Japanese singer-songwriter and musician Gen Hoshino emerged as a primarily acoustic pop artist with his debut albums Baka no Uta (2010) and Episode (2011).[1] Hoshino's parents were both fans of jazz: his father (a jazz piano hobbyist) and his mother (who at one point aimed to be a jazz vocalist) would together "play modern jazz and R&B every day around the house".[2][3] With his instrumental band Sakerock formed in 2000, Hoshino performed songs inspired by funk, soul, jazz, and R&B, and experimented with a mixture of Japanese and African-American styles on the B-sides to his singles, such as "Yuge" on "Kudaranai no Naka ni" (2011), "Moshi mo" on "Film" (2012), or "Kisetsu" on "Shiranai" (2013).[2][4]
Whilst in the process of wrapping up recording for his third album, Hoshino collapsed to a subarachnoid hemorrhage in December 2012.[5]: 27 [6] After a three-month hiatus, Stranger was released, which brought his sound into a more up-beat direction through greater use of synthesizer and string sections.[1][7] Only a week later, he followed Stranger with the non-album rock and roll single "Gag" for the anime film Saint Young Men,[8] but assumed a second hiatus in June after a reinspection discovered a relapse in his hemorrhage.[9] While awaiting the reinspection, Hoshino wrote the lyrics to "Why Don't You Play in Hell?" (地獄でなぜ悪い, Jigoku de Naze Warui, lit.'What's Bad About Hell?') – the theme song to the Sion Sono film of the same name – and had it released on October 2, 2013, whilst still on hiatus. Hoshino used the song to reconsider his musical roots ("1960s jazz, soul, Motown soundblack music") and was his first time incorporating African-American influences on an A-side.[10][11][5]: 27
At the start of 2014, Hoshino's recovery was officially commemorated by the conclusion of touring for Stranger in February and the Fukkatsu (lit.'Revival') Live Tour in April.[12][13] His first post-recovery single – a double A-side of "Crazy Crazy" and the J-Wave campaign song "Sakura no Mori" (桜の森, lit.'Cherry Blossom Forest') – was released on June 11, 2014.[14] "Crazy Crazy" was written as a homage to the Japanese jazz band Crazy Cats and had been reworked from a somber melody created by Hoshino during his surgery's waiting process.[15][16] A love for soul artists such as Michael Jackson re-discovered during the single's production primarily inspired "Sakura no Mori",[17] which showcased Hoshino merging Japanese and African-American styles into his musical direction.[2]
Conception
The Japanese success of foreign artists such as Bruno Mars(pictured in 2010) encouraged Hoshino to employ influences of African-American music on Yellow Dancer, previously considering such music a niche.
A fun production on "Sakura no Mori" inspired Hoshino to write an album in the same style, and conceived Yellow Dancer after noticing similarities in the stylistic origins from African-American music in the song and "Why Don't You Play in Hell?".[5]: 27 Though the writing process of the singles focused on what Hoshino found fun and his niche musical interests, he was encouraged to explore the styles more openly on an album after noticing a rise in popularity of Western artists such as Chich, Daft Punk, and Bruno Mars in Japan; daily airplay of Mark Ronson and Mars' "Uptown Funk" (2014) at his local Lawson convenience store and the response to "Sakura no Mori" from J-Wave listeners further motivated his work on the album.[5]: 28 [18]
One of the major obstacles in the album's production was Hoshino's discomfort replicating black music due to his Japanese nationality. In an interview with Musica magazine, Hoshino spoke of his disinterest in mimicking African-American music: "There was a hole in the middle of the obstacle [of my nationality], and I could've easily passed through. But the end of that path would just be a black music-like thing ... that wouldn't be interesting to make."[5]: 28 Instead of replicating black music, he would incorporate elements of it into a J-pop style, a method previously used by 1980s artists such as Toshinobu Kubota and Dreams Come True, who were both cited by Hoshino.[19] In a press comment included with the album's announcement, he described the result of his "respect for black music" such as soul, jazz, R&B, and jump blues, paired with "focus on the emotions of Japanese pop", as his own genre called yellow music (yellow referring to Japanese people).[20][21] In the same comment, he stated Yellow Dancer was written "having fun doing what I wanted" and shared his belief that the album would make listeners dance with "not only the body, but also with the heart".[20]
Writing and production
