Spotlight
Music of Japan #13
Some spice from Saitama, sensational ska and the rise of the anonymous J-popstar 😶🌫️
After a rather extended break, tune in for 5x Japanese songs this week!
Throughout the modern J-Pop scene, artists portray themselves agiants the spotlight of fame in different ways and in different forms. Some become larger than life media personalities and expand their art into acting and writing, others develop a massive cult following, and as it happens, a new generation of J-Pop artists avoid the spotlight entirely.
This edition highlights these differences, starting with some outgoing superstars in the traditional sense, followed by the introduction of a series of artists that prefer to preserve their anonymity.
Enjoy the music 🎶
“Life” by Gen Hoshino
🎶 pop 📍kawaguchi, saitama 🗓️ released on 14th august 2023
An era-defining artist, singer-songwriter, actor and writer Gen Hoshino is an instantly recognisable name in Japanese pop music. Integrating elements of RnB, Soul and Jazz into his catchy songs, Hoshino has released 5 albums, 5 video albums, 15 singles and 17 music videos. Alongside this, he is a talented actor, having appeared in countless films and television series (my personal favourite series of his being “Unit 404” - which is still on Netflix!).
He debuted in 2000, as the lead guitarist of Saitama’s instrumental band Sakerock, before releasing his first solo album in 2010. Throughout his career, he has enjoyed immense commercial success, including his platinum 2016 single, “Koi” being Japan’s most downloaded song in 2017.
“Life” was released as a single in summer 2023. It’s a jazz-inspired soulful number that compliments its bubbly instrumentation with inspiring lyrics that articulate one’s need to embrace life itself for all it can offer by sharpening our skills and pushing through our difficulties.
At around the same time as the release of “Life”, Hoshino launched a mental health focused talk-show style series with Japanese Manzai comedian Masayasu Wakabayashi called “Lighthouse”. In six episodes shot over a six month period, the duo discuss their struggles and personal obstacles they have overcome in some fascinating settings, from a scenic 5-star Tokyo hotel room to a live performance in front of an audience. At the end of each episode, Hoshino summarises the subject matter of their chat with a song. My personal favourite is “Lighthouse”, below:
Gen Hoshino is a versatile modern Japanese superstar, balanced with unwavering individuality.
Visit Gen Hoshino’s website here and watch “Lighthouse” on Netflix here.
“Etude of Adolescene” by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (ft Haruko Nagaya)
🎶 ska📍tokyo 🗓️ released 15th march 2023
An eccentric ska and jazz group initially formed in Tokyo by a dozen or so veterans of Japan’s underground scenes, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (AKA “Skapara”), have not only built an an outgoing presence within their musical niche but also within Japanese music as a whole.
Having successfully revived the ska scene in Japan throughout the early 1990s, Skapara have since collaborated with a wide range of high profile J-pop artists, diversifying the musical style of both their own and their collaborator’s catalogues and breaking down barriers to the genre. The ensemble also provided music for the closing ceremony of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Often playing instrumental music, Skapara have also inspired a generation of Japanese musicians to play instrumental music alone.
“Etude of Adolescence” is a single from the group’s most recent release “Junk or Gem”. Written by Skapara saxophonist Atsushi Yanaka and featuring dazzling vocals from pop rockstar Haruko Nagaya. I love how this song combines heartfelt and powerful lyrics with a catchy ska beat.
Visit the group’s website here.
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“Useewa” (Shut Up) by Ado
🎶 rock, pop 📍tokyo 🗓️ released on 20th october 2020
Whilst remaining on the topic of modern Japanese superstars, we now pivot to a generation of talent who prefer to shy away from the spotlight under the cover of anonymity.
Meet Ado. She is one of the most popular young singers in Japan today, her songs have been streamed and downloaded millions of times and she is known for her powerful vocals along with her ability to sing a wide range of genres. However, nobody knows what she looks like.
Starting out as a “Utaite” - an artist that covers anime songs online using vocaloid elements (often anonymously) - Ado possesses a unique, versatile and expressive voice, which she projects during her blackout live shows, in which she appears as a shadow in front of spectacular stage lightning.
Ado made her debut in 2020 with the digital single "Usseewa," which became a viral hit and reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. “Useewa” - literally meaning Shut up! - is a song that shook the sizeable older Japanese community of parents and seniors upon its release in 2020, with many of them worried about the effects the song’s rebellious lyrics may have on young children and the next generation.
This subject was raised on Japanese TV - many children had apparently started singing the song's lyrics in their daily speech. However, Ado has insisted that the song serves rather to relive her audience’s stress by relating to their frustrations.
A dark, edgy and rebellious shadow of anonymity, Ado is one of Japan’s most exciting and innovative young artists right now, pushing boundaries to create her own unique sound.
Discover her music on YouTube here.
“Byoushin wo Kamu” (Bite the second hand) by ZUTOMAYO
🎶 pop 📍??? 🗓️ released on 30th august 2018
ZUTOMAYO (an abbreviation of Zutto Mayonaka De Iinoni - literally meaning "I wish it was midnight all the time" in Japanese), are our second secretive superstar. They emerged onto the music scene in 2018.
The band have never released a full member list and rather credit different people for their musical contributions, music video production and arrangements with every release. The only group member who recurs within song credits every time is the vocalist, an unidentified woman named "ACA-Ne" (ACAね, a-kah-neh). ZUTOMAYO are known for their catchy melodies, energetic rhythms and evocative lyrics which have frequented the Japanese music charts extensively over the past few years.
Three EPs and two albums later, the band have won numerous awards, including the New Artist of the Year award at the Japan Record Awards in 2019.
“Byoushin wo Kamu” (Bite the second hand) is one of their most popular songs to date. Released in 2018 as their debut single, it’s a catchy and energetic pop song with darker lyrics.
It depicts a person trapped in a repetitive and meaningless life, stuck in a loop. The song’s title may be a metaphor for the singer’s attempt to escape from the passage of time and subsequently, their situation. They want to stop the clock and break out of the loop they are trapped in.
The song’s music video is also pretty atmospheric, featuring a character wandering through a surreal and dreamlike world. It’s full of symbolism and has been interpreted in many different ways by fans.
Check out ZUTOMAYO’s website here and discover their music on YouTube here.
“Hitchcock” by Yorushika
🎶 rock, pop 🗓️ released on 9th may 2018
The third beacon in our trio of anonymous icons is Yorushika, a rock duo formed in 2017. Consisting of N-buna, a former vocaloid music producer, and Suis, a female vocalist, Yorushika is known for upbeat instrumentation tied in with heavier lyrics.
An extremely secretive group, they contrast their active online presence and chart success with very few live performances - only three in fact to date (one in July 2017, one in August 2019 and another in January 2021).
Released in 2021 on the duo’s third album, “Elma”, “Hitchcock” is a ballad inspired by the famous film director of the same name, with its lyrics exploring elements of paranoia, darkness and suspense within one’s heart. A cheerful song with darker lyrics, the song depicts the singer confiding to her teacher about how to rationalise her feelings and where to go from here.
Discover Yorushika’s music on YouTube here and visit their website here.
Thank you for reading! I hope you discovered some music you may have liked in this edition.
If you have any thoughts on how I can improve this newsletter and your experience with it, please get in touch at themusicofjapan@gmail.com.
ありがとう ございます! - Thank you!🙏
Image/Banner credits: Japan Tiles - PaperTreeHouseCrafts 🖼️