Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- KURU KURU HARAJUKU

By Chris 73 via Wikimedia Commons

I've made my fair share of visits to Harajuku. Takeshita-douri, all those crepe stands, the fashionistas and the bubblegum-coloured stores...it's quite the amusement park. Of course, by entering the area (even back in my old Japan days), I immediately skewed the age line so I can't even imagine what it would feel like going there now. 

Speaking of age, it's hard for me to believe that the vivacious Kyary Pamyu Pamyu（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）is 33 years old now. She has always struck me as someone stuck in her late teens or early twenties, and her overall aura is such that she doesn't even have to physically appear in a music video to make it worthy viewing. Et tu, "DODONPA"（どどんぱ）?

Well, a couple of days ago, her latest single just dropped. Titled "KURU KURU HARAJUKU" (Spinning Harajuku), it's another percolating blippity-bloppity technopop treat from KPP about a Harajuku denizen's dramatic day in her favourite area of Tokyo. And this time, the mesmerizing video has multiple Kyarys of differing sizes bopping about in what looks like a costume of the Michelin Man in battle mode. Maybe the techno trio Perfume is off on indefinite hiatus but producer/songwriter Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）still has plenty of work.

Perfume -- Cold Sleep（コールドスリープ）

By Gene Wang via Wikimedia Commons

I'm starting to get those Arashi（嵐）retired/not retired vibes when it comes to the group Perfume. Up to now, I'd gotten the distinct impression that Nocchi, Kashiyuka, and A-chan were on an indefinite hiatus after spending a quarter century with each other, mostly creating technopop treats for the masses. Well, I know now that Arashi has officially retired, but I should have reminded myself that "indefinite hiatus" doesn't mean "permanent retirement". 

In fact, when I finally read the fine print of their current status, Perfume stated that they were entering a phase of "cold sleep", and when the time is right, they will return as a different form of Perfume. And interestingly enough, to emphasize the point, Perfume and songwriter/producer Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）put out the group's latest digital single "Cold Sleep" on May 15th. 

Quite the bubbly and percolating Perfume song with some nostalgic synths (and some nicely syncopated vocals, to boot) for a group that is supposed to be in cold sleep, the ladies seem to be trying very hard to make sure their fans don't forget their old selves and style. "Cold Sleep" is also supposed to be the theme song for an upcoming documentary commemorating their 25 years in show business.

Nagisa Cosmetic -- Life Balance

 

I remember when Sanae Takaichi（高市早苗）first took the reins as Japan's first female prime minister and she exhorted she couldn't care less about work-life balance as it pertained to her. She said that she would be a machine and keep on working. For me, it's more about life balance since I'm basically semi-retired now. And for today, it's all about heat dissipation because for the first time this year, I'm baking again in my own juices since we've got a summery day out there.

Anyways, we've got cutesy-voiced Nagisa Cosmetic, aka former model-singer and current creative consultant Nagisa Ichikawa（市川渚）. When I was going through that eclectic compilation album "Contemode V.A. 2" and found acts such as spaghetti vabune! and Plus-Tech Squeeze Box, I also saw Nagisa Cosmetic in there, too, and I remember posting her first article almost a year ago.

Well, within "Contemode V.A. 2", she's contributed "Life Balance" which was also originally placed as a track on her lone 2004 album "NAGISA COSMETIC". Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）was once again behind words and music for the techno-Shibuya-kei-esque "Life Balance" and there's much about it that reminds me of Nakata's other project, capsule, when the duo was more into Shibuya-kei in their early days.

spaghetti vabune! -- Favorite Song

By Paolo Piscolla from Wikimedia Commons

I do have a love for pasta, especially spaghetti. I grew up on Bolognese made by my mother but then in Japan, I realized that the Japanese absolutely adore pasta of all kinds and so that's how I discovered other types such as Pepperoncino, Carbonara and Napolitan (which actually doesn't come from Naples but is a purely Japanese type).

