Welcome to Yabaii Japan, a series of posts on Japanese music and pop culture from our friends at Eejit Records and It Came From Japan.
Daniel Robson is a British music journalist and events organiser based in Tokyo.
For info about Japanese bands playing in the UK and a free podcast, visit his site It Came From Japan.
Natccu photographed by Masako Miyazaki
It’s a volume thing. As we all know, the most oft-used phrase in the international dictionary of rock’n’roll is ‘turn it up’ – and music venues don’t come much louder than those here in Tokyo.
It’s not only the Budokan-sized mega-halls that are pushing air: even the venues on the toilet circuit are merciless ear-crushers. It’s a combination of the fact that these ‘live houses’ are usually underground and soundproofed to the teeth, that Japanese people are world-class obsessives for pro technology, and that bands have to pay to play there. The result is a glorious cacophony of visceral live bands – take grrrl-punk trio Bo-Peep, whose fierce show has battered stages not only around Japan but also the UK and US. Or Guitar Wolf, the chaotic garage band whose 1999 album ‘Jet Generation’ was touted by Matador Records as the loudest CD ever made.
It’s not only the punks who get to make a racket. Chart-friendly bands such as GO!GO!7188, whose albums of genre-hopping leftfield pop are recorded with painstaking restraint, leap several decibels when they take the stage. Meanwhile, velvet-voiced post-pop class act Natccu (pictured above) has honed such a sharp edge recently that she’s even coerced Stooges bassist Mike Watt to guest on her forthcoming album.
This is not to suggest that Japan is the most rock’n’roll country on earth. In daily life, conformity is king, and most Japanese conduct themselves with dignity, care and grace. Rules are everywhere, whether explicit or otherwise – don’t eat on the street, don’t litter, don’t use your phone on the train, don’t wear dowdy clothes, don’t disrespect your superiors or elders, don’t use your paid holidays, don’t leave the office before the boss. The music industry is tightly controlled, and the media bends to the will of the major management companies and talent agencies, which wield extraordinary power.
But to judge Japan’s music industry by the Western definition of rock’n’roll is of course as ludicrous and ignorant as comparing sushi with a Sunday roast. The culture is just too different. There’s virtually no crime or poverty here – great staples of rock’n’roll zeitgeist. There’s very little to worry about, and if everybody lives in comfort, why rebel? Why complain? So the vast majority of bands here play positive music untinged by the heavy cynicism that is so essential to us Brits. It’s actually quite refreshing, because it’s more honest. After all, it’s not like Arctic Monkeys or The Enemy are about to lead us into revolution.
Of course, life isn’t perfect here, and the best artists are those who buck convention and address society’s darker elements. Originally hailing from Osaka but now based in Tokyo, jazz-punk band Midori combine tight musicianship with an anti-conformist message and the most disturbing frontwoman you’ve ever seen. Soutaiseiriron, meanwhile, take a subtler route, with gorgeously crafted songs about Japan’s seedier side – schoolgirls seducing their teachers, spoiled princesses turning sour, weird cults and superficial relationships. The band make a further point about their distaste for celebrity society by refusing to ever do interviews and forbidding photography at their live shows.
Japan’s music scene is one of the most diverse and vibrant in the world (and also the only one that’s still making money). Genre boundaries are often less strict than in the West, and you’ll hear bands here that turn your ears to jelly. Sure, 90% of the music in the charts is shite – just like in the UK, or anywhere else. But do a little digging and you might just find something that steals your heart – and ruins your hearing.
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