– JPEGMAFIA

I’m glad JPEGMAFIA’s assault-on-the-senses White Stage performance went down on Friday afternoon instead of late in the weekend because I don’t know if my tired body could have handled all the bone rattling bass, skittering chopped up beats and ear-splitting, lightning quick scream-rap three days into a festival. My brain can’t seem retain any memory of a particular highlight, probably because the whole set was just pure non-stop energy. He ended each song drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, and he made sure we were all right there along with him. In terms of raw and in-your-face edginess, nothing else I saw this year came close. It hurt so good.

REPORT

– DONGURIZU

I had honestly never heard of wild and wacky hip-hop duo DONGURIZU until hours before their Saturday Red Marquee appearance, but I got intrigued after clicking on a youtube video of the pair’s pulsating hip-house floor filler “NO WAY” and decided to find out what they were all about. It ended up being the most fun I had the whole weekend. The reason? Rapper Mori and producer Chomo were up there having even more of a blast than I was.

REPORT

– MURA MASA

I’m always impressed by Mura Masa’s ability to hand pick his collaborative vocalists from a smorgasbord of worldwide backgrounds with unmatched skill. Rough-around-the-edges Slowthai’s grime/punk in “Deal Wiv It”, Charli XCX’s ultra-catchy bubblegum pop on “1 Night” and the Jamaican dancehall floor-filler “Blessing Me” with Pa Salieu + Skillibeng all draw from vastly different musical influences. Then HOW IN THE WORLD did only two women (guest vocalists Fliss and Cosha) channel the personalities of all these wildly diverse performers so perfectly and still inject their own vibrant persona and flair into each and every song? Big-time hats off to these two majorly talented ladies. Plus we got some sneaky previews of upcoming, yet-to-be-released material which also sounded fantastic.

REPORT

– DINOSAUR JR

Though I know their bigger hits well enough from back in the day, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a Dinosaur Jr fan. But with all the original members performing on stage together and the fact that they’re a literal living legend of a band still going hard today, you didn’t have to be a Dinosaur Jr super-fan to truly appreciate and understand the gravity of what was going down.

REPORT

– KIKAGAKU MOYO

Kikagaku Moyo is one of those bands that have found greater success overseas than in their own native Japan. I count myself lucky to have witnessed one of their final performances and was impressed by their distinctive and complex building jams, so much so that felt surprisingly easy to lose yourself in their meandering, swirling structures. Though it seems their time as a group is quickly coming to a close, as skilled and talented as they all are, I’ll bet we can expect some very interesting solo work from these adept musicians.

REPORT

– HOPES FOR NEXT YEAR

Please please please bring back Palace of Wonder. I understand that in these trying times we can’t have massive crowds packed into smaller enclosed venues, but I’ll cry real tears if the offbeat atmosphere of the Crystal Palace Tent and accompanying Palace of Wonder area are lost and gone forever. Also, dropping in on Jim’s Vinyl Nasium in its beloved shack-type form near Naeba Shokudo was always a late-night treat. I want that back, if Jim is up for it. If we’re going to talk performers for next year, I’d like to kindly request invites sent out to HAIM, Jungle, Parcels, Frank Ocean, Brockhampton, Hot Chip, Still Woozy, Vaundy and a group_inou reunion for 2023. Oh, and an exact repeat of this year’s near-perfect weather would be nice.

Though I originally thought it was a strange staging decision (his last Fuji Rock appearance was a prime-time Red Marquee spot), it all became immediately clear once I arrived at the top of the gondola that this was a dance party on a more personal level. A circle of 40-or-so people were huddled up near the decks and grooving their butts off to soulful disco-y tracks which were bookended by chopped up comical vocal samples from movies and TV.

Daft Punk’s “One More Time” appeared early on in its original form until DÉ DÉ MOUSE started teasing the crowd by playing with the levels and eventually morphed it into a whole new animal with horns and distorted bass. Likewise, “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music was playfully remixed as a hip-hop track that was soon deconstructed and blasted apart into a scatterbrained headbanger.

