It’s year-end-list season, and that means it is really easy to start glossing over new releases in favor of getting that best-50 list just right. But that would be a mistake, with so much good music still rolling out. Haruru Inu Love Dog Tenshi’s debut album came out this week, and it’s a gem, highlighting one of the more promising voices to come out of Japan’s underground rap community, one bridging the gap between whisper-rap and more Atlanta indebted. “Machi Made” is her in a particularly reflective mood, the song set against a twinkling backdrop produced by ORKL that plays around with City Pop ideas without going all in on it (see also her English description, which plays up her arrival at the end of the Heisei era…fit in all the nostalgia you can). But she sing-raps over it gracefully, adding in a fitting melancholy to the off-in-the-distance-neon vibes. And guest rapper Yungyu ups it even more with a great Autotune-soaked verse upping the emotion even more. Listen above.
Yellow Tokyo Compilation 001 Featuring MPEG-7, Negami And More
The risk in writing about this compilation is that I’ll almost certainly not get out to the party it is meant to promote, which seems like a bit of a missed connection. Then again, Yellow Tokyo Compilation 001 also serves as a good intro to the world these folks are trying to create. MPEG-7 was the gateway in for me, and I think their “420th Century Ringtone” is the highlight, a squirmy number that blooms into a rumbler as it moves along. Negami keeps it simple with their opening track, but delivers an energetic cut from it, while Jiang-shi Academy goes full acid with their contribution. Get it here, or listen below.
Yoshino Yoshikawa Teams Up With ONJUICY For RPG EP
One of the failings of Japanese hip-hop in recent years, in my opinion, is a failure to develop a sound all their own. Most of the big hits — even the super fun ones! — are pretty much imitating American production. Which, hey flattery really is a compliment (and, hey, this isn’t just a Japan thing), but I always find it way more fun when people find something different, that helps them stand out.
So this collaboration, between producer Yoshino Yoshikawa and ONJUICY, jumps out for presenting something so different. Yoshikawa’s music has shown that it can blend in with hip-hop — and The Weeknd (or The Weeknd’s team) seems to like it — but still RPG shows that he can provide a great backdrop for a rapper. The title track is Yoshikawa’s playroom-pop made a bit more spacious for ONJUICY’s rhyming, the MC bouncing around like it’s an inflatable castle. “Green Hill” unfolds a touch slower, but still loads up on chimes and gives ONJUICY plenty of room to bob and weave through. It’s two familiar artists working in (slightly) new terrain, and shows what happens when you try something different. Get it here, or listen below.
Now That’s Indie-Pop!: Syanmonika’s “Nostalgic Blue”
Recently, I went to a music conference in Shibuya that was heavy on seminars focused on China. Turns out the Chinese market…it’s a big one, guys! Anyway, one of the presentations talked about how Japanese music can get over to China, and one of the most popular styles with listeners was listed as “indie pop (City Pop).” Which…huh? Those two things are so radically different, one being about glitzy maximalism (and having a lot of great equipment to work with) while the other is something you could record with your friends in a garage while feeling particular sappy. Syanmonika’s “Nostalgic Blue” is indie-pop, a chugging number built around guitar and a simple beat, featuring singing that conceals just a touch of melancholy for something. Simple, yes, but the best indie-pop tends to be just that. Listen above.
Modern Times: Utsuro Spark’s Static Electricity
Well now here’s a twist…a Local Visions’ release that actually reminds me more of today than yesterday (viewed through a really gnarly kaleidoscope). Utsuro Spark is a duo featuring a female vocalist and lyricist backed-up by a producer. This is the type of group becoming more and more common in Japanese electronic music, and Static Electricity is a nice addition to music coming from such projects in 2018. Nothing about the music itself is particularly retro either — opener “Neon” features plenty of synths, but it’s a twinkling number that doesn’t make specific reference to the past (save maybe for the title). The highlight, though, is “Seaside,” which lets its electronic bend around the edges, giving the whole song a dizzy feel while still holding on to a catchy melody. Get it here, or listen below.