Of course, it's not as wonderful as actually eating the stuff itself, but I also indulge in watching the many pasta-making videos on YouTube such as this one by Preppy Kitchen for his take on Carbonara. His way of cooking actually makes the sauce look less intimidating to create...since I have some PTSD from making something that involved raw eggs from long ago. 

Once again, my preamble ramble leads us to a group called spaghetti vabune! which I discovered by happenstance a few weeks earlier. When I posted an article on the technopop unit Plus-Tech Squeeze Box, I found out that their "Kitchen Shock" hadn't come from their own discography but it actually belonged to a December 2004 compilation album titled "Contemode V.A. 2".

Well, I looked through the rest of the tracks and saw some other dynamic-sounding acts there and tried looking up the titles. And spaghetti vabune! was one of them. According to their website, the group began life in 2001 and perhaps currently consists of vocalist/guitarist Keiji Tokuda, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Chihiro Yoshii, guitarist Takayoshi Umeno, drummer Naoya Shimai and bassist Shuhei Kinukawa. Their J-Wiki article has them categorized as a unit into indies pop, jangle pop, Shibuya-kei and alternative rock. 

spaghetti vabune!'s contribution to "Contemode V.A. 2" is "Favorite Song (contemode bossa mix)" which does have plenty of Brazilian swagger to the extent that I was wondering whether it should have been called "contemode samba mix" instead. But no complaints here. It makes for some fun and summery listening. I did wonder whether there was an original version of "Favorite Song" and the answer was Yes! The much shorter guitar pop original does appear on the band's April 2003 album "summer vacation, sunset vehicle". Incidentally, the bossa mix was created by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）.

Perfume -- Meguloop（巡ループ）

by TKS08 via Wikimedia Commons

The trio Perfume had their final public performance on last year's Kohaku Utagassen and they showed off the first song that I had ever heard by Kashiyuka, A-chan and Nocchi, "Polyrhythm"（ポリリズム）, from 2007. That was one standout PSA!

Perfume also performed one of their final singles titled "Meguloop" (Tour Loop) which had been released back in July 2025. Apparently, "Meguloop" was also a track from their final album (for now) "Nebula Romance Part II" that came out a month later. It was all part of some grand concept for a space opera which has been acted out in the video above. As with everything that Perfume has recorded, the song was written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）, and this one stands out because I couldn't really hear anything technopop about this one and that's including the vocoders that the ladies have often used. I'd say that there was more warm and sunny 80s pop in this one...perhaps as a bittersweet goodbye to all involved in the trio's success for the past quarter-century. May the ladies enjoy some of that relaxation now that they have gotten some of that "civilian" life now.

"Meguloop" was also used as the theme song for the 2025 TV series sequel in the live-action part of the "Chihayafuru"（ちはやふる）franchise.

capsule -- Tokyo Smiling

 

I've been watching the NHK news recently and along with the stories on the recent election and bear attacks, there has been the information on the heat and humidity that have been pounding Japan relentlessly, even the northern regions such as Hokkaido. I don't think that much of the working class or even the academic class has been smiling about walking about my old stomping grounds of Tokyo while bathed in 35+ degree Celsius weather but I'm hoping that the various countermeasures such as shaved ice and neck fans have had some cooling effect.

Speaking of Tokyo and smiling, I've got another track here by the Shibuya-kei/techno duo capsule from their February 2005 5th album "NEXUS-2060" to accompany "happy life generator" which I had written about last month. "Tokyo Smiling" is another cheerful tune by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）that has him and vocalist Toshiko Koshijima（こしじまとしこ）providing that mix of DeVol-friendly Shibuya-kei and technopop that infuses the lyrics regarding female smiles making things alright for one guy as a tonic for all that ails him.

The music video of Koshijima and company making like a 1960s jet-set team of cheerleaders prancing about is adorable. Anytime that I can actually see the vocalist beaming is a good day for me. 

