ZB's A-Z of J-Music: J-Rock J-Pop Indie 8bit - A guide to the modern Japanese music scene: Aira Mitsuki

First off, sorry for the marked lack of updates this week. A combination of work ramping up at, er, work, and some very nice summer days have made it tough to want to sit around inside. I know it goes against the blogger code or something to want to actually spend time in the sun,. but I think I make up for it during the other nine months that we northern dwellers live under a blanket of snow and darkness.

So anyway, things should be picking up soon. Until then here are some new videos!

Aira Mitsuki "Plastic Doll"

First up is this cool new one from picopico pop sensation Aira Mitsuki. This video is full of eye-candy, and the song it actually pretty hard hitting. This whole Auto-Tune fetish-pop movement has gotten totally out of hand, but every once in a while something listenable comes out of it.

OK, let's get more serious after the jump!

Boom Boom Satellites "Back on My Feet"

Back on My Feet is the new single/EP from BBS, and it's a fantastic little collection. I haven't been too into their recent releases because they are all a bit too happy and party-centric. I like that they seem to be getting back into their more atmospheric and darker side on Back on My Feet. It reminds me of early Hybrid as well, what with all the strings and cut up drums. More like this, please!

Versailles "Ascendead Master"

I don't think I've really understood much of what goes on in Versailles videos, and this one is no exception. Something about a girl that the singer is all hot for? And a TV crew is filming them in a church for some reason? Whatever. I'm sure it's all part of some long-running story that I've been missing out on.

School Food Punishment "Butterfly Swimmer"

Here's the new one from SFP. Definitely more pop and mainstream than their previous releases, but then again it's not like there were ever that far-out to begin with. Still, they are on a major label now, so there you go...It all feels just a little too bland to me.

Puffy "Dareka Ga"

New song from Puffy. I really like their very early music, and this is almost along those lines. Still, it's super pop-rock like way too much of their recent stuff. I think if the music matched the video a little more that it might be a better song!

Gackt "Flower" (Karaoke)"

Here's a TV clip of Gackt laying down some karaoke for his newest single "Flower." Hijinx ensue! It's always nice to see Gackt in a less-than-serious mood. Of course all his serious stuff is actually just as silly. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess.

Jonathon Coulton - Live on local NY TV

And finally, for your non-Japanese pick of the week, here's a clip from a local New York news broadcast featuring Jonathon Coulton. It's pretty short, but at least there's a bit of talk with the man.

That's it for this week. Let me know what you're watching!

Aira Mitsuki is another in the seemingly endless Perfume clones...or are they Capsule clones? Maybe Coltemonikha clones? Whatever the case, at least this time it's not Nakata Yasutaka pulling the strings, but Oonishi Terukado, who has also done work with MEG who, of course, Yasutaka has also worked with.

OK, anyway, back to Aira. She does indeed sound an awful lot like the aforementioned idol bands. Namely high energy dance pop, highly compressed and razor sharp, and robotic in the extreme. In fact, Aira takes the robotic elements even further by imitating a robot live, as well as having all of her vocals heavily vocoded. She seems to be targeting a more toy-like retro 8-bit audience with her '80s style clothing and the Devo/Polysics glasses motif.

She is still pretty young, turning 20 in 2008, and has released only three singles so far. Still, she's already had a song used in a Transformers movie and one released for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. For a girl who has yet to release and album, not to mention prove her staying power in the exploding world of chip-pop-cyber-dance, it would seem things are moving very fast. Hopefully she can keep her head above water and maybe, just maybe, release something interesting to set her apart from the crowd.