Make Believe Melodies For September 9, 2025
You Sample Capsule, You Get The Top Spot
safmusic — MASTERPIECE
The trick with nostalgia is the boundaries of what falls under its purview is always shifting. Yet one constant remains the same — whether you’re talking about neon-soaked ‘80s vibes or see-through Y2K aesthetics, an artist trying to do something with the pieces of the past can’t just rely on capturing that “remember when?” feeling. It needs to be reassembled into something new.
It’s slightly jarring to listen to MASTERPIECE, the third album from Kanto-based do-it-all safmusic, and realize what constitutes his nostalgia is what I think of as “mid 20s.” Sliced-up samples of Nelly hits, clips of The Breakfast Club radio show, and most to my heart, a sped-up clip of Capsule’s “Step On The Floor” helping power highlight “Cosmonaut” with fellow fireball iga. Yet none of it ever feels remotely focused on soaking in the waters of yesteryear, but rather rewiring it all to create something distinctly now.
For its first half, MASTERPIECE is a masterclass in capturing the fidgety internet-centric sound of 2020s Japanese music, in the same space as Peterparker69’s debut and cyber milk chan’s latest. Samples collide with pop-punk and emo guitar energy, covered in digital vocal filters for a fittingly Reiwa glisten. The twist, though, and what makes this one carry extra depth is its pivot in the other end, where everything becomes a bit more spacious in order to convey more melancholy feelings (down to being straight Imogen Heap poemcore at times) while still nodding to the community nurturing safmusic (a final track called “forestlimit,” now that’s beautiful). Here’s the entire community’s emotional arc, captured in 42 minutes, built from memories of the past but purely now. Listen below.
killwiz — Schizophrenia
Like MASTERPIECE, the latest from former Dr.Anon member killwiz is partially a celebration of the scene she and others helped foster in recent years, complete with appearances from friends (including everyone else in her original group). Unlike that one, she’s staring down a mental disorder she herself has had to wrestle with, adding an intensity to these pulsing and pounding numbers. Her guests show up hard — shout out e5 with one of the fiercest verses she’s had in a second — but it’s killwiz’ own gliding vocals full of conflict that make this one hit. Listen above.
hachigatsu_news — Haiyaku Kaiite Oideyo
Internet-centric rock outfit Sleepinside strike a good balance between the too-online and the urgency of the genre, with recent songs nailing a certain kind of late-day dreaminess. Member hachigatsu_news solo output, meanwhile, offers a little more room for eclectic experimentation and something approaching SoundCloud rap mutations. On his latest, hachigatsu_news plays with piano melodies stained with digi splotches, and pairs guitar melodies with a sound palette ranging from what sounds like a haunted music box to Auto-tune-dipped lyrics about the Nintendo DS and McDonald’s coupon codes…along with more emotional reflections. It’s a little more freewheeling, but an impressive tightrope between the logged-in and out. Listen above.
Kuni — Kids Return
OK, sometimes drawing from the past in a more direct way can create good-ass music. Quartet Kuni’s debut full-length album draws from the full spectrum of ‘90s rock — you can pick up on grunge and shoegaze elements, though I find The Smashing Pumpkins of it all strongest — to create a forceful set defined by its vocal melodies rising above the squall beneath them. Listen above.
Bailefunk Kaneko — DESVIO FULL THROTTLE
An album quickly becoming one of my favorite of 2025, both due to its head-scrambling sound but also for its gleeful breaking of borders. I’ve already written a little bit about it over at scrmbl, but the latest from Bailefunk Kaneko finds the producer drawing a line between the Japanese underground and Brazil, bringing in two artists from the latter (MC Kalyu and Yandrel) while also calling on local chaos agents such as rirugiliyangugili and BBBBBBB to add experimental energy to her work. It’s both reverent of the source sound and giddy at finding new perspectives on the sound, using the world immediately around her to help create it. Get it here, or listen above.
i-fls — garageband piano school
I’ve always busted out vague feelings of suburban ennui and ~ feels ~ when talking about the music made by i-fls, but at its core…the Garageband maestro has a knack for incredible melodies, however many layers of newtown melancholy gets covered over them. Latest offering garageband piano school puts this squarely in the spotlight, with i-fls offering up songs featuring…only the piano found in the music-making program of the same way. Yet it might be one of the purest distillations of what has made them one of Japan’s finest bedroom creators of the 21st century — from such a simple tool, they find so much musical richness. Get it here, or listen above.
UN1CON — “GENKI”
I’m partially intrigued by this new girls group because they position themselves as a break from the dominant form of J-pop production in the 2020s…which is, they were not made from an audition show (though one of the members appeared on Produce 101 Japan). I’m further drawn in by the extremely young-person lyrics, with references to TikTok, Luup scooters and more THOUGH ALSO I think referencing Parappa The Rapper (“I gotta believe myself” after singing pa-ra-pa-ra over and over again)?
Yet what really makes it work is the bright production, touching on everything from pop-rap to Snail’s House to chiptune. Maybe that’s what really sets them apart — a really fun vibe. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of Aug. 25, 2025 To Aug. 31, 2025
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.
STU48 — “Kizutsuku Koto Ga Seishun Da” (126,374 Copies Sold)
Another week, another chance to catch the distortions revealed by Japan’s longest-running and once most-respected chart. STU48 represents the 2010s idol model perfectly — the most backwater of AKB’s satellite offices, doing a perfectly fine bit of sparkly pop but nothing that will stand out from all the other light fare from this space. We are at a point where AKB48 is submerging itself in nostalgia for 15 years ago, STU48 is just cruising at this point.
So how does the rest of the chart look?
The two spot is the one that really jumps out. Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu follows the same template mastered by the likes of FRUIT ZIPPER — it’s an extremely online group, excelling on TikTok and Instagram and a bunch of other social platforms. STU48 is designed for millenials willing to shell out cash for their faves, while Gen Z wants to take part in fandom and oshi katsu but tends to spend an average of only ¥1000 on it a month. Tokimeki thrives online — and, in an extra twist displayed on the cover art here, a collab with a popular rhythm game aimed at girls, which as a parent of one I’m very well-informed about — and the songs here are way more ever present than anything STU48 has ever done. And also a whole lot better…this pastel-accented afternoon disco is a delight, and full of nice touches (piano!).
Oh, you also have Hello! Project sitting in the third spot, a niche for sure but one still making very fun idol pop.
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News And Views
Fujii Kaze released his first English-language album last week as he aims to push into the global market. More on that later…but whatever happens, he’s still got the home crowd on his side, as the full-length topped this week’s Oricon with the highest first-week sales for a solo male act all year.
I do not have any strong opinions about the Savannah Bananas, but I do have many thoughts on “cool, Japan!” theory, which was on display when Japanese player Kenshi Sugiya joined the boys in yellow and came out dancing to “Idol.”
Gaze upon stop-motion Tatsuro Yamashita surrounded by a bunch of Pokemon.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Check out the Best Of 2025 Spotify Playlist here!