Material specifically for the new album was written by Hoshino throughout 2015. The first song written with the concept of yellow music was the Kokoro ga Pokitto ne [ja] drama series theme song "Sun", which was released as the album's third single on May 27, 2015. It helped Hoshino envision what kind of album Yellow Dancer would be, and was in the middle of songs created; half of the others songs on the album were written before it, and the other half after.[5]: 26–27 [22] All tracks were written and produced by Hoshino solo; he also handled principal arrangement, whereas violinist Mio Okamura (a collaborator of Hoshino's since Sakerock) and Ego-Wrappin' support saxophonist Satoru Takeshima are credited for the arrangement of strings and horns, respectively.[22][23] Lyrically, in contrast to his earliest work, Hoshino said he grew to enjoy writing about the specific emotions of "someone", scenery, and situations, rather than focusing on himself or a story.[5]: 29, 31 When questioning what he wanted to express against the black music-inspired sound, he decided to focus on what he described as "Japanese scenery", such as the four seasons, morning and night, or ocean and mountains.[5]: 29, 31
Yellow Dancer was recorded and mixed by Shojiro Watanabe, and mastered by Takahiro Uchida.[23] Production was intersected with Hoshino's acting work (such as on the television drama Dr. Storks, or the sketch variety showLife! Jinsei ni Sasageru Conte), which he said particularly provided difficulty in recording vocals.[5]: 26 [24]: 37 Since Hoshino's schedule was largely dictated by dates of shootings decided around three days in advance, he would plan around this to book studios and schedule with the engineers. The acting work would also influence parts of the album's writing; Hoshino believes his role as an obstetrician on Dr. Storks unconsciously inspired the lyrics of the album opener "Tokiyo" (時よ, lit.'Time'), which uses the word aka-chan (lit.'infant').[24]: 26 Recording was still in progress during Hoshino's interview with Musica on October 1, 2015, and one unspecified song was still without final lyrics; however, alongside the album's announcement on October 14, Hoshino stated that Yellow Dancer had been completed.[5]: 26 [20]
Composition
Overview
Yellow Dancer includes 14 tracks and has a total length of 56 minutes and 27 seconds.[25] Its sound is primarily a mix of Japanese pop and folk with African-American genres like jazz, soul, and R&B,[26][27][28] though critics also described it as containing tracks with hints of dance, disco, funk, electro, post-rock, exotica, and Latin.[b]Bounce's Daisuke Sawada wrote that Hoshino "worked head-on on [with] soul music, old-time jazz, and R&B", whilst he maintained a "folky poetic sentiment".[27]Skream! magazine's Tomoko Ishisumi thought that the album composed "black grooves" into Hoshino's musical style, but also noticed that certain tracks follow unique styles.[33] The opening numbers "Tokiyo" and "Week End" are upbeat or poppy tracks,[32][34] whereas "Miss You" (ミスユー, Misu Yū), the acoustic "Kuchizuke" (口づけ, lit.'Kiss'), and "Yoru" (夜, lit.'Night') are ballads.[32] The album's lyrical tone is positive.[26]
Songs
Yellow Dancer's opening song, "Tokiyo", showcases little influence from African-American influences, but instead features elements that were described as Japanese or oriental. A pop song centered on synthesizer, it has a prevalent string section by Okamura, and lyrics about the indiscriminate passage of time. Cinra's Takanori Kuroda compared the song to the work of the electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra.[4][26] The Mezamashi Saturday [ja] morning show theme song "Week End", a pop and R&B-infused dance song where Hoshino encourages listeners to dance freely,[34][35] was compared by CDJournal reviewers to Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" (1978).[26] "Sun" was strongly influenced by Michael Jackson and includes the line "Hey J" as a nod to the singer;[36] a critic for Real Sound compared it to the dance music of Quincy Jones and Jackson's album Off the Wall (1979),[37] whereas Kuroda thought it was particularly reminiscent to the song "Rock with You" from the same album.[4]
Musically, Yellow Dancer is a mix of Japanese and African-American styles. Tomoyuki Mori of Real Sound thought that the soul-infused "Soul" combined a groove similar to Alabama Shakes with text that represents Japanese lyricism or haiku.[2]: 2
