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月: 2019年2月

cero, POLY LIFE MULTI SOUL, 2018

Throughout the 2010s, Japanese pop music has been obsessed with the so-called ‘urban’ or ‘city’ feeling. Many bands tried to render their impressions on their own city life, mostly in Tokyo. They sounded more optimistic than how the society actually was, but I think it was kinda redevelopment of their imaginary city. After the great earthquake in 2011, this act of redevelopment became more crucial since the city–well, of course, Tokyo–was heavily damaged both literally and psychologically. They needed to fix it, at least imaginarily.

In my opinion, cero’s body of work is a good example of this zeitgeist. The band was originally formed by three multi-instrumentalists, Shohei Takagi, Yu Arauchi, and Tomoyuki Yanagi in 2004. Around 2006 Tsubasa Hashimoto joined them. They released their debut full-length in 2011 but Yanagi left the band. Now cero consists of Takagi, Arauchi, and Hashimoto along with a bunch of skillful fellow musicians supporting them.

Their early works like WORLD RECORD and My Lost City were a very playful and fantastic depiction of the contemporary city and suburban life. Influenced by classic Japanese rock bands such as はっぴいえんど, they played psychedelic folk-rock songs with comtemporary twists that could be compared to early Beck, but with a more exotic flavor.

However, after these two records, they began exploring a different direction. Their EP Yellow Magus released in 2013 was comprised of four songs apparently inspired by deep funk tunes from the 70s. Two years later, they released their third album Obscure Ride. It was heavily influenced by neo-soul and contemporary jazz, particularly D’Angelo’s Voodoo or the Soulquarians’ other works.

Since then, their main interest has been rhythm and groove. Listening to Obscure Ride, you can imagine they roam around the imaginary city and its suburbs on the loose, out-of-pocket 16-beat with bittersweet R&B feelings. It fascinated some audience in Japan and led the band one of the most prominent acts in Tokyo.

And POLY LIFE MULTI SOUL was released in 2018. As soon as its lead single “魚の骨 鳥の羽根” uploaded on YouTube, it made a sensation. As you can hear, it features 3:4 cross-rhythm entirely. Moreover, the other songs also feature polyrhythm, irregular meters, metric modulations.

Although their rhythmic structure is rather complex, this album is quite danceable. It ends with a song named “Poly Life Multi Soul,” which has a strong four-on-the-floor beat in the second half. This ending sequence reminds me of feeling right before the party’s over. Delightfully tired, getting ready to start another day under the sun.

In terms of lyrics, it seemed influenced by American and South American literature. In fact, “夜になると鮭は” directly adapts Raymond Carver’s poem. Here, the surrealistic nature of contemporary city life was connected with the magical realism by the lyricist and vocalist, Takagi. Feeling haunted by anonymous lives and straying souls, we’re trying to deal with everyday life.

Far from the city as an idealized utopia, POLY LIFE MULTI SOUL arrived at somewhere both magical and uncanny. And this actually was the Japanese city life in 2018, I think.

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中村佳穂 (Kaho Nakamura), AINOU, 2018

Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, is known for its cultural scenes. Regarding music, there’s plenty of musicians playing indie rock, electronic music, hip hop, and more eclectic things. This is maybe because of the nature of the city, where is known as students’ city with lots of universities in rather a small area. Of course, there’s also precious historical heritage making this town enchanted.

Kaho Nakamura is a Kyoto-native singer and songwriter, and is one of the most prominent figures in recent Kyoto cultural scene. Her second full-length AINOU was critically acclaimed for its distinguished composition, sound design, and excellent vocalization. Praised by senior musicians like Kan Takano, Shigeru Kishida, and tofubeats, she was already known for her playful performance which was full of virtuosity. However, the album was the real breakthrough for her.

From a groovy mid-tempo like “きっとね! (Kitto Ne!)” to a neo-soul flavored slow jam “get back” or a simple piano ballad “永い言い訳 (Nagai Iiwake)”, AINOU takes a very eclectic approach which mixed Techno, R&B, Neo-Soul, City Pop, House, and Japanese Folklore etc. Then Nakamura’s voice gives unity to the entire album. She sings in a very delicate and nuanced manner as if she’s trying to precisely trace the feeling inside the song.