Nagisa Cosmetic -- Cosmetic Happy

 

As much as sound producer and songwriter Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）has been associated with Perfume and capsule, I only discovered just in the last few weeks that he also belonged to a very short-lived duo.

From what I've read on the Japanese Music Wiki, Nakata had seen model Nagisa Ichikawa（市川渚）in a fashion magazine and just decided then and there that he had to see whether they could collaborate on something musically. Ichikawa agreed and the result was the duo Nagisa Cosmetic with the one-and-done album "Nagisa Cosmetic" which was released in July 2004. 

The second track is "Cosmetic Happy", a light and bouncy techno-Shibuya-kei ditty with Ichikawa's frothy vocals making things even airier like the best soufflé. If it had anything to do with anime, then I could have heard it as an Akibshibu-kei tune. Once the album was released, Ichikawa decided to focus on her college studies and so Nagisa Cosmetic quietly ended its time in the recording booth.

capsule -- happy life generator

 

Not sure whether there was a hard stop to the breezy Shibuya-kei that the duo capsule had been recording in the early 2000s and then they went into full techno. Most likely, it was a gradual transition judging from what I'm hearing from this song of theirs "happy life generator".

Until now, the most recent capsule article on KKP had been about their 2008 song "more more more" which was definitely more into the harder synths and stuff. Meanwhile, "happy life generator", a track from capsule's February 2005 5th album "NEXUS-2060", seems to have grafted a little techno while maintaining that Shibuya-kei happy-go-lucky feeling. As usual, Toshiko Koshijima（こしじまとしこ）applies her sweet and breathy vocals to her partner Yasutaka Nakata's（中田ヤスタカ）lyrics, melody and arrangements. There is an English translation for "happy life generator" at this site as the song goes on to describe a person going on with life as best as they can without the significant other. At least, there is still the peanut butter.

As for "NEXUS-2060", it peaked at No. 59 on Oricon.

Perfume -- Human Factory ~ Denzou Ningen（電造人間）

 

I don't watch Japanese dramas anymore but there was a period a few decades when I did, and one actor that I've recognized all these years has been Hiroshi Abe（阿部寛）. He's always struck me as somewhat of a James Stewart type with his tall figure and alternately affable and cynical pose. His latest movie came out only a few days ago...a thriller called "Showtime 7"（ショウタイムセブン）which is a remake of the 2013 movie "The Terror Live" from South Korea.

Looking at the cast list for "Showtime 7", I see that technopop trio Perfume is popping up as themselves, and so not surprisingly, they've also supplied the theme song which was released on February 7th, the same day as the movie. "Human Factory ~ Denzou Ningen" (Electric Human) is a digital download single written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）which sounds not just 80s but also somewhat Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）technopop, so of course, the YMO feelings are there. I even appreciate the iconography that went into the title on the single cover...very icy and 80s with that former adjective perhaps describing most of the characters in the movie.

Yasutaka Nakata (polyphonic room) -- Stereo Tokyo

Wikimedia Commons
Basile Morin

 

Ah yes...I remember that corner quite well. It's the Fujiya Building right on the northern edge of Ginza just across from Sukibayashi. There was or is a karaoke box in there, and I think one time a bunch of us in our suits ended up singing on the Hello Kitty floor. Made for quite a contrast.

Talking about cutesy things, I ran into this little number called "Stereo Tokyo" which was part of the 2003 Konami video game "pop'n music 10". I recognize the type of game it is but never played it myself. Written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）, the music producer behind acts such as Perfume and capsule, the nom du plume he uses here is polyphonic room. The vocalist is named Wanta with the chorus being supplied by Nakata's partner in capsule, Toshiko Koshijima（こしじまとしこ）.

