Introducing my introduction to JPop (and some thoughts I had on it I wanted to share)

When people find out I like Japanese pop music I almost always hear the exact same two questions back to back- firstly ‘oh you speak Japanese?’ and then, when I answer no- ‘oh...why do you like it if you can’t understand what they’re saying?’ Now for me, music has always been as much a visual experience as an audio one- I have discovered almost all my favourite artists through their music videos or live performances- seeing how someone embodies their words, the passion, beauty and story’s that songs bring to the screen are what speak to me the most. I guess, this is why I gravitated towards Jpop- the larger than life high budget videos and performances enticing young me in.

However, this isn’t to say my journey into Jpop was linear- truthfully after a small dip into Ayumi Hamasakis discography when I was about 11 I didn’t listen to it for years- I didn’t like the music. And so I get it when people are confused and dislike it, I’ve been there. It seems to me JPop is something western people would actively have to attempt to get into, for several reasons. Firstly the language barrier- Japanese is about as far removed from English as a modern language can be. In comparison when we listen to Latin or Anglo based language music, songs in French or Spanish for example, we can get with the cadence and rhythm, the base of several words is similar and it’s something we can grasp onto in familiarity. Japanese doesn’t have that same safety net. By comparison, not only is the language and alphabet completely different, phonetically there is a huge discrepancy which comes through in singing. Vocals in Japanese pop music are mainly produced from the throat, producing a high pitched, sharp and nasally sound- very far removed from our western ideal of resonant vocals coming from the diaphragm. The result is that the voice sounds, for want of a better word, unpleasant to our ears, as it’s not something we would culturally gravitate towards.

Coupled with that the Japanese pop music production is something of a similar stranger- songs feature much of the same production cues and instrumental ticks as our western hit makers, but used in a totally different way. Songs tend to be longer in Jpop, creating the effect of listening to a piece of music and thinking ‘this isn’t adding anything new’. This rambling type of approach is also found in many lyrics- for the last minute of a popular Japanese song it is not at all unusual for the artist to seemingly just repeat a phrase or two. The reason for this? I honestly couldn’t tell you- I can only presume the linguistic and poetic differences mean such an approach would add something for a native listener, the rich years of culture Japan has a country meaning their tastes have simply evolved different.

I do love Jpop- its fun, it’s full of content and it often features creative musical ideas I haven’t yet seen in Western. However I completely understand why people have a hard time with it- like all great art it takes thought to be appreciated. With that in mind, and with my ever generous spirit, I have decided to starting a new ‘Introducing...’ series, looking at some of my favourite and the most iconic Jpop divas (still no boys, sorry). These will feature short playlists of, to me, songs that are their most accessible to a Western listener that also allow for someone to get a feel of each icon as an artist, whilst also allowing an exploration in the JPop scene for anyone who may have seen certain references banded around and been interested, but never known where to start. I hope you these weekly posts enjoy- first artist coming Saturday!