Hoshino sings of parting with someone important and new beginnings on "Miss You", a slow-to-medium-paced soul ballad that Mikiki's Chikako Kato thought was close to Baka no Uta.[26][29][32] The sixteen-bar and syncopated fifth track "Soul" is named after the genre of the same name and features a Hammond organ, a flute solo, and soul-styled vocal performance.[4] Tomoyuki Mori, writing for Real Sound, thought that "Miss You" and "Soul" showcased similarities to the American artists Curtis Mayfield and Alabama Shakes, respectively, whilst their lyricism represents Japanese writing or possibly haiku, which he described as one of Hoshino's inventions on the album.[2]: 2 "Kuchizuke" is an acoustic ballad consisting only of guitar and vocals, where the lyrics discuss life with a partner.[26][32] Following the calm "Kuchizuke", Kuroda wrote that the album is brought into "chaos" by "Why Don't You Play in Hell?",[4] a New Orleans-styled track led by a sporadic beat and horns.[31]: 2 [38] "Nerd Strut", an instrumental number with the subtitle "(Instrumental)", features a bass performance from Yellow Magic Orchestra's Haruomi Hosono, with Hoshino in charge of the rest of the instrumentation (marimba, guitar, drums, piano, Hammond organ, and the banjo-like sanshin). Musically an exotica-styled composition, "Nerd Strut" features hints of calypso and salsa music similarly to Hosono's albums Tropical Dandy (1975), Bon Voyage co. (1976), and Paraiso (1978).[23][31]: 2
The double A-side singles "Sakura no Mori" and "Crazy Crazy" are placed next to each other on the track listing. The former, a dance and disco track with reminiscence to acid jazz, features guest background vocals from Orarī, Shōhei Takagi, and Yū Arauchi, members of the bands Kata Omoi (Orari) and Cero (Takagi, Arauchi).[26][30][39] Its lyrics are a double entendre that can be interpreted as either about excitement at the beginning of spring or an intimate encounter between a man and a woman;[40] Saori Yoshiba at Skream! compared the writing on the song to the work of novelist Ango Sakaguchi.[39] A tribute to the jazz music of Crazy Cats, Hoshino and his musicians tried to replicate "what a grandpa would play at a bar in New Orleans" in "Crazy Crazy",[16] which opens with a piano solo themed to slapstick comedy and silent movies.[39] "Snow Men"—the theme song to a promotional short film by cosmetic company Shiseido—was described as erotic by critics; Hoshino called it a "song of sex".[24]: 42
Artwork and title
Alongside other nominees at the 2016 Music Jacket Awards, the cover artwork to Yellow Dancer was displayed at a gallery in the Takashimaya Times Square [ja] department store (building pictured in 2023).
Art direction for Yellow Dancer was handled by designer Yuni Yoshida.[41] The front cover artwork was unveiled alongside the album's full track listing on October 28, 2015, and features a wide arrange of objects, foods, and animals such as bananas, books, plates, a fork, and a cat, arranged to resemble the back of a maiko (apprentice geisha).[42] News writers for HMV Japan and Billboard Japan called it a poppy expression of Yellow Dancer.[43][44] An alternate cover with a cherry blossom pink background created for the album's analog version was revealed on January 7, 2016, which Natalie.mu writers thought gave a "warm" impression.[45] At the 2016 Music Jacket Awards, the Yellow Dancer standard cover art was named winner of the Grand Prix by voters of the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), beating out 49 other nominees including the runner-ups Inu ni Shite kure by Wasureranne yo and Window by Drop's. Alongside all other nominees, the RIAJ announced that the cover would be displayed at the Music Jacket Gallery 2016, a one-week exhibition at the Takashimaya Times Square [ja] department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo.[41] Hoshino continued to work with Yoshida on future projects, including on his follow-up album Pop Virus (2018).[46]
The title of Yellow Dancer was conceived by Hoshino and literally means "Japanese dancer". Though a lover of dance music and dancing, Hoshino thought there was an impression that Japanese people are poor at it and lack individuality in their moves, so named the album from a desire to see people in the Japanese market dance freely.[3] Hoshino accredited his use of the word yellow to refer to Japanese nationality to Haruomi Hosono of Yellow Magic Orchestra.[5]: 33 Hoshino names Hosono as his mentor and a major influence in his music;[3] he formed the Sakerock band as a fan of Hosono, before they profesionally acquintated at the backstage of a festival around 2007. Hosono was later the one to encourage Hoshino to work on a solo debut, and was described as a "person who [Hoshino] is indebtured to" by Daisuke Kikuchi of Rockin'On Japan.[47]
Retrospectively, Hoshino expressed regret over the album's title in a 2020 interview with Flood Magazine. Though he denied intentional cultural appropriation and voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement, he stated: "Now that I think about it, it was wrong of me to give it that name. The album Yellow Dancer was strongly influenced by black music, but it was also influenced by music from many other countries that I love, including Japan. It's absolutely impossible for me to paint my music ... into that one color: 'yellow'".[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written, arranged, and produced by Hoshino, except where otherwise noted.
