If I was to go back in time about ten years to tell my former punk-rock self that my new favorite music is Japanese techno-pop, I might catch a bit of flak. On the other hand, the old me might be intrigued by the idea, and demand to listen to it. As the music I love now would not have been made at that point, it might cause a rip in the time-space continuum and destroy the world.
Since I can't be a time-traveler, I don't spend too much time worrying about destroying my old habits. Rather, I'm spending most of my time designing speakers that are 100 feet in diameter so I can blast the new Perfume record "GAME" and introduce everyone on the continent to its genius.
I first became aware of Perfume after their producer Nakata Yasutaka worked with Ms. Kayo Aiko for her 'cosmic cosmetics' single.
Their style is almost always a mix of candy-pop and hard techno. It didn't take me long to buy a few of their records, namely "Complete Best" and "Fan Service - Sweet", but I waited a long time to receive "Complete Best" because it was selling like crazy all over the world. Despite having never been to Japan, my taste has matched theirs in the past couple of years.
Perfume put out a couple more singles, "Polyrhythm" and "Baby Cruisin' Love" before they released their second record, which is "GAME". After I thoroughly exhausted the "Complete Best" CD and previewing the new singles, I thought that they may have reached their creative peak. Everything after seemed to sound the same to me, and my opinion was that they were releasing the same song again and again, only with new words to fill the chorus section.
So I held off on buying "GAME"; what a BIG mistake that was. One listen and I've become convinced that this is one of the best albums ever made. Every track is good, but the next track is even better! Again, the Japanese share my sentiments: the album and the follow-up single "love the world" both reached #1 over the summer.
I can't think of a group more deserving of such success. Though I've become used to it over time, the first listening of "Electro-World" was an unforgettable experience. It sounded as if a Nintendo had exploded, joined the Beatles, and channeled the spirit of 'Thriller'-era Michael Jackson. In other words, an untouchable electronic hit!
It's notable and fitting that the girls are from Hiroshima. Some 60 years after we caused unprecedented devastation to their future home, Nocchi, Kashiyuka, and A-chan rise from the ashes and show the world how music is supposed to be made. The usual question of 'who is your favorite?' does not come into play; to choose one is to eliminate two other perfectly capable (and desirable) girls from the wota repertoire.* They're like the Borg.
But, like most girl-groups, they depend largely on their producer who deserves the musical equivalent of the Nobel Prize for coming up with this stuff. I might be more inclined to go clubbing if they'd play Perfume songs at a deafening volume around here but, sadly, they don't. I'm so tempted to go sneak a song in, just to wake everyone up.
But for now, it's back to work on those giant speakers.
[Original post date 2008-Oct-11]
*So yeah, first I was an A-Chan fan, then Kashiyuka won me over, and now I'm really crushing hard for Nocchi. All three of them, really, are unbelievable goddesses. I had the honor of seeing them perform from up close and if only I could have stared at all three of them simultaneously the whole time, I would have.
Postscript: In the 6+ years since I wrote this post, Perfume has become my favorite group, probably of all time. I could go on for DAYS about all the things they've totally knocked out of the park along the way.
I think that the phrase, "they depend largely on their producer" was a little simplistic and slightly uninformed. The girls themselves do seem to have a lot of input towards musical and theatric details and the whole group of people behind this amazing outfit deserve a collective accolade. I would guess that Nakata probably gets final cut and is also probably the driving force in shaping their overall sound.
They have released 3 more albums since this writing, and musically, Perfume just kept getting better and better - when it was already supremely awesome to begin with. Hearing Aiko's 'cosmic cosmetics' these days, it's like, "this is the Perfume guy!" Perfume + Aiko = seriously, the best thing ever?
