A few years ago, I put up an article regarding this musician, composer and producer by the name of Opus Science Collective who managed to mix together this fine cocktail called "Akai Shiro" back in 2021. Recently, I've been seeing these bartenders concoct drinks combining the usual ingredients and special Japanese additions such as green tea, and perhaps OSC is one of these mixologists on the musical level.
OSC came out with a new album early this year called "Sunrise Express" and I've got the final track "Ikisaki Funku" which I believe means "Destination: Funk", and reading his thoughts on his own blog just before the release of "Sunrise Express", he had been interested in delving a bit more into the Vaporwave and Future Funk genres which led to the genesis of this album.
I think "Ikisaki Funku" has some of that Future Funk feeling especially in its opening bars and though the Japonesque Neo-City Pop vibe is still moving in there, there is also that real funk and also technopop doing some smooth sprints on the field. My imagination got a bit lightheaded in the "Akai Shiro" article when I compared the song to a leisurely trip in future Tokyo with air cars whizzing among the crystal towers. Well, perhaps "Ikisaki Funku" is a side trip in a new neighbourhood mixing the future versions of traditional Asakusa and international Roppongi.
As for the title of OSC's most recent album, the musician also talks about it in his blog, but the Sunrise Express is an actual train run that goes from Tokyo to Izumo and apparently it is the only sleeper train left in Japan (although that may change in the next few years with a proposed new train going up north to replace the Cassiopeia). My friend and I had once thought about going on it for the thrill, and personally, I wouldn't have minded heading to Izumo, if only to spend a night at Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）family's ryokan there (welcome to Fantasy Island, J-Canuck!).
