Wishful thinking would lead me to proclaim it's not so much a matter of 'could' but 'when'...
But on a more serious note, with Miku-chan's stock higher than ever following that David Letterman performance and a series of high profile pieces in the Western press, it all begs the question, when will Miku 'go mainstream' in the West? As Japan - and arguably the world's - biggest and best virtual idol, it sort of makes sense that at one point or another, we'll reach some kind of Miku-singularity when the world at large finally sets up and says 'Hey, this blue-haired lass was actually on to something all along - why have Bieber when you can have Miku?'
Considering EDM/dance music's dominance of Western music charts at the moment too, you'd think that Miku's robotic, soul-less entity would be the perfect fit too - considering a great deal of club tracks these days are either mere vocal samples or auto-tuned so much they might as well be a vocaloid.
In my eyes though, there are four components that need to be considered in terms of scenarios where Miku could reasonably score a chart hit in the West.
1) Slow process of cultural osmosis and acceptance of Asian pop in the West.
The most idealised, but most unlikely situation. This supposes that over the next ten years or so, the UK will open up to both Japanese pop, and foreign language music as a whole. Unlikely, right? But hey, if that track off the opening title sequence to Scandi-thriller The Bridge can go half the distance, maybe Miku might just have the remotest of chances.
2) Viral hit
I sort of dread this one. After all, there'd be nothing worse than Miku being dismissed as a Gangnam style phenomenon. But what the heck, if it took a bonkers viral smash to get the average man and woman on the streets of Britain talking about her in the same breath as Ellie Goulding and Rita Ora, maybe it would be worth it. They could get her 'on the sofa' to chat with Philip Scofield and everything.
3) The Olympics
The irony here is that this purports that Miku will actually still be popular come 2020. But then, isn't that the whole point of a vocaloid. Miku will always be 16, no matter how many years go by. She will never age, never get wrinkles, never grow old, never stop spinning those leeks. If Miku is even half the Japanese institution in 2020 that she is today, expect her to make an appearance at the opening ceremony - and via its global broadcast, us fans can hold out hope that might somehow translate into a global hit.
4) DJ collab / guest feature / sample
In my eyes, probably the most likely as it stands. Pharrell's already done one, as has Zedd. If anyone is prone to utilize Miku in the way she has always been intended, it'll be the DJ/remix/production community. They 'get' Miku, as both artistic tool, production element and 'voice'. In that sense, she really is no different from any other sample. And this perhaps, holds the greatest hope for a Miku hit over here in the immediate future.
Now, where did we put our leek...?
Thursday 12 February 2015
ClariS megamix - Reunion / Click
I stumbled across this megamix bringing together some of ClariS biggest and best hits the other day, and fell in love with it straight away (largely spurred on by the fact it's almost impossible to find legit streams of ClariS' music in the UK)
When the only ClariS material properly available in the UK is limited to the duo's 2014 studio album Party Time, you lap up what you can when you find it. The best bit in the below mix is clearly Oreimo OP theme Reunion - in my opinion still ClariS finest moment to date. There's something about its rolling melodies and Genki Girl enthusiasm that captures the charm of Oreimo lead Kirino perfectly; all the wonder and wide-eyed 'Life Really Can Be This Amazing If You Want It To Be' chutzpah that anime so often seems to want to project on its viewers.
That said, Click comes a close second - and a good thing too, considering it's one of the few ClariS singles you can actually obtain legally in the UK.
When the only ClariS material properly available in the UK is limited to the duo's 2014 studio album Party Time, you lap up what you can when you find it. The best bit in the below mix is clearly Oreimo OP theme Reunion - in my opinion still ClariS finest moment to date. There's something about its rolling melodies and Genki Girl enthusiasm that captures the charm of Oreimo lead Kirino perfectly; all the wonder and wide-eyed 'Life Really Can Be This Amazing If You Want It To Be' chutzpah that anime so often seems to want to project on its viewers.
That said, Click comes a close second - and a good thing too, considering it's one of the few ClariS singles you can actually obtain legally in the UK.
Triple H - Rock Over Japan (Mawaru Penguindrum)
The long and short of it is that Penguindrum is absolutely mental. Perhaps even more so than the likes of the Monogatari series, it - as an animated composition - represents an absolute head-screw of a show. And that's what makes it so incredible. It's like a psychology text-book on crack dosed down on a handful of poppers and Pop Party compilations.
And Rock Over Japan is the cherry on its conveniently penguin-shaped cake. It's rare that an anime contains an insert song that completely outshines both the OP and ED theme, but with Penguindrum and Rock Over Japan, it is absolutely, resolutely the case.
Accompanying as it does female lead Himari's transformation sequence, it seems to epitomize the very best excesses of J-Pop. If you grabbed someone off the street and asked them to imagine what J-Pop sounded like, it'd probably be a bit like this. It's game-show theme tune cum pop-punk kiddy-disco. It's cruise-ship lemonade skating on a silver lining of sparkly, pink nu-electro.
It is, above all, Fabulous Max.
And Rock Over Japan is the cherry on its conveniently penguin-shaped cake. It's rare that an anime contains an insert song that completely outshines both the OP and ED theme, but with Penguindrum and Rock Over Japan, it is absolutely, resolutely the case.
Accompanying as it does female lead Himari's transformation sequence, it seems to epitomize the very best excesses of J-Pop. If you grabbed someone off the street and asked them to imagine what J-Pop sounded like, it'd probably be a bit like this. It's game-show theme tune cum pop-punk kiddy-disco. It's cruise-ship lemonade skating on a silver lining of sparkly, pink nu-electro.
It is, above all, Fabulous Max.
Two-Mix - Rhythm Emotion (Gundam Wing OP)
One of the things I've always liked best about Gundam Wing is how well it does the whole 'humanity pushed to its limits' thing. It takes a look at the very essence of the human condition, ie. are we forever destined to fight on and on, and takes it to its logical conclusion. can violence ever be an acceptable means to achieving peace? Can peace, essentially, be 'crafted' (to coin the name of the series' female lead).
Two-Mix's track captures all that, the drama and the tension of the thousand-mile-an-hour space battles and adrenaline fueled chaos. Those towering orchestral hits in the middle-eight? The sound of laser cannons blowing chunks out of your mortal enemy as their corpse freezes in the darkness of cold vacuum. Those Flashdance-esque synth blasts? The thrum of a Mobile Suit's engine running hot as its weapons pump our a lightning-quick crescendo.
Is it dated? Amazingly so. Incredibly so. But sometimes the 90s really did do it best.
Two-Mix's track captures all that, the drama and the tension of the thousand-mile-an-hour space battles and adrenaline fueled chaos. Those towering orchestral hits in the middle-eight? The sound of laser cannons blowing chunks out of your mortal enemy as their corpse freezes in the darkness of cold vacuum. Those Flashdance-esque synth blasts? The thrum of a Mobile Suit's engine running hot as its weapons pump our a lightning-quick crescendo.
Is it dated? Amazingly so. Incredibly so. But sometimes the 90s really did do it best.
Blast From The Past - Cardcaptor Sakura (CITV)
If there's any series I'd give an arm and a leg for a UK release of, it'd be Cardcaptor Sakura (or Cardcaptors as it was known by in the English dubbed version).
Back in the early 2000s, I'd just started at secondary school and I distinctly remember rushing home on weekdays to catch the latest episode of Cardcaptors. Here was a cartoon that felt distinctly adolescent - both in tone, and visually - something that offered adventure, fantasy and an escape from reality. Twenty minutes to lose yourself in, leaving homework behind in a dizzying spin of addictive 'gotta see the next episode' viewing. Much like World of Warcraft did for me years later, Cardcaptors was the door into another world - a means to transport your mind into a world where excitement lurked behind every door and adventure could be found in everyday school life.
In Sakura, you had the plucky heroine. With Lee, you had the boyish self-insert entry point that the English version so clearly played up (much to the chagrin of fans of the original Japanese version). Together, you had one hell of an adventure series. There was even the collectible card element, which coming off the back of the Pokemon craze, felt oh so timely.
And, man oh man, that theme tune...
Back in the early 2000s, I'd just started at secondary school and I distinctly remember rushing home on weekdays to catch the latest episode of Cardcaptors. Here was a cartoon that felt distinctly adolescent - both in tone, and visually - something that offered adventure, fantasy and an escape from reality. Twenty minutes to lose yourself in, leaving homework behind in a dizzying spin of addictive 'gotta see the next episode' viewing. Much like World of Warcraft did for me years later, Cardcaptors was the door into another world - a means to transport your mind into a world where excitement lurked behind every door and adventure could be found in everyday school life.
In Sakura, you had the plucky heroine. With Lee, you had the boyish self-insert entry point that the English version so clearly played up (much to the chagrin of fans of the original Japanese version). Together, you had one hell of an adventure series. There was even the collectible card element, which coming off the back of the Pokemon craze, felt oh so timely.
And, man oh man, that theme tune...
Blast From The Past - Monster Rancher (CBBC)
Everyone remembers watching Pokemon, Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh on CITV. For a generation of young Brits, it was the first experience with anime in any shape or form. But let's not forget that, believe it or not, there was actually a time when the BBC showed anime too, in the form of Monster Rancher.
Broadcast from 2001 to 2002 if I remember correctly, the above villain (Gali) ended up lingering in my memory long after the show itself had evaporated from my mind. For years on years, I racked my brains desperately trying to recall the name of the above character - with only a firm imprint on my mind of a 'villain with the face of a sun' to remember the show by. Finally, late last year, I remembered.
For some reason, good ol' Gali had really left an impression on the pre-teen version of myself. I'd just started secondary school, and on coming into school one day, we were tasked to draw a rendition of Caliban as part of our studies of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Having just sat down to an episode of Monster Rancher that morning whilst scoffing down my cornflakes, I promptly drew my Caliban as a Gali-inspired monstrosity.
Shakespeare and Monster Rancher - such natural bedfellow, of course.
Incidentally, I love that you can still see remnants of the show in the BBC's programming schedules as part of their BBC Genome archive project. Anyone for a spot of Tweenies and Playdays?
Sadly, the show - like Digimon - is now long out of print in the UK, with all that remains being a 2002 three-episode VHS.
Neon Jungle - London Rain
It's worth remembering that the UK actually has its very own Japanese pop-star in the form of Neon Jungle's Asami Zdrenka. When I interviewed the band late last year, she told me her family back in Japan would regularly chat about the band's successes in the UK to their friends, and that their track London Rain seemed to be particularly popular amongst their Japanese fans.
The song has always been one of my favourites from their album, and I certainly like to think it has more than a touch of J-Pop to it - twinkling as it does with delicate, twinkling synth lines and beautiful, lingering melancholy that suggests the neon-tinged afterglow of Tokyo twilight. Hats off to co-writers Cocknbullkid and MNEK for penning the tune!
The song has always been one of my favourites from their album, and I certainly like to think it has more than a touch of J-Pop to it - twinkling as it does with delicate, twinkling synth lines and beautiful, lingering melancholy that suggests the neon-tinged afterglow of Tokyo twilight. Hats off to co-writers Cocknbullkid and MNEK for penning the tune!
J-Pop gigs in the UK - 2015
So, you fancy going to see some awesome acts this year and are wondering what's on the schedule so far for 2015? With the likes of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Perfume playing sold-out shows in the UK last year, it's never been a better time to see Japanese acts live in ol' Blighty.
Personally, we'd recommend going to see the excellent SCANDAL - while it's also worth keeping your eyes peeled for the Great Escape line-up, as they usually secure a handful of Japanese acts.
Via JAME UK
Personally, we'd recommend going to see the excellent SCANDAL - while it's also worth keeping your eyes peeled for the Great Escape line-up, as they usually secure a handful of Japanese acts.
Via JAME UK
 | 15/02 | NISENNENMONDAI EUROPE TOUR 2015nisennenmondai | London - United Kingdom Heaven |
| 17/02 | NISENNENMONDAI EUROPE TOUR 2015nisennenmondai | Manchester - United Kingdom Soup Kitchen |
| 18/02 | NISENNENMONDAI EUROPE TOUR 2015nisennenmondai | Brighton - United Kingdom Sticky Mike's Frog Bar |
 | 03/03 | KAMIJO WORLD TOUR 2015 -20th ANNIVERSARY BEST-KAMIJO | London - United Kingdom The Garage |
 | 26/04 | SCANDAL WORLD TOUR 2015 "HELLO WORLD"SCANDAL | London - United Kingdom O2 Academy Islington |
 | 18/05 | MUCC EUROPE TOUR 2015 "F#CK THE PAST F#CK THE FUTURE"MUCC | London - United Kingdom O2 Academy Islington |
 | 23/05 | TOUR15 THE UNSTOPPABLE LIFEDIR EN GREY | London - United Kingdom O2 Academy Islington |
| 24/05 | TOUR15 THE UNSTOPPABLE LIFEDIR EN GREY | London - United Kingdom O2 Academy Islington |
What J-Pop is available on UK streaming services?
Short answer? Not a lot. Seriously, the amount of J-Pop available on UK streaming services like Spotify makes UK iTunes look like a veritable paradise.
That's the bad news out of the way. The good news? A few key releases and artists are actually available:
Perfume
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
Linked Horizon's Attack on Titan OP
Morning Musume
Utada Hikaru's English language album
Passpo
T.M Revolution
A couple of AKB48 tracks
Various Hatsune Miku songs (but unfortunately very little of the well-known stuff from the Project Diva games)
That's the bad news out of the way. The good news? A few key releases and artists are actually available:
Perfume
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
Linked Horizon's Attack on Titan OP
Morning Musume
Utada Hikaru's English language album
Passpo
T.M Revolution
A couple of AKB48 tracks
Various Hatsune Miku songs (but unfortunately very little of the well-known stuff from the Project Diva games)
How to find out what J-Pop tracks are doing well in the UK
A bit of a how-to here. It's what I've come to rely on anyway to tell me what (reasonably) new stuff is doing the rounds on UK iTunes.
Firstly, there's the frustration that within iTunes main store, it's very difficult to actually access the J-Pop chart - it's lumped in with the 'World' chart and can typically only be seen when searching for 'related' content to albums actually flagged specifically as 'J-Pop'.
Thank God for iTop Chart then, who provide the data in a stripped-out, easy to access format.
Top 100 J-Pop Songs
Top 100 J-Pop Albums
Top 100 Anime Songs
Top 100 Anime Albums
Far from ideal, but better than nothing, right? I'm not sure why iTunes deems fit to separate J-Pop and Anime as two separate genres (and what determines whether a release is one or the other), but by sticking to these four charts, you can glean a reasonable insight into what's new - as these releases typically filter to the top.
Sadly, the 'Anime' charts are flooded with what I deem 'unofficial' tribute versions - to which the only answer can be 'Release the proper versions in the UK please!'
Firstly, there's the frustration that within iTunes main store, it's very difficult to actually access the J-Pop chart - it's lumped in with the 'World' chart and can typically only be seen when searching for 'related' content to albums actually flagged specifically as 'J-Pop'.
Thank God for iTop Chart then, who provide the data in a stripped-out, easy to access format.
Top 100 J-Pop Songs
Top 100 J-Pop Albums
Top 100 Anime Songs
Top 100 Anime Albums
Far from ideal, but better than nothing, right? I'm not sure why iTunes deems fit to separate J-Pop and Anime as two separate genres (and what determines whether a release is one or the other), but by sticking to these four charts, you can glean a reasonable insight into what's new - as these releases typically filter to the top.
Sadly, the 'Anime' charts are flooded with what I deem 'unofficial' tribute versions - to which the only answer can be 'Release the proper versions in the UK please!'
nano - Rock On.
Imagine my surprise earlier this week when I checked iTunes and saw this pop up. January is typically a pretty dead period for new music, with the UK's charts invariably bloated with the biggest hits of the previous year following the Xmas blow-out.
But lo and behold, January 28th, and the new album from angular pop-rock type nano is up there. Rejoice! Most will know nano for the incredible OP theme to Arpeggio of Blue Steel, and said track is present here, alongside the singles Born To Be and Infinity=Zero. Personally, I don't think there's anything that quite comes close to matching early standouts Now Or Never and No Pain, No Game, but it makes for a solid record nonetheless, with the singer's characteristic androgynous vocals front and centre.
I've always likened nano to Enter Shikari or Amaranthe, but in truth the sound is wider reaching - matching the punchy guitar/synths combo to a more melodic course. The blend of Japanese and English lyrics is excellently done too - which is more than be said for many OP themes that attempt to do likewise.
But yeah, it goes without saying: Victor Entertainment - cheers for putting this out officially in the UK! And for anyone that hasn't heard Savior of Song yet? Boy have you been missing out...
But lo and behold, January 28th, and the new album from angular pop-rock type nano is up there. Rejoice! Most will know nano for the incredible OP theme to Arpeggio of Blue Steel, and said track is present here, alongside the singles Born To Be and Infinity=Zero. Personally, I don't think there's anything that quite comes close to matching early standouts Now Or Never and No Pain, No Game, but it makes for a solid record nonetheless, with the singer's characteristic androgynous vocals front and centre.
I've always likened nano to Enter Shikari or Amaranthe, but in truth the sound is wider reaching - matching the punchy guitar/synths combo to a more melodic course. The blend of Japanese and English lyrics is excellently done too - which is more than be said for many OP themes that attempt to do likewise.
But yeah, it goes without saying: Victor Entertainment - cheers for putting this out officially in the UK! And for anyone that hasn't heard Savior of Song yet? Boy have you been missing out...
LiSa - This Illusion
If I had to pick a current 'tune of the week', it'd definitely be this one. When I first heard it in the season finale to Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works' first cour, it blew me away - it just captured the gravitas and gloss of the series perfectly. I've been a fan of LiSa's music for a while now, with her Sword Art Online theme Crossing Field continuing to rank as one of the highest-selling J-Pop tracks on UK iTunes - and This Illusion sees her continuing to impress, albeit with a far darker tone than before.
Ariola Japan played an absolute winner getting the first FSN:UBW OP theme (Mashiro Ayano's Ideal White) out on iTunes pretty much day-and-date with the first cour airing on Crunchyroll - let's hope whoever's pulling the string on This Illusion can do likewise with this one.
Ariola Japan played an absolute winner getting the first FSN:UBW OP theme (Mashiro Ayano's Ideal White) out on iTunes pretty much day-and-date with the first cour airing on Crunchyroll - let's hope whoever's pulling the string on This Illusion can do likewise with this one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)