Within the game itself, "Stereo Tokyo" apparently belongs in the genre of Plastic Pop but I hear it as a mix of bubbly technopop and Shibuya-kei. I can certainly imagine the Divine Ms. Maki Nomiya（野宮真貴） covering it for instance. Nakata's lyrics talk about a fellow who's so content zoning out that he would even let the important stuff pass him by (not sure how much of that is in jest). But at the end though, he is considering heading out to Tokyo and just wonders how his significant other would take the news. If it's for simply playing video games, then I don't think she'll take it well.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Isshin Doutai（一心同体）

From Norio Nakayama
via Wikimedia Commons

With Halloween just being a little over a couple of weeks away, I usually think of technopop force of nature Kyary Pamyu Pamyu（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）and her frilly costumes. 

Not sure how she pulls it off, but Kyary and songwriter Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）always manage to make her songs sound 80s and 20s (or 10s) at the same time. The same goes with her October 2022 11th digital single "Isshin Doutai" which, according to Jisho.org, can be defined as "being one in body and soul" and "two hearts beating as one". I can also add "perfectly in synch with each other" like Kirk & Spock and Holmes & Watson.

"Isshin Doutai" has that KPP blippity-bloppity gleaming synthesizer style along with those high-falutin' vocals of hers. In addition, the accompanying music video has her back with the fantasy pastel colours and the distinct choreography. The fun with the mirror is fine but the standout is the lass dancing with the middle-aged fellow as if they were hangers come to life. I'm wondering if the guy is the same one who was the dancing salaryman in the earlier "Jikan ga nai"（時間がない）by Kirinji.

The song was also used as the second of three themes that Kyary provided for the 2022 anime adaptation of the video game "Ninjala"（ニンジャラ）. It was the opening theme from Episode 41 to Episode 112.

Perfume -- Sumikko Disco（すみっコディスコ）

 

When it comes to cute, little and Japanese characters, Hello Kitty from the Sanrio corporation will always be the first thing to come to mind since she's been around since 1974. Of course, since then Japanese pop culture and much of the world's pop culture have been inundated with many more cute, little and Japanese characters. A lot of those have been created by the stationery company San-X including their most popular representative, Rilakkuma the bear who's been around since 2003. Incidentally, the above video comes courtesy of the YouTube channel Petit Bear.

But apparently that wasn't enough for San-X. In 2012, a new set of adorable characters were launched called Sumikko Gurashi（すみっコぐらし...Living in the Corner）, each with their own idiosyncrasies (but happily nothing leading to homicidal urges). For example, the lead character is Shirokuma who is indeed a polar bear but wants nothing to do with the cold (so I gather that he must be Torontonian). There is also Penguin who is green and enjoys cucumbers, and then there is Tonkatsu, the fatty edge piece of what was once deep-fried pork cutlet.

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the anime industry would come calling and their first movie came out in 2019. The above video seems to be of some tiny vignette, though.

A couple of more movies have come out with the most recent entry being released in November 2023, "Sumikko Gurashi: Tsugibagi Koujou no Fushigi na Ko"（すみっコぐらし ツギハギ工場のふしぎなコ...The Strange Child of the Cobble Factory）.

For this movie, Perfume provided the theme song "Sumikko Disco", a song so technopop catchy that even the Sumikko Gurashi are boogying away themselves. This was also the trio's 17th single which came out on the same day as the movie. I wonder whether they will be performing "Sumikko Disco" in a few weeks' time at the annual Kohaku Utagassen where they are appearing for their 16th time.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Kimi ni 100 Percent（キミに100パーセント）

 

Considering all of the recent obituary-style articles that I've been posting over the last several weeks here on KKP for singers and songwriters that have suddenly passed away, it's always nice when I can write on a happy event for those people. On my Twitter feed earlier today, I saw a photo of singer and pop culture icon Kyary Pamyu Pamyu（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）all gussied up in a wedding dress alongside a handsome young man, and I had initially pegged it to be some kind of promotion. Well, goofy me...I soon realized that KPP did indeed get married back several months earlier in the spring to actor Shono Hayama（葉山奨之）but apparently the wedding party was only held yesterday on November 27th. There's a link to her Instagram account with the happy couple. My congratulations to the Hayamas and their families.

