J-Pop Write-Up

In an earlier post, I discussed the characteristics of Ayumi Hamasaki’s voice that established her as one of the greatest J-Pop singers of all time. Today, I’d like to look at things from a different lens, and discuss how and why her voice has become so iconic.

In this interview with CNN’s Talk Asia, Ayu-chan describes her relationship with her own employees and collaborators, and her relationship with broader culture in Asia. Her answers reveal a lot about her the society that supports her success. She takes her work really seriously. I think, now that she’s in her 30’s, she understands in a much deeper way how her success means the success of everyone who works for her, promotes her, the venues she books, the subsidiary companies that handle her merchandising, as well as the artists with whom she collaborates. Seems like a lot of pressure, doesn’t it?

This type of big business (the tie-ins, the commercials, the OPs, all of it) is a branch of marketing called branding. As members of the developed world, we can’t help but experience branding. Branding informs our understanding of everyday events: what can we expect from Whole Foods that we can’t get from Walmart? What can Walmart give us that the Mom & Pop place can’t? Brand names don’t magically appear out of nowhere. Brands are calculated, strategized, researched, proposed… They’re ubiquitous. They aren’t going away any time soon. And, it’s all a conspiracy.

‘Nuff said.

Well, what if we looked at Ayumi Hamasaki as a brand? Certainly, Hamasaki’s image comes into the picture. She seems confident, hard-working, diligent. She’s characteristic of what Carolyn Steven’s describes (in one of my favorite quotes of all time) as a “cyborg female warrior,” an empowered woman of the 21st century, synthetically enhanced by the artificial elements of our culture. Image-wise, this description rings true for Ayumi Hamasaki, who has taken some flak for using too much photoshopping on her album covers¹. I don’t particularly mind that, since a girl’s gotta compete, but, what if we looked at Ayumi’s voice in a similar way as her image.

As any fan of Ayu-chan will know, that girl has been remixed more times that any of us can count. She’s been sped up, slowed down, clipped, snipped, tuned-up and down, and so forth, since her debut. In this respect, doesn’t her voice then match her synthetically perfected look? Why doesn’t she get beef for the fakeness of her voice too?

Perhaps the truth behind her good looks (she’s still got ’em) and the truth behind her voice (always persuasive and virtuosic) contains enough appeal to override this image. Something about Ayumi makes us suspend our disbelief, and want to support her. As opposed to the technological relish of acts like Perfume and Capsule, Ayumi Hamasaki definitely reps the old-school idol tradition.  There’s a certain force to her voice that creates an interesting and appealing juxtaposition with her look: neo-cutesy turned tsundere. This struck balance between artifice and authenticity improves Ayu-chan’s appeal to a broad audience with her portrayed as a true suteki na joshi, a modern Japanese wonder woman.

I can’t say I mind her virtual packaging. I think it has helped her to stay fresh throughout the years, and the recent revival of techno-pop in America doesn’t hurt. Ayu-chan ensures her success by lending her voice to Western artists, potentially lucrative associations with Western artists. The artists she collaborates with presumably seek a symbiotic relationship with Hamasaki by capturing greater attention in Japan and forming connections with the formidable Avex Group. Certainly, this critical relationship should be explored further by people such as you and I.

What I want to know is, where can I buy Ayumi’s voice??? By buying her products, I can support her brand. but what if I want to create remixes like the ones I hear in the Ayu-mi-X mixes. I could create a new viral sensation that would make Ayumi super popular!! Or, I could create something that made fun of her, or otherwise attempted to dethrone her. Are her voice image and brand so prized by Avex that they are unwilling to release it? What do they have to lose by releasing those vocal tracks? Or, am I simply (miss)understood?? Perhaps I’m a creepy crazy pervert who just wants to see girls on Nico Nico dance to my music! Perhaps I’m an aspiring DJ, seeking to catch a smack of the fame that seems to waft near Hamasaki.  Whatever the truth may be, isn’t it about time that we get to do what we want with Ayumi’s voice?

