While it remains this column¡¯s firm conviction that J-pop is trapped in a self-perpetuating dark age, the indie and underground music scenes provide a far livelier picture of Japan¡¯s musical landscape. In 2015, there was such a flow of fascinating new releases arriving from all angles that it was difficult to keep up.
This year was the 10th anniversary of Osaka avant-garde garage-punk duo Afrirampo¡¯s sole major label album ¡°Urusa in Japan.¡± This release is the high water mark of the explosion of wild sounds emerging from the Kansai area during the mid-2000s, and it was interesting how many of the highlights in 2015 came from alumni of that scene.
Oshiripenpenz and Afrirampo drummer Pika¡¯s band Moon Mama provided some of the most unexpectedly wonderful moments of the 2015 Fuji Rock festival. At the same time, Pika¡¯s solo release this year, ¡°Ryu no Sumika,¡± was an unpredictable and occasionally spine-tingling psychedelic folk album, while Osaka-based Yolz in the Sky completed their transition from postpunk to bleepy disco on the album ¡°Hotel.¡±
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