This past August, J-pop performer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu released a video for her new single ¡°.¡± The song ostensibly marked a decade since she debuted as a musical act, arriving online a few days before the 10-year anniversary of her first EP, ¡°Moshi Moshi Harajuku.¡±
In true Kyary fashion, however, she subverted the idea of looking back. The song title is a play on the Japanese term ¡°genten kaiki,¡± which roughly translates to ¡°returning to your roots.¡± By changing the last kanji character of the term, Kyary instead celebrates running away from where she started. The accompanying clip drives this message home by showing the 28-year-old flee from a big crimson bow resembling the sort of kawaii hair accessories that have been a part of her look since 2011.
Kyary¡¯s newest album, ¡°Candy Racer,¡± marks a fresh start for the performer. It¡¯s her first album released by her own imprint under Nippon Colombia, KRK LAB, after leaving longtime label unborde (a sub-label of Warner Music Japan) a couple years back. She¡¯s still working with prolific producer Yasutaka Nakata, but this fifth full-length offers some sonic experimentation alongside the rainbow-bright synth-pop that made Ms. Pamyu Pamyu the official ambassador of Harajuku in the 2010s.
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