Issue #64: All Mixed Up
Highlighting 5 new indie-rock favorites, Koji Kikkawa and Tomoyasu Hotei's big collaboration, and the underappreciated music of Takashi Fujii
Hi! Welcome to This Side of Japan, a newsletter on Japanese music, new and old. You can check out previous issues here.
For this issue, we welcome guest writer Leika Keys to start the newsletter! She wrote a fabulous introduction to the music of Fujii Takashi that you can preview below and check out in full here. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram. Happy listening!
Comedian, actor, reality and variety TV show host, pop star: The many activities of the 51-year-old Takashi Fujii can’t be restricted to a single title. Depending on one’s media consumption, they will know a facet of Fujii out of many of his wide ranging different projects. The quirky anime Mind Game? The hit rom-com drama The Full-time Wife Escapist? The Netflix reality show Love is Blind: Japan? He is in all of them! But throughout his storied three-decades-long career in entertainment, one of his greatest feats to date is his activities as a music artist.
Originally a salaryman in his hometown of Osaka, Fujii joined Yoshimoto’s stage troupe Shinkigeki in 1992, where he became known for his various comedic characters. Since then, he’s come to be a reliable staple in the world of Japanese TV and more recently, theatre. When he isn’t busy acting, hosting, or performing, he’s busy stanning pop girls such as Perfume, Yoko Minamino, Kylie Minogue, and Gloria Estefan. But he doesn’t just talk about them—the inspiration of these artists can be felt in the music he’s released over the past 20 years.
The singer himself will be the first to claim that he’s no auteur, often eulogizing his collaborators, which range in an impressive list from Happy End’s Takashi Matsumoto, Tomoko Kawase (a.k.a. Tommy february6), to NONA REEVES’s Gota Nishidera, amongst many others. But it’s precisely this juxtaposition between his passion for glossy pop purity and his day job as a comedian which has enabled him to surprise with his delicious songs that mix pop, dance, and house music.
Below are 5 songs that simply serve as an amuse-bouche of Fujii’s history as an artist. There’s so much more out there, and I implore you to eat it all up. You can also find a playlist of some of the songs that he’s recommended, mentioned, and talked about over the years here.
“Nanda Kanda” by Takashi Fujii (Antinos, 2000)
One simply can’t discuss Takashi Fujii’s music career without mentioning “Nanda Kanda.” It’s no wonder that this first single from his first album, Romeo Michiyuki, became such a huge hit that he went on to perform it on NHK’s Kouhaku Uta Gassen. Without being overdramatic, this song is a dopamine-filled syringe shot directly into my veins: to be able to conjure up this level of an addictive and danceable song is nothing short of magical.
The song is a product of its time—sure, Japan just went through a decade of economic recession, but tonight, we’re gonna put on this track and just absolutely control of our minds and bodies. Fujii originally declined the opportunity to debut as a singer with “Nanda Kanda” and even wondered why this buoyant song was handed to him at all. But we should all be so grateful that he went along with it because this almost ridiculously upbeat song would appear grating if it was performed by anyone else—the song meets him at his hyper-energetic level and never drops the ball.
Now, he often cites the lyrics from the song, which is as close to a personal motto as Fujii has and a narrative especially reflective of his later career. He’s doing what he wants to do, and in “Nanda Kanda,” (which translates to “one thing or another”) he’s encouraging you that you do too.
…from Romeo Michiyuki (2002). Listen to it on Spotify.
“Okinuke Joke” by Matthew Minami (R&C Japan, 2004)
It’s the playful, repeated “payaa~”s that never fails to delight in this silly and glittering song about mistaking Yokohama for Kobe sung by Matthew Minami, who is definitely NOT Fujii Takashi in a blonde wig. Matthew, who is Japanese on his mother’s side and English on his father’s side, hosted Matthew’s Best Hit TV, a variety show which ran from 2001-2006 where he would chat and play games with his (often musical) guests. Through the show, he became acquainted with some of the younger pop singers of the early 2000s, such as Aya Matsuura, Ayumi Hamasaki, and Sayaka Kanda. Matthew and his show were even featured in the film Lost in Translation.
Matthew recently graced the Japanese public with his return as the host of the Amazon Audible original podcast Matthew’s Matthew: Heya no Naka no Matthew in 2022, which finds a new crop of celebrities at the mercy of his antics. While today’s Matthew is much more toned down, the core of Matthew—the ditzy and boyish entertainer but who also appears interested in and fascinated by his guests—is still there. In the first episode of the show, he reunites with Matsuura, who left the music industry some time ago, and Fujii Matthew bursts into tears at the moment they see each other for the first time in years.
…from Daisougen No Chiisana Matthew EP (2006). Listen to it on Spotify.