As Ayumi’s voice brand continues to evolve with the society that supports her, we can see how much Ayumi’s portrayal in that clip is about the people behind her. It’s unsettlingly easy to forget about the forces that shape Ayumi’s brand. It’s pretty safe to assume that these influential figures have a large say in how our ideals are presented to us. Our acceptance and appreciation for these ideals constitutes our say in the trends that shape major label artists’ success. In this little way, we can take control of our own music and culture. Brand portrayals are subject to the whims of popular consciousness just like anything else.

What do you think? Can you think of other ways that a voice can become a brand? Or other artist who exhibit these qualities? I want to hear your opinion!

Last week, after showing my friend around the city, we made a serendipitous stop at Book Off, the number one purveyor of second-hand Japanese goods in NYC, and primary source for my impulsive J-Pop purchases. *shrug* I of course gravitated to the Japanese CD section (oddly smaller than the one I remember in the previous store), where I stumbled on DJ OZMA’s 2007 single, Tokyo Boogie Back.

I couldn’t find anything else to spend my tuppence on other than this single, and I am so not disappointed. Can’t say I know what the B-side sounds like, because I’ve just been listening to the first track on repeat for the past week. This single is so fun. It’s so up. It’s so everything I’m ashamed to say I love: auto-tune, disco, heavy phase. DJ OZMA is completely perfectly capturing the feeling of a fun Friday night, getting out and having fun with friends, irreverently pointing a finger at authority, ordering drinks, and all other number of things we associate with good times.

I love the beat of this song. It’s very post-disco, light-hearted technopop. Ashamed to admit it, but this is my first listen to DJ OZMA. He was referenced on Hotaru no Hikari, though, so he must be pretty popular. It seems that he has shed his DJ OZMA persona for his new character, Naomi, in Yazima Beauty Salon. The composer of the song is an artist named Gulliver. Can’t say I’ve heard of him/her/them. Let’s just say, given the feel of the song, that he’s a Swedish producer of technopop. If anyone has any information about him, please be so kind as to notify me, because I can’t seem to find any information about him than his association with this song. Regardless, I think he did a great job. I’ve listened to this song non-stop, and I’m sure there will come a day when I simply cease to listen to it out of disgust. But, for now, I’m boogieing back to the Friday night, yeah!

If there’s any J-Pop idol that I respect in terms of professionalism, it’s Ayumi Hamasaki. She is a brand in and of herself, and has sustained a career for longer than any other “idol.” Needless to say, Ayumi Hamasaki is among the greatest figures in J-Pop today. My introduction to Ayumi Hamasaki came at the age of 10. Ayu-chan’s 1997 single, “Depend on You,” was one of the first J-Pop songs I heard, since it was included in the Atlus game, “Thousand Arms”. As a boy, I fell in love with her style, presence and uniqueness. In particular, there’s just something really appealing about her voice, which, like fellow songstress Utada Hikaru, is completely original. It’s instantly recognizable; you listen to her songs and think, “oh, that’s Ayu-chan, for sure!” But, what elements distinguish Ayu-chan from other J-Pop singers?

Where Utada Hikaru’s voice is quavering and emotive (a beautiful aesthetic also), Hamasaki’s is powerful and resonant. Her vibrato is extremely wide and slow, and she’s selective about which notes, and when, she vibrates. It’s not uncommon to listen to an entire passage and only hear her vibrate on one or two notes. In my opinion, Hamasaki started the stereotypical idol trend of infrequent, wide vibrato, but she really is the master of this technique.

Hamasaki sings mostly from the throat. I understand that this is a completely un-American approach to singing, and also can be damaging to the vocal chords. Because she tenses her throat, she is able to create a type of vocal portato between notes (disconnected, yet articulated repeated notes). Her articulation is also very clear, because of the amount of pressure it requires to overcome the tensing of the throat. This strain is a part of her vocal aesthetic, and the bukkari (girlish) style in general. Of course, her diction is also fabulous. Every syllable is distinct and perfectly intelligible, even to a gaijin like me.

