Scene & Unheard: Osaka, Japan Issue #39

By Neil Miller Jr.
Published: March 1st, 2009 | 3:32pm

Where to go, what to do
Osaka is considered by many to be the home of noise music in Japan. While that may be the case, all genres flourish in this musically rich major Japanese city.

Population: 2.6 million at night; 3.7 million during the day
Up-and-coming neighborhood: Dõtonbori is considered the tourist hotspot in Osaka. It also happens to be the heart of the city. Filled to the brim with neon and mechanized signs, this neighborhood has all the bars, restaurants, shopping arcades, and live-music venues one could ever ask for.
Venues: Zepp Osaka is definitely the one-stop shop for any kind of show you could want to see. One night you can catch Sonic Youth or Beck, and perhaps the next you’ll walk in during a Japanese electro-pop star’s set.
Shopping: For fans of otaku culture (anime, manga, and video games), Den Den Town will be the shopping district for you to blow some serious yen. For the sightseeing tourist in you, Namba is the place to go for its multiple shopping arcades, mass amounts of neon signage, easy rail access, and great bars and restaurants.
Restaurant: Talk about convenience and location: Kinryu Ramen is open 24 hours, and there are three locations in Dõtonbori (one at each end of the main drag, plus one in the middle). Did we mention the free garlic and kimchi bar? On a nice night, you can sit outside on their tatami mats while you dig into your fantastically epic bowl of ramen.
Recommended must-do: One of the most popular photo ops in Osaka is the huge billboard of the running Glico Man in Dõtonbori. Glico is responsible for making Japan’s most delicious confectionery export, Pocky. For the movie geeks out there, Universal Studios Japan rests in Osaka as well.

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Doddodo
Sounds like: Instrumentally, Doddodo uses everything but the kitchen sink — Casio keyboards, banjos, drum machines, and children’s toys. She’d never fit into Tokyo’s pop-happy music climate, which is why she’s right at home in Osaka’s blossoming noise scene.
Influences: Other than being referred to as Japan’s Björk, Doddodo’s known for throwing Aphex Twin-style breakcore, traditional Japanese melodies, hip-hop, and a dash of punk rock into a musical blender to create something that’s truly all her own.
URL: myspace.com/doddodo

Scandal
Sounds like: This collective of four schoolgirls from Osaka touts the band’s music as “the most powerful Japanese girlie pop rock,” and that assessment isn’t bloated at all. They craft some seriously infectious songs that’ll leave you humming all day — even if you don’t speak a lick of Japanese.
Influences: If you were to take away The Donnas’ fascination with KISS and supplemented them with some larger-than-life power-pop hooks, you’d be getting close. Newbies to Sony Music Japan, Scandal’s tunes are ideal for fans of The Donnas, Green Day, and Sahara Hotnights.
Players: Haruna (vocals, guitar), Mami (vocals, guitar), Rina (drums, vocals), and Tomomo (bass, vocals)
URL: scandal-4.com

Ai Outsuka
Sounds like: While some might shudder at the mention of pop music, the genre takes on new meaning in Japan. Otsuka – on the roster at Japan’s biggest label, Avex Trax — writes and composes her own music and lyrics, and her music runs the gamut from sounding exceptionally sweet and catchy to being sophisticated and complex.
Influences: You’ll hear a lot of traditional Japanese elements in her music – but with an updated pop feel in the vein of Dido with a dash of Lily Allen.
URL: avexnet.or.jp/ai/index.html