The first edition DVD/Blu-ray includes audio commentary from Hoshino and his collaborators.[48]
The analog version is a double album, split between "Why Don't You Play in Hell?" and "Nerd Strut".[49] The 2019 LP re-release splits the album into four records: the first disc contains tracks 1–3, the second 4–7, the third 8–11, and the fourth 12–14.[50]
^Tomoyuki Mori of Real Sound attributed dance and funk to "Sun", and exotica to "Nerd Strut";[2]: 1–2 Tower Records Japan staff reviewer Hirama also attributed dance to "Sun";[29]Mikiki's Chikako Kato attributed disco to "Sakura no Mori";[30] Akimasa Munakata, also for Real Sound, attributed electro to "Tokiyo";[31] Takanori Kuroda at Cinra attributed a post-rock-styled approach to "Down Town";[4] and Naho Sadahiro for Tower Plus attributed Latin-styled drums also to "Down Town".[32]
^Japanese physical shipments for Yellow Dancer as of January 2019, compiled by Oricon from the album's chart history.[62]
References
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^ abcdefMori, Tomoyuki (December 1, 2015). "星野源の新作『YELLOW DANCER』が心と体に響くワケーー収録曲の音楽的アプローチから分析" [Why Gen Hoshino's New Yellow Dancer Reaches the Heart and Body: A Musical Dissection of the Track Listing]. Real Sound (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^ abcdefKuroda, Takanori (December 1, 2015). "一躍お茶の間の存在となった星野源。音楽家として何がすごい?" [Gen Hoshino Became a Household Name — What Makes the Artist Great?]. Cinra (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
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^ abHoshino, Gen (July 2014). "星野源 — インタビュー" [Gen Hoshino — Interview]. Skream! (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Yoshiba, Saori. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
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^Reggie (December 2, 2015). "星野源と山口一郎 — 音楽シーンに風穴を開ける、それぞれのやり方" [How Gen Hoshino and Ichiro Yamaguchi Broke the Music Scene]. Real Sound (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
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^ abKuroda, Takanori (May 29, 2015). "星野源はなぜ「希有な存在」でいられる? そのマニアックさと遊び心がお茶の間に愛される理由" [How Gen Hoshino's Rare Sense of Mania and Playfulness Made Him a Household Name]. Cinra (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
^ abcHoshino, Gen (December 2015). "2015年の圧倒的名盤『YELLOW DANCER』 その全曲を語りつくす完全保存大特集!" [Yellow Dancer — Complete Special Feature of Every Song on 2015's Masterpiece Album!]. Musica (Interview) (in Japanese). Vol. 104. p. 33–43.
^ abcdefg"星野 源 — YELLOW DANCER" [Gen Hoshino — Yellow Dancer]. CDJournal (in Japanese). n.d. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
^ abSawada, Daisuke (December 11, 2015). "星野源、詩情損なわずソウルやオールドタイミーなジャズ～R&Bに真っ向から取り組み豊かなグルーヴ獲得した4作目" [Gen Hoshino Works Soul, Old-Timey Jazz, and R&B Head-on Without Losing His Folk Sentiment on Fourth Album]. Bounce (in Japanese). Retrieved October 3, 2024 – via Mikiki.
^ abKato, Chikako (May 23, 2014). "星野源の時代の乗り方" [How Gen Hoshino Rides the Times]. Mikiki (in Japanese). Retrieved September 1, 2024.
^ abcMunakata, Akimasa (December 14, 2015). "星野源が『YELLOW DANCER』で成し遂げた快挙 チャート1位作の音楽的達成を読む" [The Achievements of Gen Hoshino on Yellow Dancer — A Musical Look at the Number-One Charting Album]. Real Sound (in Japanese). Retrieved September 1, 2024.
^Ishisumi, Tomoko (December 2015). "YELLOW DANCER — 星野源 (Disc Review)" [Yellow Dancer — Gen Hoshino (Disc Review)]. Skream! (in Japanese). Retrieved September 1, 2024.
^ ab"星野源「めざど」に'つい踊ってしまう'ダンスナンバー提供" [Gen Hoshino Provides Mezashi Saturday With a Dance Song That Will Put Listeners into Movement]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). October 28, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
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^Koyanagi, Daisuke (September 30, 2013). "「地獄」を生き抜くための歌" [A Song for Surviving Hell]. Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
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^Watanabe, Marina (July 24, 2019). "ロックの深エロい名曲7 VS エロ騒ぎの名曲7" [The Seven Best Secretly Erotic Rock Songs vs. the Seven Best Loudly Erotic Songs]. Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2024.
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^"星野源、桜色「YELLOW DANCER」アナログ盤ジャケ完成" [Gen Hoshino Unveils Completed Cherry Blossom Pink Cover for Yellow Dancer Analog Version]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). January 7, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
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