Well, I was trying to see if I could find something appropriate by her to post in commemoration of this blessed event. At first, I wondered whether I could reach for "Family Party"（ファミリーパーティー）but I'd already written on that several years ago. But then, I found this earlier single titled "Kimi ni 100 Percent".

Written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）as Kyary's 4th single from January 2013, as with "Family Party", "Kimi ni 100 Percent" (100 Percent for You) has a connection with the anime "Crayon-shin"（クレヨンしんちゃん）as a theme song. Appropriately and happily kiddie in tone, it's still about a youngling trying to express those budding feelings of amity or even love for a buddy...most likely the former but I think it can still apply to the now-married Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. 

"Kimi ni 100 Percent" was part of a double A-side CD single alongside the song "Furisodation"（ふりそでーしょん）. It hit No. 3 on Oricon and went Gold. Incidentally, I can only wonder what a wedding reception for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu would be like. Ah, also let's not mistake the title for a similarly-titled song, "Kimi wa 1000%"（君は1000％）.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Fashion Monster（ファッションモンスター）

 

Well, Happy Halloween everybody! Wherever the holiday is being celebrated, I hope folks have been enjoying or have enjoyed their apple bobbing, trick or treating and whatnot. As I'm typing this, it's still the afternoon of October 31st so the kids going from house to house is yet to happen but I figure that the show will go on although it'll be a little chilly tonight. Of course, when I think of Halloween, there are the movies "Beetlejuice" and "Ghostbusters", but I also remember the old TV shows "The Munsters" and "The Addams Family".

Ah, as for Halloween J-Pop...I automatically think of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）. With all of the outlandish costumes, she's a natural for Halloween and I did post her 2015 "Crazy Party Night ~ Pumpkin no Gyakushuu"（ぱんぷきんの逆襲）a few years ago. Well, I was reading a "Japan Times" article earlier today and the reporter referenced an even earlier Kyary Pamyu Pamyu song that he felt may have helped out in the annual Shibuya Halloween masses (which were supposedly smaller this year due to ward intervention, although watching the YouTube streams haven't convinced me).

I'm talking about KPP's 3rd single, "Fashion Monster", from October 2012. As has been the case all along, Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）took care of words, music and arrangement for a song about being free to express oneself. Translating an excerpt from a 2012 interview shortly before the single's release, the singer and fashion icon talked about the protagonist in the song: "At first, he's seen as a monster feared by everyone, but it's a story about him freely expressing his feelings which leads to him becoming popular".

The music video by Jun Tamukai（田向潤）is a Halloween dream (or nightmare) come true, and it stands out to me for the fact that Kyary was actually cracking a smile back then. Another fun bit of trivia that I got from J-Wiki is that part of the arrangement by Nakata was inspired by Juicy Fruits' "Jenny wa Gokigen Naname"（ジェニーはご機嫌ななめ）from 1980. "Fashion Monster" peaked at No. 5 on Oricon, going Platinum. And in terms of its download rankings on the iTunes Electronica list, it ranked No. 1 in Finland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, No. 2 in Belgium and Thailand, No. 3 in America and Canada, No. 7 in France, and in Japan on the iTunes overall list, it also hit No. 1.

"Fashion Monster" was used as the commercial song for the Japanese discount casual wear designer GU, as well as a jingle for a Nissin yakisoba ad.

Perfume -- Spinning World

 

About a season ago, I introduced technopop trio Perfume's "Drive'n The Rain" from their July 2022 album "Plasma". For me, although I had been coming around to the opinion that things were getting a bit stale with the Perfume sound, I actually enjoyed "Drive'n The Rain", which was fellow KKP co-administrator Marcos V.'s recommendation, for its infusion of Steely Dan flavour and a disco flute. Basically, it was Perfume's take on Neo-City Pop.

