joe curlee

When I was in my teens I was a big fan of the rather ambiguous genre known as "alternative rock." The Smashing Pumpkins were at the top of my favorites list, along with Nirvana, The Foo Fighters and pretty much anything else that was regularly played on the Chicago "alternative rock" station Q101.

As I got older and learned to play the guitar I started to appriciate the classics like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Hendrix, and the older I grew that catalog expanded to include Blues musicians such as Blind Willie Johnson, Memphis Minnie and Elizabeth Cotten.

I'm also a fan of Appalachian music - when I listen to it I'm reminded of the family vacations we regularly took to the Smokey Mountains in Tennesee - as well as 80s classics like Depeche Mode and The Smiths that transport me back to simpler times.

My musical taste is eclectic to say the least. I have always been a fan of classical music (especially Bach and Mozzart), and in my mid 20s I listened to a lot of Wu-Tang and the various side acts of the clan (I've been to several Wu-Tang concerts).

These days however, I have found a new unlikely obsession: Japanese hyperpop. This genre is difficult to define, but you know it when you hear it. If you have ever searched the term "hyperpop" you'll likely have seen its origins attributed to "electronic music movements that originated in the early 2010 in the UK." Wikipedia claims that it is often associated with LGBTQ culture - but that's "hyperpop" and it isn't the same as Japanese hyperpop.

Japanese Hyperpop is a high-energy / high-intensity genre that combines elements of hip-hop, electronic dance,trap and J-pop and it sometimes contains vocaloids or vocaloid inspired sounds. Solo artists often collaborate and cross-promote each other, releasing collaboration albums or starting groups together, or teaming up with DJs.

Some of the more well-known names among the underground hyperpop scene are 4s4ki, e5, z², MANON, Яu-a and my personal favorite, killwiz.

Killwiz, formerly known as "Ponika", started a group with e5 and Haku called Dr. Anon around 2021. Dr. Anon disbanded in 2022 and Ponika ended up battling health issues, later to reappear as "killwiz." She has released multiple singles and EPs and is gaining some momentum with her latest EP entitled GENOME. Killwiz collaborates with composer NGA (who often collaborates with other artists in Japan's underground hyperpop scene).

This music certainly isn't for everyone. The beats are often overloaded with many layers making it sound distorted and rough around the edges. The vocals are high pitched, often autotuned, sometimes monotone, and if you don't know any Japanese it probably sounds like pure noise. Personally I find it to be very addictive and I tend to listen to it while I program. Over the last several years it has become my favorite genre.

• music
• hyperpop
• japan