It’s a little difficult to sum up this neat Japan Times article on the underground’s influence on modern J-pop and J-rock, but: Look no further than Perfume, basically.

Decent read touching on indie scene collaborating with idol. https://t.co/Le8vkrEZlq

— Daemon ☠ つれづれ 5-17 (@DaeMetal) March 26, 2017

It’s a little different than how we usually think about the genesis of a lot of our music, whereupon it’s indie idols adopting moves from contemporary rock etc. We also usually think of it as a primarily underground phenomenon, but, as the article points out, there are big-ass names (including our own Babymetal) who managed to make the leap to the big-time by adopting sounds and innovations from the small-time. Continue reading →