I think the biggest charm of this record is a tension between her raw genius and the post-production. In “you may they”, the vocal is slightly glitched and the beat is like a fusion of L.A. beats in the late 2000s and indie pop today. While the delicate yet eloquent character of her voice is obvious, the song seems trying to deconstruct it. This may be a reflection of the recording process, which took two years and a half to finish.

The turning point was James Blake’s performance at Fuji Rock Festival 2016, where she also played at. His performance, the dubstep-influenced complex texture of sound fused with a soulful voice, inspired Nakamura’s creativity. She decided to make a “sound-oriented” work different from her previous “song-oriented” ones. One massive sub-bass can tell something emotional. Some delicate reverberation can move someone’s heart. She tried to make something like these. Well, as far as I understand by her interviews.

With help from fellow musicians like Masahiro Araki and Yuichi Fukaya (from Remi-gai), Ryo Konishi (from CRCK/LCKS), Shuhei Nishida (from Yoshida Yohei Group), she finally made it. Thus, AINOU‘s eclectic approach is the result of her creative ambition and collaboration with the devoted fellows.

If you love AINOU, you better try listening to Remi-gai, CRCK/LCKS, and Yoshida Yohei Group. Their works also represent the cutting edge of Japanese alternative pop music. Particularly, Remi-gai’s recent work is quite interesting. In 2016, they worked with students’ glee club and brass band, and released two EPs (the dance we do, GIANT). You can feel how they influenced the production of AINOU.

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埼玉県小川町のカレー屋「CURRY & NOBLE 強い女」は名前に違わずヤバかった

 えー、本日の日記は特別編ということで、埼玉県比企郡小川町にできたばかりのカレー屋さん「CURRY & NOBLE 強い女」訪問記です。パキスタン風の無水カレーを出すこのお店、店主はおれの学部時代の同期で、卒業後はライヴハウスのブッキング担当などをしていた。そんな彼女がカレー屋をはじめる、しかもすげぇ名前で、というのは寝耳に水の話だった。たまたまいい時期に東京に滞在する予定だったので、「強い女」という強烈な名前に好奇心を抑えきれなかったフォロワーなどと共に埼玉まで脚を伸ばしたのだった。

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 具体的にお店についてレポートするその前に、小川町についてわかる範囲で説明を。小川町は東武東上線の終点。池袋から1時間ちょいくらいで行ける適度な田舎。「郊外」というには「山」すぎるけど、マジの「田舎」と言うほどでもなく、きっちりと開発されている印象だ。2011年の震災をきっかけに移住者が増え、都心への交通の便がよいこともあって家庭を持ちはじめるくらいの世代が結構チェックしている町らしい。また、小川町を含む比企郡一帯は野外アクティヴィティ向けのレジャースポットを多く抱えているらしく、同行者のひとり(レトリカ松本氏)は小川町にパラグライダーを体験しにきたことがあるらしい。

 というとなかなか賑わっているようにも思えるが、実際にはシャッター街化が進んでいる。商店街らしい商店街があるわけではないのだけれど、駅から「強い女」に向かう道中は空きテナントや空きビルが目立った。逆に言うと、それだけなにかを起こす「すき間」が街のなかにあるわけで、同行者たちはかなり興味深く物件を物色していた。単純に住もうと思うと人気の上昇に伴っていい物件が見つかりにくくなっている、と「強い女」の店主は言っていたけれど、それでも家賃相場はかなり安いし、あるいはリノベーションを前提に物件探しをすると掘り出しモノ――具体的には「強い女」が入居した物件――が見つかるらしい。

 ようやく本題。「強い女」は、通りを歩いていると前触れなくいきなり登場する。淡い青のファサードと店名を告げる窓のカッティングシートが洒落ていて、「すき間」だらけの街のなかにすっぽりと収まりつつも強烈な存在感を放っていた。

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 空き家を完全DIYでリノベーションした店内は、無塗装のコンパネをところどころ残した手作り感と、肝心なポイントはスマートにキメるバランス感覚が心地よい。

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 店内はカウンターのある土間と、板張りのスペースにわかれている。それがまるでステージのようなので、小さなライヴやトークイベントなんかにはうってつけだろう。話によると、近い内にアップライトピアノを店内に置く予定とのことで、アコースティック中心のライヴイベントはもちろん行っていくつもりらしい。(二枚目で微笑んでいるのが店主である)

