On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we’re talking with music journalist Patrick St. Michel. He’ll be telling us about Japanese pop music, Perfume, the city pop boom and one of his latest articles which focuses on the rise and fall and rise of eurobeat.
About Patrick St. Michel
Patrick St. Michel is a music journalist who specializes in Japanese pop music. His articles appear regularly in publications such as The Japan Times and Pitchfork.
Topics Discussed
- How it was that Patrick St. Michel got interested in Japanese pop music
- Discovering Perfume while on the JET Programme
- The appeal, image and sound of Perfume
- The influence of Yasutaka Nakata
- The explosion of popularity in K-pop around the world
- Comapring K-pop vs. J-pop
- How J-pop often ignores musical trends from the West
- How “City Pop” exploded in popularity online
- How Mariya Takeuchi’s song “Plastic Love” went viral
- Interviewing Miriya Takeuchi
- How the internet has made it possible for niche music to succeed
- What eurobeat is
- How it was that Patrick St. Michel was able to interview DJ Boss in order to do a story about Super Eurobeat
- The resurgence in popularity the eaurobeat genre has seen in recent years
- How eurobeat has become a part of online/meme culture
- About visiting Tokyo’s club Ageha
- The influence of Super Eurobeat on contemporary younger musical artists
- Da Pump’s “U.S.A.”
- How rock continues to be popular in Japan
- DJ Boss’s views on Super Eurobeat and its evolution
- How Avex goes about producing songs for the Super Eurobeat series
- Patrick St. Michel’s music recommendations: Hikaru Utada (Bad Mode), Soichi Terada (Asakusa Light), Star Kids, 4s4ki
- About the Make Believe Melodies blog and email newsletter
- And much more!
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Support on Patreon & Ko-fi
If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we’re able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you’ll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you’ll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!
You can also do a one time donation via Ko-fi.
Links, Videos, Etc.
Follow Patrick St. Michel on Twitter, subscribe to his newsletter (Make Believe Melodies), and check out the Spotify playlist he mentioned with his music recommendations.
To read the article Patrick wrote about Super Eurobeat based on his interview with DJ Boss, use the link below.
Don’t forget to check out the latest episode of Ichimon Japan.
- How do you say trombone in Japanese? (About the World War II Katakana Word “Ban”) | Ichimon Japan 59
Special Thanks
Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi’s music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.
Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.
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Full Show Notes
Get the full version of show notes at https://japankyo.com/category/podcasts/japanstation/