Marcos also mentioned "Spinning World" that was also a track on "Plasma". No Steely Dan influences here but it does have some nice driving funky groove, once again thanks to Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）, and yep, I can feel and hear some of the old 1980s there in the keyboards. Maybe there's even a bit of Especia in the proceedings. Of course, the music video has Nocchi, Kashiyuka and a-chan spinning about as red-garbed wind-up dolls.

Perfume -- Drive'n The Rain

 

There was only one time that I can remember when I was in a car traveling through Tokyo while it was raining. It was during an afternoon and I was in the back seat and a mint-fresh Ringo Shiina（椎名林檎）was electrifying and terrifying me on the car radio. Other than that, because I wasn't earning a salary which would ever get me a car (not that I would ever get behind the wheel in any event), I never had the pleasure of bombing up and down the highways and byways of Japan. As such, please enjoy this nocturnal drive through the nation's largest city as provided by YouTuber Drive Slow.

Marcos V. cottoned me onto this song months ago and I'd thought that he would write up an article about it, but it's been a while and I've been enjoying it so I'm just going to go ahead with it myself. By the way, I remember seeing technopop trio Perfume appearing on last year's Kohaku Utagassen and if I'm not mistaken, they performed "Spinning World" from their 8th album "Plasma" (July 2022) and an oldie, "Chocolate Disco".

I was a tad disappointed though that the ladies hadn't sung another track from "Plasma" and that is "Drive'n The Rain". The reason was that although Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）kept that Perfume synthpop flavour, he also infused the song with something that a YouTube commenter described as "electronic Steely Dan". And yup, I gather that Nakata must have been listening to "Aja" when he was getting inspired to put in those synthesized Steely Dan-friendly horns. Of course, those keyboards and the disco flute help set the mood, too.

I've been seeing a few remixes of "Drive'n The Rain" on YouTube as well, including this one by Venom Valentine. As for "Plasma", it hit No. 3 on the Oricon album charts and it finished last year in 72nd place.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Into Darkness

 

Happy Monday! My love for all things "Star Trek" has waned somewhat over the years. Although the pendulum has swung over to television series once more for the long-running sci-fi franchise, most of the shows have left me wanting with only "Strange New Worlds" keeping my attention.

The movie wing of "Star Trek" is currently as dormant as Benedict Cumberbatch's Khan at the end of "Star Trek: Into Darkness" (2013). Only three movies have come out of the Abramsverse "Star Trek", and despite the fact that I've enjoyed the cast such as Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Simon Pegg, the stories for them never really grabbed me. Well, actually the first one in 2009 strangely worked in spite of the plot that could basically be titled "How to Go from Discredited Starfleet Cadet to Starship Captain in 6 Hours!".

Getting back into "Into Darkness", the sophomore entry had pre-Doctor Strange Cumberbatch act the heck out of the movie with his take on the sociopathic genetic superman. He was absolutely magnetic and that was the problem. Everyone and everything else including the Enterprise was pretty much secondary. I could only see Cumberbatch/Khan, so it was ironic that the movie was a shoutout to "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" which I think still retains its status as the best "Star Trek" film, some 41 years after its premiere at theatres. I still remember watching that one in Toronto as a high school kid; the cheers and the sobs are still palpable.

Up until recently, if anyone asked me about music connected with the Abramsverse "Star Trek", I would always obviously answer Michael Giacchino who came up with the soundtrack. But then by pure happenstance some months ago, I found out that depending on the nation where "Into Darkness" was playing, the local artists would come up with their own insert songs, and that included Japan.

Well, Japan's contribution here was "Into Darkness" by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）, the same musical impresario behind Perfume, capsule and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）. And it is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu who contributed some vocal and vocoder assistance for this technopop tune. Intriguingly enough, if I were to ask anyone in the geinokai to record a song for "Star Trek", it would be KPP. I mean, the lady can have quite the alien appearance whether she hails from Alpha Centauri or Bajor. In addition, the song itself can be something that I could imagine being played in the 23rd century in some Starfleet canteen with Lt. Uhura shimmying away on the floor (not sure whether Spock would join in).

