True Heart
Music of Japan #8
Fresh neo-soul, two unique anime openings, raw indie and an all-time classic 🍢🎶
Hi everyone!
This eclectic issue features a 90’s hit that I have been wanting to feature in Music of Japan from the very start, a pulsating club jazz piece, some warm new indie rock, along with some irresistible neo-soul sounds.
The musical differences between these songs highlight not only the stylistic diversity of Japanese music but also its versatility (two of this issue’s selections are part of soundtracks designed to set the scene for different anime).
For full coverage of all of the music featured in Music of Japan, be sure to follow my playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
Enjoy the music below!
準備オッケーですか？😊 (Are you ready?)
“太陽が昇るまで” (Until The Sun Rises) by salasa
🎶 rnb, neo-soul 📍shonan 🗓️ released on 14th december 2022
Heavily inspired by the emotional heaviness of blues music, Shonan native salasa has been making big waves within the Japanese music scene, appearing at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2022 just one year into her career.
After seeing her debut single “Nail Island”, from her EP of the same name, reach 4th place on the J-WAVE TOKIO HOT 100 charts, salasa released her debut album, “Inner Ocean”, at the end of last year.
The stand-out track for me on “Inner Ocean”, a passionately composed neo-soul album is “Until The Sun Rises”. Salasa’s smooth soul voice sings intimate lyrics over a relaxed RnB beat, supported by atmospheric keys and joined by a clean, melodic guitar line.
This track, like lots of new Japanese RnB, appears to borrow elements of classic neo-soul and repurposes them as part of a fresh, electronic and futuristic sound. This tone often brings to mind the exciting scenes of city nightlife.
Other exceptional tracks from “Inner Ocean” include “Amber - DJ Mitsu the Beats Remix” and “火をつけて” (Light a Fire).
To discover more from salasa, follow her on her socials here.
“Kimi ga irudakede” (Just by you being here) by Kome Kome Club
🎶 pop rock, soul 🗓️ released on 4th may 1992
An all-time classic J-Pop song and the best-selling Japanese single of the 1990s, Kome Kome Club’s “Just by you being here”, also known as True Heart, debuted at number one on Japan’s Oricon music chart in May 1992 and sold a staggering 924,780 copies in just one week, going on to sell over 2.89 million copies. A personal favourite of mine, it was only a matter of time before I included it in Music of Japan.
Kome Kome Club, whose name was inspired by the US band, “Tom Tom Club” (Tom replaced with “Kome”, meaning Rice), formed in 1982 and enjoyed great commercial success throughout the 1980s and 1990s, before breaking up in 1997 and then reforming temporarily in 2006.
A large group, consisting of at least 9 members much of the time, the face of the group is undoubtedly lead vocalist Tatsuya Ishii (AKA Carl Smoky Ishii), who went on to enjoy a successful solo career after Kome Kome Club. Ishii has a very strong and tuneful voice, both on record and live, as demonstrated in this live performance of the song here.
The song has some big production behind it (including some beautiful orchestral support) which, combined with the song’s catchy melody and upbeat rhythm, make for an epic single. The lyrics outline the struggle of a man to be more honest with his love interest - to show his “True Heart”.
I particularly enjoy the closing sections, including the song’s middle eight, the key change and the catchy “la la la la”s at the end.
Discover more from Kome Kome Club via their website here.
Like what you’re reading? 😃 If so, please share this newsletter with your friends, enemies, family, dogs, cats, as well as friendly strangers of the internet.
“ODDTAXI” by Skirt & PUNPEE
🎶 pop, hip-hop 📍tokyo 🗓️ released on 7th april 2021
Singer-songwriter “Skirt” (AKA Wataru Sawabe) and rapper “PUNPEE” joined forces in 2021 to create the opening song for the anime television series “Odd Taxi”, which tells the eventful story of a 41-year-old socially awkward taxi driving Walrus, who gets wrapped up in a web of crime unintentionally (what’s not to like?).
Sawabe’s jazzy rhythm guitar riffs in the background as he belts out the song’s melody, singing about the journey of life symbolised by the turns made by a taxi riding across the city. In the following verses, PUNPEE’s raps about emotional obstacles (which are covered in the anime), featuring the translated line “School can’t teach you about yourself, watch this anime for reference”.
The music video is a sound reflection of the themes for this track, featuring Skirt & PUNPEE being driven around the city by Odokawa the Walrus, the anime’s main character, as they sing/rap.
The duo also perform this song really well live. Check out their performance of the song on “THE FIRST TAKE” here.
Follow PUNPEE on his Instagram here and on Twitter here. More information on Skirt can be found on his website here.
“Blue Eyed Monster” by SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS
🎶 club jazz, ‘death jazz’, punk jazz📍tokyo 🗓️ released on 28th august 2019
SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS, an energetic club jazz sextet born out of Tokyo’s jazz club scene in 2001, have coined the term “death jazz” to describe their charging style of jazz music. Upon merely listening, let alone witnessing one of their racing live performances, it’s not difficult to understand why.
The group has taken the international jazz scene by storm, playing shows from Tokyo to Berlin to London and back, for the past few decades and winning numerous world-renowned jazz awards. The group consists of the very eccentric President a.k.a. Shacho (the group’s agitator - a mix between a conductor, DJ and stylish hypeman), Tabu Zombie (trumpet), Josei (piano, keys), Akita Goldman (double bass) and Midorin (drums).
“Blue Eyed Monster” is the second track of a soundtrack album that SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS composed for the 2019 television adaptation of 60’s horror anime “Humanoid Monster BEM”. It is wildly atmospheric, intricately composed and melodically beautiful.
A crunchy rock organ riff and heavily percussive drum beat fuel the ominous piece, with beautiful brass melodies riding over the top, gorgeous jazz piano riffing and staggered upright bass. The heavy low end to the track amplifies it above a standard jazz song. “Blue Eyed Monster” is a complex, heavy and lively arrangement.
Find out more about the band via their website here and follow them on Instagram here.
“飽きている” (Growing tired of it) by the pullovers
🎶 indie rock 📍tokyo 🗓️ released on 14th june 2023
Formed in July 2019, the pullovers have come a long way since their first show in Shinjuku, Tokyo in the September of the same year. The band have released four EPs and several singles to date, “Akiteiru” being one of their latest. The group centres around two core members Cettia (vocals and bass) and Rick Sasaki (guitar).
“Akiteiru”, contrary to its title and lyrics, is a cheerful-sounding indie rock song with a warm, evocative tone, similar to that of many 90’s bands. Sasaki’s light but intricate guitar work sits neatly over Cettia’s neat bassline. The swinging drum beat injects a hint of retro energy into the song and temporarily gives it a heavier feel when it switches to a breakdown later on. Cettia’s sweet vocals contrast the instrumentation in a complimentary fashion and give the song an endearing character.
Some other great songs from the pullovers include “Lazy”, “The Boy on The Seaside” and their most recent release, “Yoruba’s Lighthouse”.
Visit the band’s official website here, follow them on Instagram here and discover more of their music on YouTube 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 musicofjapan@gmail.com.