Welcome back to This Side of Japan after a month-plus of hiatus! It’s great to kick off the return with a fabulous guest feature! Hope you enjoyed reading about the music of Takashi Fujii as much as I did. We’re going to do a bit more different things down the issue with multiple albums for our Album of the Week. Business as usual continues with the other sections with the 3 song selections and a look back at a proper number one.
Happy listening!
Album of the Week
For this issue, I wanted to try out something a little bit different for this section. Instead of a formal review of one album, this issue’s Album of the Week will collect small blurbs for multiple releases. I can give you multiple reasons for this, but in the end, we’re due for a catch-up after a hiatus, and so here’s a rundown of some of the new rock releases from the past month that caught my ear.
The Big Escape by Blow Your Brains Out [Quality Control]
*Recommended track: “No Control” | Listen to it on Bandcamp/Spotify
Building off of their potent Blackout demo from 2019, Blow Your Brains Out flesh out their politics in the hardcore band’s debut LP, The Big Escape. While the title tracks carried over from the demo still hit the hardest when it comes to showcasing pure speed and power, the newer material strives to scratch at deeper matters while inducing punk-rock damage, which the titles should reveal of their intent pretty clearly: “Survive,” “Voice of the Voiceless,” “Hate and War.”
backmyrage by CARTHIEFSCHOOL [Transduction]
*Recommended track: “Jiken” | Listen to it on Bandcamp/Spotify
While CARTHIEFSCHOOL’s previous release already ran brisk as is, the Sapporo band manage to trim the fat to turn in an even sharper-hitting album in their new 20-minute burner of an LP, backmyrage. The three-piece waste no time lashing out one seething song after the next that cross between wry, nervy post-punk and frenzied post-hardcore. Their renewed focus lends it brevity, though they get no closer in striking on a way to release all of the tension bubbling underneath the tightly wound songs — if anything, the music only amplifies in intensity as they fit all this fury in a even more compacted space.
Mixed up EP by Fennel [LIKE A FOOL]
*Recommended track: “Life on the Run” | Listen to it on Spotify
Hiromi Sagane’s preference for bold, broad strokes over crooked lines for the guitar riffs can posit her solo project Fennel as an alternative to the music of her other band, tricot. The big head-banger riff of “Life on the Run” that opens her new Mixed up EP finds kinship more with the brazen power pop of, say, Lucie, Too than the wiry post-punk of Sagane’s label mates NOUGAT. And yet the straight angles only enhance the directness of her songs while also reminding that for all the complex knots Tricot tie with the guitars, the band’s tracks, too, ultimately aim for the gut. In her latest release, Sagane further shows her efforts with Fennel is less of an untangling than it is a transferring of energy from her work in her other band.
WALLY by full urchin [self-released]
*Recommended track: “sundown” | Listen to it on Bandcamp
Full urchin imbue their debut album, WALLY, with a lingering poignance. The Sendai band describe the intangible listlessness in their own words via the liner notes on the album’s Bandcamp page: “if you have ever broken something or walked around for no reason, I am sure you will become good friends with this works.” Indeed, their stoned indie rock creaks with a relatable lethargy, like it’s been put out in the sun a bit too long, fulfilling the impression as given from their listed influences of Courtney Barnett and Forth Wanderers. Though WALLY does feature some spiky numbers that show off their pop chops, it’s when the band zone out and indulge in the more languid cuts that the album introduces the four-piece best.
Here I Stand by Yuragi [FLAKE]
*Recommended track: “Here I Stand” | Listen to it on Spotify
The first two songs of Yuragi’s latest LP deliver slow-burning, post-rock devastation that ultimately hits like a splash of water to the face, with the nearly-seven-minute opening track really letting the heaviness cook. But after all of that deep brooding, the band quickly sheds the weight to unleash some of their more lithe material. They forgo the fussy genre explorations tried out in their previous album, For you, Adroit it but soft, and return to a more concentrated effort of dreamy indie rock. Head-ringing buzz still provide the hooks in a song like “Worthy of…,” but it all builds up into moments resembling clarity than bleakness, like Yuragi is finally getting over a long emotional hangover.
