Asia's greatest pop stars

Aaron Walker is an American-born music and television producer who has worked for Music Japan TV , Tokto's pur J-pop channel broadcasting on satellite Tv, for five years.

Published on February 15, 2008

Weekend Magazine

Asian muscians might not be as widely recognised globally as Europeans or Americans. But within Asia, Japan provides the region's most popular musical acts, esclipsing the J-pop-inspired wannabes that every Asian country produces.

Despite the language barrier, J-pop surpasses this limitation and establishes itself with its sensational, sugarcoated, sounds.

But are the hyped up tunes and the flashy attire what it takes to drive J-pop to substantial, lasting presence?

Perhaps the most suitable person to ask that is Aaron Walker, an Oregonborn music and television producer who has worked for Music Japan TV, Tokyo's pure J-pop channel broadcasting on satellite cable TV, for five years. He has been working with Japan's new pop sensations such as Mika Nakashima, Kome Kome Club, D51, Members of Exile to name a few. He is one of the very few recognised foreigners working in Japan's music business. Walker reflects on Japan's pop music industry to Weekend in Tokyo.

What do you think distinguishes J-pop from other pop music?

The sound of today'sJ-pop is a mix of many common pop melodies and themes that you hear around the world. These days, a lot of Americansounding poprock and hiphop is thrown into the formula, but with the inclusion of Japanese lyrics and production style, The music is still uniquely Japanese. Rarely including rhyme, J-pop can be more poetic than standard English pop songs.

Do you think J-pop represents young Japanese in general?

I would say Jpop represents more of a fantasy world, helping people escape from the everyday pressures of life in Japan, generally the same as pop music does anywhere in the world.

How do young Japanese consume music?

Young Japanese adapt to new technologies and devices very quickly. The main way of listening to music these days is an MP3 player, iPod, or mobile phone with a builtin digital music player. J-pop is everywhere in Japan - the Internet, television arcade malls to the coffee shops and TV commercials to telephone ring tones. Young or old, in Japan it is would be difficult to escape ubiquitous sounds of J-pop.

How do you find Jpop then and now?

The first time I can really remember listening to Jpop was about 12 years ago. I found it silly, crazy, and overly cute sounding. After learning more about Japan and Japanese culture, I have come to understand more about J-pop and appreciate its place in the world of music.

Where is Jpop heading to now?

J-pop is continually evolving and assimilating new themes at a rapid rate. That is a similar characteristic of how one might also view modern Japan.

What do you think are its strengths and flaws?

I think the strength of Jpop is it's catchy lightness and ability to make you sing along and at least tap your foot to the beat, even if you've had a bad day.Musically speaking, the weakness that I find is J-pop not having much originality, depth or soul.

How do you see the potential of J-pop in the world market?

Jpop has had an influence in pop music throughout Asia for many years, but there is also potential for J-pop to continue to grow in the world market. The popularity of things like Japanese manga spreading around the world also opens the door for more Japanese pop culture and music to follow.

For example, look at Puffy Ami Yumi - a longtime famous Japanese J-pop star. I saw them in the States on their first American tour about seven years ago.

At that time, no one knew who they were, except mostly Japanese students who were studying abroad in the US. Flash forward a few years, and with the popularity of their cartoon show, millions of people all across America now know who they are and listen to their music.

Manta Klangboonkrong