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 肝心のカレーは鶏肉がたっぷりはいった、トマトベースの無水カレー。カレーには詳しくないけれど、辛さを推すというよりはトマトの酸味と肉のうま味をスパイスで引き立てるやさしい味だった。さらに、ちょっと変わった風味のする岩塩を「ちょい足し」することで味のインパクトががらっと変わる。酸味のニュアンスを楽しむカレーから、シャープなうま味が食欲をそそるカレーになって、結構面白い。ある種スポーツのように汗をかいて味わうというよりも、親しみやすい入り口とじっくり味わう繊細さで惹きつける感じか。

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 頼んだのはサラダバーと食後のお茶、そしてデザートがついたセットだったので、京番茶とチョコレートケーキをカレーのあとにいただいた。カレーに番茶って意外と合うのね……とよくわからない感慨に包まれた昼下がりであった。

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 ちなみに「強い女」のとなりは、ファミリースナックの「つよいみかた」。ここは子供連れでも入れるカラオケスナックをめざしてつくられたそうで、新宿ゴールデン街を渡り歩いた経歴を持つママが賑やかに出迎えてくれる。もはやここでは酒を飲んで楽しかったなあみたいな感じになっていたのでレポートにはならない。すみません。でもカレー食ったあとに流れで一杯酒のんでわっはっは、みたいなの、どんな平和な午後だよ、と思った。

 いろいろとおもしろいし気になるところが多かったから、「強い女」って名前の由来についても訊いてみたんだけれど、直接的な由来は秘密、とのことなのでここには書きません。でも、「強い女」という名前が時代の風を読んだ結果ってわけじゃなくて、店主が仲間と店の構想をふくらませるうちにたどりついたフレーズだったのは面白かった。店内ではずっと女性のフォークシンガーの楽曲が流れていて、それも「こういう人たちの曲が流れているようなお店っていいよね」という彼女たちなりの理想を求めた結果だという。

 まあ、要はどれもこれも、やりたいことを好き勝手やってるだけなんだけど、それが絶妙に「強い女」っていう店名に説得力を与えていた。店主はちょっと童顔で、京都育ちゆえか言葉遣いもぱっと聴いただけだと柔らかい。でも凄く芯があって野心があって、「こういう強さっていいよな」と思える。冗談めかして「『強い女』って言って出てくるのが私みたいなのだと、『どこが強い女なん?』ってなると思う」と言っていたけれども、とんでもない。こういう強さを胸張って強さと言える世の中にしてくんだよ君らとかおれらがさ、と思った。

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崎山蒼志 (Sohshi Sakiyama), いつかみた国 (Itsuka Mita Kuni), 2018

Sohshi Sakiyama is a singer and songwriter from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. He’s only 16-year-old but has gained enormous attention throughout 2018, since he appeared on AbemaTV’s program “日村が行く!(Himura ga Yuku)”, where he played his song “五月雨 (Samidare)”. The video went viral as soon as it appeared on Twitter and quickly built a huge fan base among the listeners including well-known Japanese rock musicians such as Enon Kawatani (from Gesu no Kiwami Otome), or Shigeru Kishida (from Quruli).

The song’s lyrics were full of unique metaphors and bright poesy, and also the song itself was quite sophisticated in terms of melodies and harmonies. However, I think the most attractive thing in his performance was his singing voice. His high-tone, shaking voice reminded me of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, or David Byrne in a way. Of course, they’re not quite similar though. Some might even say they’ve never listened to such an idiosyncratic voice. I almost agree with them.

The fans immediately started digging YouTube for the singer’s performance vids which had been uploaded before then. Fortunately, there were plenty of his live footages on the net because he frequently played around Hamamatsu music scene and the audience has recorded his performances for several years. More they found, more they loved him.

Finally, he signed to Sony Music and began releasing several singles from last summer to autumn. On December 5th, he released his 1st full-length, “いつかみた国 (Itsuka Mita Kuni)”. This 7-track LP includes the breakthrough “五月雨”, fans’ favorite “ソフト (Soft)”, as well as new songs.

