I Heart Music

Lately I’ve stumbled into the J-Rock scene, a wonderful genre of music (L’arc en Ciel is awesome!). It’s over the top and whimsical much like the aforementioned J-POP, a genre I adore,

but.

I missed a few important details as to why J-Music is unique. I’ve done my research and today I’m going to rethink Japan’s music culture. Starting with…

Dedication

J-Music is dedicated towards one population, the Japanese population. Some musicians do gain overseas fans and release their albums in the west, but it is oftentimes niche; exclusive to those who really want it (Like me). Ultimately though, J-Music isn’t made for listeners overseas despite the usage of English. Occasionally I’ll put on KURU KURU HARAJUKU or STYX HELIX, popular J-Songs that have English lyrics that aren’t used to appeal towards foreigners, but instead because it’s cool.

And cool it is!

A famous example being the Persona series with songs like Highschool Days (Created with the purpose of being undecipherable), Your Affection, and Whims of Fate.

I failed to mention worldview, something that’s critically important when it comes to any kind of art. Musicians view the world through a personal lens and their discography reflects that, including the message they push.

Starting with Former CABS guitarist Kunimitsu Takahashi, his mental health issues and general laziness caused the band to separate in 2013. However, they were also the catalyst for his solo project:

Osterreich

You might know Takahashi-San’s work from Tokyo Ghoul Root A since he composed Munou with Ai Kamono providing the vocals.

Osterreich’s discography is all over the place DESPITE having an official YouTube. However, what we DO have portrays raw emotion. Takahashi-San uses instruments as they are, no electronic tweaking. Paired with unedited, raw vocals, his songs somber yet are enchanting tunes that lures you to his realm. The rawness of emotion he pours into his melodies provide an outlet for those struggling with superficiality and expectations of Japanese society.

Takahashi-San knows what freedom is and expresses it through his music. When you listen to Osterreich, you too are free.

Another band I believe accomplishes this is:

The;Cutlery

A J-Rock group I THOUGHT was fairly recent, but nope. Their YouTube has been around since 2016. Our quartet consists of Fumiwo Hifumi, Yuta Fukushima, Shinnosuke Nakayama, and Pino. They each come from different musical backgrounds to create music inspired by shoegaze, post-rock, and European Alternative Rock (Think Siouxsie & the Banshees, Bauhaus).

Their single, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have“, is a prime example of everything I’ve discussed today.

Not only would a native English speaker never title a song this grammatically correct. Hifumi-San also sings the entire song in English, not a lick of Japanese, and not a lick of overseas intent as The;Cutlery barely exist outside of Japan, I found them by random chance thanks to YouTube’s algorithm.

The;Cutlery adopts the European Alt. Rock look for the song’s music video and pairs it with a gothic Harajuku Decora Style.

It’s a masterful blend of UK alt. Fashion and Japanese fashion as a whole that caters to nobody but the Japanese natives, and that. is. AWESOME. Their worldview, blending with cultures outside and inside their nation brings music never-before seen to the Japanese population. It’s a beautiful fresh take that you can witness here.

Closing Notes

I love Japanese music for a plethora of reasons I genuinely could not explain to you as it contains mostly bias.

HOWEVER! The purpose of this article was to elaborate further on key elements I believe make it unique that I failed to bring up in my last article.

I’m open to hearing what you believe makes J-Music (or any music) special to you. Any kind of music can be special, have fresh takes, and be unique. It’s meant to be shared, not gatekept; it brings us closer together, not further.

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