in favor of the tenderhearted. For six-plus minutes, Superfriends let their guard down and dash forward, letting the longing out in all its embarrassing but effective beauty. Listen above.
Narita Featuring Sorfano And Sixxx — “Hitomi No Oku Ni”
Bouncy bit of hip-hop courtesy an artist who has been doing pretty solid work so far this year. A nice midpoint between the slicker hip-hop once defining the country’s scene and the messier digi-chaos that has emerged recently, leaning a little too the prior but carrying some of the bedroom energy of the latter. Listen above.
Cuffboi — “mu-ma!”
Cuffboi And Pachi Pachi Cosmic Computer! — “Rame Rame Haiton”
Pachi Pachi Cosmic Computer! — “Internet Gal”
A trio of songs celebrating the messy and speedy side of young Japan. Cuffboi can clean up when needed, but he’s always standing out most when embracing digital chaos. “mu-ma!” is all electornic zip and self nightcore-ing, to the point where the disorienting vocals Cuffboi lays down come closest to a HyperPop Eve. That’s a feeling oozing out of “Rame Rame Haiton,” though the presence of duo Pachi Pachi Cosmic Computer adds some nice counter to his voice. That pair, meanwhile, offer neo para para vibes for the world on “Internet Gal,” a galloping and sour-sweet electro ode to Web life. It’s the clearest example of how to corral the fragmented feelings and emotions of modern life into something that sounds like endless scroll but carries a pop heart. Listen above.
Takashi Fujii And Moe Shop — “Memoria Floor”
There comes a time in every electronic creator’s career where they have to lay down an absolute banger with a comedian. Errrrr, maybe just a Japanese tradition? Moe Shop adds their entry to this hallowed hall alongside Takashi Fuji, no stranger to this lane, with the flexibile groove of “Memoria Floor.” It’s a boogie workout from Moe Shop, centered around those synth melodies but concealing tons of great details in the mix (the percussion! the strings!). Fujii pulls his weight too, taking it all seriously and riding along with the melody, knowing when to rise up. Listen above.
Wanuka — “Orgasm Anthem”
J-pop’s cloudy mood parted sometime earlier this year, making way for something a touch more positive and confident. That newfound upbeat outlook, naturally, leads to another feeling…straight-up horniness. The climax at the center of “Orgasm Anthem” — the official English title, good on them — appears to take place in one’s heart, but an undeniable lust that easily carries physical components comes across clearly. This is Wanuka’s speciality — their breakout hit “Tipsy” is much sloppier about its intentions, albeit in a way that feels more like someone sending out sloshed texts at 2 a.m. — but they’ve gone and expressed it more clearly and over a sound much more in line with contemporary trends (this is YOASOBI with a conga line). Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of August 29, 2022 To September 04, 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.
Nogizaka46 — “Suki Toiunowa Rock Daze!” (576,597 Copies Sold)
It has been a bountiful week for those subscribing to the “everything is AKB48” theory of modern pop culture. Penny Fractions dug into how everything resembles Akimoto Yasushi’s house of sales madness, and then Billboard published a perfectly fine profile of K-pop group Stray Kids, featuring this humdinger of a paragraph that should bring tears to the eyes of anyone having to sit through a decade of “oh Japan, weird country, only one that cares about physical!”
Oricon this week sees a duel between two groups excelling at the multiple-version game. Nogizaka46 — Akimoto creation they are — won with a pleasent albeit largely in-and-out number cast in the idol mold, complete with all kinds of physical variations. You’d think that would cast suspicion since they beat out the much more globally recognized group, Korea’s TXT with a Japanese version of an existing number, until you remember K-pop in 2022 is basically just J-pop in 2012 (complete with a Weverse online store that feels very…AKB theater CD to me?). It’s a race to see who can unload more varietals of the same thing.
A twist, though, exists further down the ranking. Scroll to #10, and you encounter a surprise entrant on the physical chart…THE SUPER FRUIT.
The first pop offering from Tsubasa Danshi Production (spinoff agency of Tsubasa Records, which have overseen Suiyoubi No Campanella and Especia among others) might not seem like a force, but single “Chiguhagu” is a TikTok force. At time of writing, it’s the top song on Spotify Japan’s Viral 50, and more ever present on social media than the gold or silver spot holders. That THE SUPER FRUIT could even break into the top ten with a physical…a puny one version, at that!…is pretty impressive. Because they reflect the music a whole larger subsect of people with no interest in charts are actually gravitating towards, and reminding of how wild the current chart landscape is everywhere.
News And Views
Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly / Akimoto Yasushi got to make new idols to try try try. According to Shunkan Bunshun, the idol master himself is getting back in the game to create an official rival to Nogizaka46, who themselves started lives as official rivals to AKB48. The actual interesting development is he appears to be doing it with Avex, who might be trying to get back into the idol game. Could have put more force behind Tokyo Girls’ Style and been in this a decade a go.
Katy Perry coming to Tokyo this fall for a show…with an NPO. Good for her! Just as importantly, it’s another sign that foreign artists are starting to get the ability to perform in Japan once again, helping to bolster the nation’s live industry.
Bibian (Vivian??) Murakawa set to step away from HKT48. A Produce 48 and J-idol legend, say the name right when you speak on her.
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu writes a regular column for Hanako, which has been a treat since she started (she got a lot of love when she penned an edition making fun of dippy influencers). The latest installment offers an interesting and surprisingly critical look at the failings of modern J-pop. Specifically…she writes about how she can’t change members of her team — say, from older folks to younger ones more in tune with how music travels domestically and abroad — and how this is an issue many Japanese artists gripe about with one another. Though just as interesting is her sorta kinda admitting that…she’s kind of mid-tier at best in Japan, which is also a pretty bold thing for someone to do.
Travis Japan’s adventures in America continue! They performed on the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent, receiving harsher criticism from voice-of-Gizmo Howie Mandel, who drilled in and went so far as to say “if Liza Minnelli went to Japan and put together a boy band, this is what I think it would look like.” Which would probably make Johnny Kitagawa happy to hear, honestly. Results come out next week, though at least one government body is already acting like this is a past-tense affair.
Anime Corner interviews Wagakki Band, who are up to some interesting stuff featuring Vocaloid.
Ahhhh, Kohaku Uta Gassen rumor season starts earlier and earlier every year. The first big murmuring comes courtesy of tabloid Sponichi, who write that NHK reached out to Akina Nakamori to perform at this year’s edition. Would be a big development for an artist making a big return to the spotlight. But also…Kohaku rumors! I’m still waiting on my genderless edition, as was promised last year.
Give it up for H-pop, and a kind of pointless reference to J-pop in the first line.
Nikkei Asia interviewed Yoshiki about a variety of topics…like his energy drink and the future of the music industry.
Boris…enjoying Pokemon Go as they tour North America.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies