LAYRUS LOOP -- Dancefloor

 

Welcome back to Urban Contemporary Friday on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". TGIF and all that! I thought that we might begin our usual quintet of articles today with a modern entry.

The only substantial information that I could get on the three-piece band LAYRUS LOOP was from the "UK Project" website. Formed at a technical college in the summer of 2019, this Kansai-based trio consists of bassist/vocalist Yuria Ohtoshi（オオトシユリヤ）, guitarist Maho Murakami（ムラカミマホ）and drummer Sora Motozawa（モトザワソラ）. They've been described as a next-generation pop-rock band...fresh but with melodies that can also have a bit of a sepia tone.

I gather that the description can also apply to the August 2022 digital single "Dancefloor" which has that Neo-City Pop flavour. Written and composed by the slightly whispery Ohtoshi, it's about a woman who just wants to hit the dance floor on a Friday night to cleanse herself of all of the sturm und drang that she's amassed over the work week. From the lyrics, listeners might have expected a disco piece but the melody is actually quite cool and elegant...I'd say spearmint, myself. In a way, the lady's adventure isn't restricted to the club but it's an overall experience of a night out in Tokyo.

Just watching the official music video below, I remembered the anecdotes of corporate office ladies taking off from their 9-to-5 jobs, switching from dowdy uniforms to those slinky bodicon dresses, and then hitting places like Juliana's. They loved the night life, they liked to boogie. LAYRUS LOOP also has a Twitter account.