The Mastermind of Japanese Pop

8 years ago (2012), I first watched an advertisement for a phone company called 48. With flamboyant costumes that could make even Lady Gaga gasp and delightfully artificial synth beats in a language I knew nothing of, I realised I needed to find more. And through this advertisement I fell down the sickly sweet rabbit hole of J-pop.

The particular song that was used in the ad was a remix of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s top 10 smash ‘PON PON PON,’ a shimmering pop banger featuring the winning combination of Kyary’s auto-tuned coo blended with an idiosyncratic, bubbly instrumental. It was one of the many hits written, produced and engineered by Electronic super-producer Yasutaka Nakata.

 

One of the most creative voices in Japanese pop, Nakata has an eclectic sound, through the years experimenting with Shibuya-kei (A sunny indie-pop sound popular in the 90’s), electro house, future bass and dubstep, each artist he produces having their own signature sound too. Whether this is CAPSULE’s uproarious EDM, the retro, heavily vocoded Perfume or Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s slower, jazzier sound, the songs are always ear candy and a 3 minute treat with every listen.

Nakata's work has led to mainstream acceptance and success within and outside of Japan with 10 number one albums in Japan and Perfume's album Cosmic Explorer selected as one of Rolling Stone's '20 Best Pop Albums of 2016.' [1]

As Nakata himself says, ’Even if my taste doesn’t change, if the taste of the public changes, what I will make will be different.’ [2] The key to his success is that he makes music that he wants to hear and only takes surface level influence from popular trends. The endless imagination and thought put into the genre is why J-pop has stuck with me for so many years.

References

1. Spanos, Brittany; Harris, Keith; Johnston, Maura; Soto, Alfred. 20 Best Pop Albums of 2016. Rolling Stone, 2016.
   
2. Yasutaka, Nakata. My 10 Golden Rules. Youtube, 2010, 2:36-2:48.