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Genten Kaihi（原点回避）

 

I do remember when that whole thing about working out on a treadmill while just plain working got onto the news and into some offices years ago. Having my side gig as a professional couch potato pretty much nixed any plans for me to try this out (along with the fact that getting a treadmill and the specialized desk was simply out of my budget). Not sure if this has taken permanent hold into the 2020s.

That corporate phenomenon snuck into my head again as I was watching the music video for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）August 2021 digital download single "Genten Kaihi" (Origin Avoidance), especially when the eclectic singer was trying to play that keyboard while on her own treadmill. Words and music were by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）, and looking at the translation of the title, I couldn't help but feel that it could have been the name of a secret and sinister operation involving aliens on the old Fox hit "The X-Files".

From what I could understand from the lyrics, it seems like the protagonist is going through some existential crisis without any help from the past or the future. And yet, the present seems to be very malleable and unstable. Still, unlike some of the other Kyary Pamyu Pamyu songs that I've heard in the past, "Genten Kaihi" doesn't have so much of the technopop. I'd say that the melody and arrangement have been brought together as a groovy pop song which is just fine. Keep us on our toes, KPP!

capsule -- more more more

 

The above is the box of unajuu (broiled eel on rice) that I had back at Unakko, an eel restaurant located in the traditional Koedo quarter of Kawagoe City in Saitama Prefecture. It's definitely one of the dishes that I've missed since leaving Japan. I mean, I can get something like that here in the izakaya in Toronto, but there's something about getting it in the home country. Unajuu is a dish that I can always get more of.

Nope, it wasn't the smoothest segue but I did want to showcase "more more more", the title track from capsule's "MORE! MORE! MORE!", their November 2008 album. I've just recently begun exploring Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）and Toshiko Koshijima's（こしじまとしこ）foray into the hard synthesizers and electronics, and with this album, it's been officially categorized on J-Wiki as Electro. Not quite if there is a major difference between that genre and technopop, but I gather that it's more about the harder sounds and the vocoder when it comes to the former. Written and composed by Nakata, it's indeed a far distance from their earlier Shibuya-kei days.

I'd just written about Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）"DODONPA" yesterday from 2021 with its mesmerizing video of psychedelic colours and dancing letters. Nakata created that song as well, and there is also a "more more more" video with plenty of light and colours flashing across the screen, but it's not so much letters but geometric shapes doing their boogying. The album reached No. 6 on Oricon.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- DODONPA（どどんぱ）

 

Can't quite believe that we're almost already halfway through June. For that matter, can't quite believe that we're basically done with the first half of 2022.

Mind you, it's also been about nine months since my most recent Kyary Pamyu Pamyu（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）article. My last two articles on her dealt with tracks from her October 2021 5th original album "Candy Racer"（キャンディーレーサー）. It's usually been the case that the vivacious singer herself has popped up in the music videos which have been very Day-Glo colourful. This time, the streak of interesting videos does continue and apparently KPP is so charismatic that she doesn't even need to show up physically to make a spectacle. 

It's just her voice in onomatopoeic scat mode for Track 3 "DODONPA" which was written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）. For those old kayo fans, despite the title, the song has nothing to do with that part of 60s kayo, known as dondonpa, which involved a Japanese arrangement of booming Latin rhythms. Instead, it's Kyary coupled with some percussion-heavy technopop and the visual stars are the characters from the alphabet and hiragana. If there are any sleepy heads out there, then this is the video for you.

Finally, for those who want to see the singer in action, though, here you are. "Candy Racer" peaked at No. 22 on Oricon (alas, the video has been taken down, but you can take a look at someone else dancing it up above).

January 27th 2023: It looks Adobe recruited "DODONPA" for a commercial last year although the reactions have been mixed, to say the least. Part of the reason is that it's one of those that always comes in before the video that you want to watch. Yep, I understand the feeling.