Singles Club
“ENN” by NEI [D.R.C. / AWDR / LR2]
The drums skitters across ebullient synths in “ENN,” pattering a rhythm caught somewhere in between footwork and Jersey club. A slight rise in energy, and the gliding instrumental for NEI’s new single would be a sure hit at a house-music night, and yet rapper-producer C.O.S.A. instead opts to mute his beat into a low-key affair that honestly reminds me of NewJean’s deeply casual club&B. Perhaps eased by the beat’s nonchalance, NEI displays an unaffected cool as he introspects about his day-to-day in an otherwise tricky flow. He narrates of so much happening at once but as though he’s seeing it all in slow motion, just as it might feel observing life as it goes while standing at the dead center of C.O.S.A.’s stoned-out club-rap swirl.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “L7 Blues” by LANA; “Kaze Wo Kitte” by NORIKYO & Dengaryu
“Like Like” by Raon [Dreamus]
Korean utaite Raon occupies the greyest of lines on what’s considered J-pop, especially now with her first Korean single, “Like Like.” The clear influence behind her debut single justifies her place in the J-pop discussion at least for now: “Kitsunenomado (Queen Fox)” draws inspiration from the likes of Ado and Reol, utaites who also collaborated with the track’s producers Giga and Teddyloid. The former returns while joined by Korean producer TAK for “Like Like,” and though the dance-pop production is as busy and bombastic as Giga’s other works, the song grabs at K-pop as much as “Odo” in structure: the sharp left turn into a glitch-y hip-hop ride in the second verse feels wholly derived from K-pop. The rumbling drop won’t let “Like Like” be mistaken for a hit by Kep1er or IVE yet the added new stylistic inspiration carves out a unique lane for Raon.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Flavor” by GENIC; “WONDER LOVER” by Little Glee Monster
“FINE LINE” by SIRUP ft. Skaai [Suppage]
SIRUP often sings about the better days ahead, his tracks shot with a good dose of optimism: no surprise from a singer with a single titled “Superpower” last year that indeed embraced faith in the inspiring power of music. And so the shift in emotion becomes quite noticeable in “FINE LINE” hearing him express worry about the security of his relationship. Uncertainty influences the production, too, shaking up the rhythms of his usual bouncy hip-hop into a shifty 2-step beat. His wandering into the unknown, though, ends up inspiring one of the more creatively exciting tracks as he ventures into a new sound as well as emotional palette.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “WE ARE” by eill; “Go Back” by iri
This Week in 1989…
“BE MY BABY” by COMPLEX [Toshiba EMI, 1989]
No. 1 during the weeks of April 17-24, 1989 | Listen to it on Spotify/YouTube
From its debut single and first number-one hit, “BE MY BABY,” COMPLEX hardly showed any worry about the potential of its own success. The two musicians behind the collaboration both had stepped into unproven ground in their careers: Koji Kikkawa had recently announced an indefinite hiatus after splitting from agency, and Tomoyasu Hotei had just completed the farewell show of his former band BOOWY. But they’ve each amassed a cult following from their gigs as idol-turned-rockstar and lead guitarist to one of the biggest bands of the ‘80s, respectively. They had such huge celebrity behind them on their own. A partnership between the two only furthered secured a new foolproof venture.
The duo embodies this “too big to fail” quality for “BE MY BABY” in both the single's sound and performance. Hotei arranges a huge, crowd-pleasing production with stomping, gated drums and a buzzing, skyscraping guitar riff that has become his signature sound, post-BOOWY. But even before the song dives into its arena-rock indulgences, there’s the titular intro that’s shameless in its goofiness and yet has nevertheless grown into the single’s, if not the duo’s hallmark: hear the crowd go wild as soon as the “be my baby” refrain starts to play in Tokyo dome during the duo’s 2011 reunion show.
The crowd-pleasing personality behind “BE MY BABY” marks a more interesting creative turn for Kikkawa. While he spent his last years before hiatus transitioning away from his idol roots in favor of rocker seriousness, he returns to pop to ham it up more than ever. He dismisses any ambitions for artfulness in the single’s music video that’s really an open flexing of their star power. The clip features nothing but Kikkawa and Hotei dancing to the tune in front of a white backdrop, gyrating in front of the camera as dramatic as their instruments of choice.
It pays off to draw out the flamboyance of it all, though, with a voice like Kikkawa’s, whose exaggerating of syllables echoes the glam vocal inflections of frontmen in the lineage of Bryan Ferry and David Bowie. His connection to the British New Wave sticks out even more against music arranged by the guitarist of a band who wrote a song like “B BLUE” that wears its post-punk influence boldly on its sleeve. More than the stylistic hallmarks of the genre, COMPLEX in “BE MY BABY” displays a reverence for classic American pop and rock ‘n’ roll as they shown in glam, via the “I want my MTV”-feel of Hotei’s blockbuster electric guitars but also the doo wop channeled by Kikkawa in the chorus.
COMPLEX put an end to their collaboration only a year after the release of “BE MY BABY.” Whether the rumors of them clashing in personality are true or not, Kikkawa at least seemed to take somewhat of a liking to the new sound he cut with his former bandmate. While it’s not actually arranged by the guitarist, Kikkawa’s ‘90s singles follow close to the broad electric-guitar strokes brought by Hotei; in a few cases, with his snarling vocals against neo-glam guitar licks, it places him loosely adjacent to the then-booming visual-kei scene. If COMPLEX proved too big to sustain itself for the long haul, it fortunately gave its members another significant spark to what they’d accomplish after.
You can listen to all of the songs covered so far in this section in this playlist here.
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