10 Essential J-Pop Albums YOASOBI Think Everyone Should Own
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The post 10 Essential J-Pop Albums YOASOBI Think Everyone Should Own appeared first on Consequence.
YOASOBI have been busy checking items off their list of dreams and goals, and they’ve been making pretty impressive time in doing so. After making their US stage debut last year in the midst of the success of ultra-viral crossover hit “IDOL,” Ayase and Ikura are back in America, this time to perform during both weekends at Coachella.
Reflecting on the first weekend in Indio, producer Ayase shares, “We did two performances, one solo, and one as part of the 88rising Futures series. Coachella has always been one of our goals, so it was very exciting to be on stage — but at the same time, I was nervous about the audience’s reaction. It was a complete unknown when we got up on stage, but it was super warm and super welcoming.”
Following a smash like “IDOL,” which has a music video currently boasting over 450 million views on YouTube, the two are aware of their status as ambassadors for J-pop. As they gear up for the second weekend onstage at Coachella, they’ve selected 10 albums that shaped their approach to making music, one more fantastical and whimsical than would be considered standard. YOASOBI pull largely from fiction as the root of inspiration, collaborating with novelists and writers to build a narrative.
“Seeing that someone could make music that goes so far into this fantasy world really surprised me,” Ikura says of SEKAI NO OWARI’s 2012 album ENTERTAINMENT. “There’s definitely some influences there in my own music and my own musical roots.”
Read all 10 of the duo’s selections below, and catch their performance via the Coachella YouTube livestream this weekend.
ORANGE RANGE — MusiQ
Ayase: That was the first time I fell in love with music. It was the first CD I bought in my entire life — I think I was in third grade at the time. That served as the entry point into this entire world and industry of music for me.
Sukima Switch — Greatest Hits
Ayase: In Japan, we often listen in particular to the lyrics and the melody of any given song. I bought this album when I was about 12 years old — I want to say in the sixth grade — so at the time it wasn’t really listening to the strings or the jazz influence. It was more about the melody and the simple parts of the music. But I think that definitely influenced a lot of how I compose melodies and different phrases.
Mr.Children — HOME
Ayase: I just really, really love this album. It was the album we would throw in the car when we’re going on a family drive or some kind of road trip. It’s the whole album for me.
Gen Hoshino — POP VIRUS
Ikura: When you’re still a, a kid, whenever it’s new year, you get a special celebratory allowance. I don’t know if you’ve seen the red envelopes for the parents or adults to give you money, but I took my new year money and then went to the CD shop and bought this album. I remember listening to it over and over, so I think there’s definitely some of Gen’s influence in my musical roots.
Fujii Kaze — HELP EVER HURT NEVER
Ikura: I’ve been listening to Fuji Kaze since he debuted, before COVID. When he came onto the music scene, it was a huge shock. It’s hard to even put into words that someone from Japan can have that kind of sensibility. I recall he was very close to me in age as well, and that kind of opened up the rabbit hole.
I started listening to him more and more and with the life lessons, philosophies, and values that he has in his music, I could really feel that. I was thinking about how I can apply that to my own life. Listening to his tracks was very calming for me.
SEKAI NO OWARI — ENTERTAINMENT
Ikura: When I was between grade school and middle school, I would chase this band around and try to find their live performances and attend all the stages that they had. But I think I discovered this album specifically in a very delicate time; adolescence, growing up. You’re figuring out your identity, and seeing that someone could make music that goes so far into this fantasy world really surprised me. There’s definitely some influences there in my own music and my own musical roots.
RADWIMPS — Human Bloom
Ikura: This album also came out when I was between middle school and high school, and kind of going through those adolescent years. Some of these tracks were also used in Your Name, of course. Those very delicate, sensitive, nuanced years are hard to put into words, but they’re able to translate that into both lyrics and musical melody. Your teen years affect how you think and how you approach and interface with the world. So for me, that was a very influential album.
Ikimonogakari — Ikimonobakari: Members Best Selection
Ayase: The way they compose phrases was really, really inspiring to me. There’s a great influence on how I compose melodies now based in some of their albums. I was about 12 years old, I think, when I bought this album, and it influenced how I write now.
aiko — Aiko no Uta.
Ikura: This is another album that both of us chose. We both really love aiko, and I would say that there’s certainly been a lot of influence from this artist. We couldn’t really narrow it down or choose a single track, so that’s why we chose a greatest hits albbum.
From her voice and personality to how she compose music, everything feels very artistically creative and like she’s challenging a status quo. So for me, I take a lot of inspiration in how we write and approach lyrics and a stage performance. I think there’s a lot of self expression there, which I try to put into myself when I know I have to go up on stage.
Yumi Matsutoya — 40th Anniversary Best Album “Nihon No Koi To, Yuming To.”
Aayse: She’s a legendary Japanese artist. Our fathers and mothers listened to her; she’s a huge deal in the J-pop scene. We were listening to her from the time we were inside our mothers’ stomachs.
10 Essential J-Pop Albums YOASOBI Think Everyone Should Own
Mary Siroky
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