Part of the distinguishing elements of Ayu-chan’s voice is also its flaws. She sings, at times, painfully flat. I’m aware that this may be due to her partial deafness. But sometimes the flatness of her voice is off-puttingly low, almost a half-step flat for entire passages. I imagine this is due to her vocal straining, artificially pushing her notes flat. And, compared to the virtuosic range of American singers like Mariah Carey, Ayu-chan’s range is fairly limited. Because of the tense quality of her voice, her highs make me wince a little bit. Think: Alvin and the Chipmunks… But, this is just a part of the “Ayu package.” Her power is impressive, but, without employing the classical style, it comes at some costs.

Despite its flaws, Ayumi Hamasaki’s voice is a crucial element to her success. Without it, she wouldn’t be “Ayumi Hamasaki: The Product”. Reading and listening to her interviews, I think she’s aware of her stance in the larger scheme of the Japanese music industry, and takes it very seriously. She really hasn’t stepped outside of her idiosyncratic style. If anything, her latest chart-topping singles seem to resurrect her 1998/1999 sound, and to great avail. I expect that Ayumi will always be the Ayumi that everyone (well, almost everyone) knows and loves.

AAA’s latest single,  逢いたい理由 (Aitai Riyuu – The Reason for Wanting to See You), is the group’s second Oricon no. 1 single.  The Japanese pop group AAA (トリプル・エー  “Triple A” (no relation to the American Motor Club of the same name)) was formed in 2005 by Avex, made up of a motley group of back-up dancers for more established artists. There are currently seven, youthful members in the group: two girls and five guys. Among them, Misako Uno and Takahiro Nijima are also notable for their roles in Japanese dramas and films.  Uno also co-starred in the American film, Grudge 2. Group  member Mitsuhiro Hidaka raps and writes his own lyrics. And, I’m not really sure what Shinjiro Atae does, but he looks cool either way.

What can I say about “Aitai Riyuu”? When I first heard it, I instantly thought of the early hits of Tetsuya Komuro, a somewhat mysterious figure in the Japanese pop music scene with forty-one no. 1 Oricon singles under his belt.  A quick googling revealed that the song was indeed written by Komuro (やっぱりそうだったね〜). I thought he was still in jail*! It seems that he has been working hard to return to his former glory, writing over sixty demos since August 2009, of which Avex selected two for AAA.

The song itself is pure formula. Komuro certainly has covered his bases. But, I have a hunch that this song, if not the group itself, won’t age very well (despite enka-esque hand gestures and facial expressions). Indeed, the song sounds as if it’s just waiting to be dated. But, for now, we can enjoy it for what it is: pure pop. As I may have stated before, I openly adore Komuro’s “slice-of-chorus” intros, which seem to be doing well for Lady Gaga here in the States (“Bad Romance”, anyone?). In terms of compositional style, the verses aren’t too exciting (typical of Komuro), but there’s always a hook, and the hook of “Aitai Riyuu” is golden. The passing V chord, which Komuro makes a little juicier with descending motion in bass, takes full advantage of Komuro’s knack for voicing. I miss the instant modulations up by half-step though. All-in-all, the song is a catchy throw-back to the superstar Komuro hits of the early 90’s, like Amuro Namie’s “Body Feels Exit.”

This song has it all: the sampled drum kit, the sparkly chordal outlines in synth, the catchy, syncopated filler synth (very Gaga), the brassy solo synth, throw in some rhythm guitar, throw in a little solo electric guitar, and a few pretty faces while we’re at it. What more could you ask for? Or, should I say, what more could you possibly fit in? Avex has another number one hit, the members of AAA have secured their reputation among the J-Pop elite (for the time being) and Tetsuya Komuro has shown us all that he is very much back in his element.

*Komuro was arrested and charged with fraud in 2008 

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