Throughout the nearly entire album, Sakiyama just strums the guitar and sing (except one song, “龍の子 (Tatsu no Ko)”, which he tried DAW for the first time). That’s all and enough! There seems no edit, no effect, you can only hear his properly recorded performance. But thanks for his elegant guitar skill, they sound like kinds of Post-Rock, Prog-Rock, or even Electro. I strongly recommend to try this album once, and I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love with it. Even if without words, his vibrant voice and excellent guitar play should move your heart.

For your information, one of Sakiyama’s favorite release in 2018 is Yves Tumor’s “Safe in the Hands of Love”, according to his tweet. Isn’t it very curious, is it?

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宇多田ヒカル (Hikaru Utada), 初恋(Hatsukoi), 2018

If you’re acquainted with the Japanese pop culture, you may know Hikaru Utada. She’s one of Japan’s most famous singer and songwriter in these decades. Her debut album First Love sold over 10 million copies worldwide. It is the best selling J-POP album in history–and no one will ever break this record.

In 1998, with her debut single “Automatic / time will tell,” she changed the entire landscape of J-POP. Heavily influenced by the contemporary urban music like R&B, she showed Japanese audience how the Japanese language can groove on the R&B-oriented beat.

Of course, there were many precursors in terms of this kind of practice in Japan. From pre-modern Jazz to Rock n Roll to Soul to Hip Hop, Japanese musicians had been trying to adopt Western music into their musical vocabulary. Roughly, their main concern was how Western pop music could be sung in Japanese. Utada’s debut was like its ultimate answer emerged at the very end of the 20th century. 

Since then, along with her comrades such as Ringo Sheena, she’s been recognized as the most prominent artist in contemporary Japanese pop music. However, she took a hiatus from 2011 to 2015, saying that she wanted to live an ordinary life for a while.

In 2016, Utada announced come-back and released Fantôme, which featured several guest singers. Before then, she rarely invited guest singers in her music. Given that, the album seemed like a thankful gift for her fans those who patiently waited for her come back.

Moreover, it displayed her development as an artist in terms of singing rhythm and flow. I bet you can hear it clearly when you play “忘却 (Bo-kyaku)” with KOHH. On the atmospheric heartbeat-like beat, here she’s chanting like a prayer, rather than a pop star. The repetition of the same rhythm figure emphasizes rhymes between the lines, just as KOHH’s unique vocalization and flow do. His approach is more complicated, say, kinds of polyrhythmic one, though.

Two years later, 2018, she released her latest, 初恋 (Hatsukoi). The title means “first love” in English. This obviously refers to her debut album. It seemed as if she was trying to reboot her career for it was her 20th anniversary year as a singer and songwriter.

The album was thematically pretty delicate and self-reflective. For example, she frankly revealed her mixed feeling towards her mother, who deceased in 2013. On the other hand, in some songs, she showed her blissful and dramatic feeling in love with her lover, even singing people would be envious of her entire life with him.

From musical aspects, the album was quite challenging. With help from distinguished musicians such as Chris Dave on the drums, the rhythmical experiment which had been pursued in Fantôme became more sophisticated than ever. She tapped into the recent Trap style singing and rhyming, the polyrhythmic structure of the beat, and the subtle but definitive change of flow.

Listen to “誓い (Chikai),” which is now known as “Don’t Think Twice” outside Japan. This was the theme song for Kingdom Hearts 3 and led to Utada’s recent collaboration with Skrillex. According to Utada’s vocal, the song sounds basically 6/8. But if you focus on the piano, you can feel 4/4 with a bit swing or a loose groove. Still more, Utada sings very straightforward 16 beat at the bridge. These factors give this song a very interesting texture in terms of rhythm. Keeping this texture throughout the song rather than make a dramatic catharsis at the end, listeners are left emotionally confused a little and prompted to play it again and again.

Some argue that this album is the best release of 2018. I half agree with it. Honestly, I don’t like the lyrics, the messages they contain. However, there’s no doubt that this exquisite songwriting and arranging has no equal among contemporary Japanese pop music. It’s great pleasure that such an incredible album gained so much popularity in Japan (it reached #3 in the Billboard Japan year chart 2018). I strongly recommend to check out Utada’s recent works including 初恋 and Skrillex collaboration “Face My Fears.”

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