These elements added range to the set but it was DÉ DÉ MOUSE’s original material, namely the bouncy/poppy “Midnight Dew” and the catchy “Milkyway Drive” that proved to become the most memorable moments in the end. DÉ DÉ MOUSE really interacted with the crowd at every chance, coming out from behind the decks to pump everyone up, or lip synching the lyrics with animated facial expressions.

On paper, the set seemed most logical as a late-night Red Marquee jaunt, but somehow with it being on a mountain top in the crisp cool air, it felt like a backyard party with all your next-door neighbors letting it all hang loose.

Diving straight into the quirky “Nadja”, rapper Mori officially entered goofy party-boy mode while DJ/producer Chomo pulled double duty as an MC. The two flailed around the stage with no abandon and wasted no downtime, amping up the crowd between songs, egging everyone on to party harder. They really busted it wide open when they brought on pal Nagan Server for the throbbing 90’s house influenced “A Little Question”, all three of them playing off each other, trading complex verses.

They also proved they were not just a loony hip-hop duo with mostly instrumental deep club tracks like “Bomboclap”, which featured rave-worthy 808s, electronic handclaps and a stuttering vocal loop provided by Mori. After shouting, “ANYBODY OUT THERE WHO CAN KEEP ON DANCING? ARE YOU SURE?!”, a funky hip-house backing beat that sounded like it came off a 2 UNLIMITED album burst forth and the pair unleashed “NO WAY”, perhaps their catchiest track.

Challenging the crowd to keep up with their levels of excitement, Mori clutched a beer while effortlessly rapping double-time and Chomo showcased awkwardly charming dance moves. You know its a real party when the guys up on stage are the ones having the most fun under the whole tent.

The young band, formed only two years prior, channels laid-back Jamaican jams which burn long and slow. The pace never exceeded a crawl and the youthful band showed surprisingly good chemistry considering their short time as a unit.

Rounding out the group were drummer Manaw and keyboardist Couta. The band is active in the Kanto area, performing many shows in and around Tokyo. It will no doubt be interesting to see what kind of waves this talented but young band make in the future.

A drone of strings rose in crescendo and were soon joined by guitars, bass, keyboards and razor sharp drumming. The one-two punch of “It Runs Through Me” and “Losing My Way” set the tone for the evening, the former featuring a lovely saxophone solo that echoed across the huge clearing.

Tom’s stunning voice competed for attention with his smooth-as-silk guitar playing, and the entire band showed an unmatched harmony and chemistry. Connecting many songs without stopping in between, many of the well known pieces were built upon as live versions including extended jams, breakdowns, and solos by band members.

The lighting designer also deserves some props here for coordinating directly with the mood. What began as a stage washed completely in blue later burst into color and reinforced the rich atmosphere of each and every song. If anyone in the crowd was wondering when the giant disco ball would be put to good use, they only had to wait for the upbeat shuffling “Disco Yes” to get their answer.

Tom’s unmistakeable craft as an incredible guitarist showed through on many of the songs, and were even further amplified when joined by elements of violin and twinkling keyboards, among a huge range of instruments in the band. Cinematic vocal samples and electronic flourishes dressed up the chilled-out track “Movie”.

After previewing a new song in the smooth and groovy “Falling for You”, sweet-sounding vocals flip-flopped into a plucky funk breakdown on “Sunless Sky”. Late in the set, evocative highlights “South of the River” and “Lost in Paris” brought the performance to a climax.

As magic hour darkened into the final night of Fuji Rock for this year, Tom’s effortlessly flowing jazz seemed to hang in the air even after the stage darkened and crowds dispersed.

This was not a problem however, as beginners and yoga experts alike gathered in harmony under the morning sunshine.

Hundreds of participants unrolled mats and small sheets, standing at the ready and awaiting Ms. Shibuki’s kind and easy-to-understand instruction. There were even people way up in the campsite above, barely within earshot with arms outstretched and mimicking the movements of the people below.

Though I didn’t bring a mat, I joined in the stretching and standing poses and could immediately see how this sort of relaxing activity becomes a daily routine for many.

Especially at a music festival with grounds as vast as Fuji Rock, its easy to understand the benefits of finding inner peace in your mind and body before tackling a long day of strenuous walking and standing.

It was Ms. Shibuki’s simple and friendly instruction that led everyone peacefully and gently through the session, and likely converted more than a few future yoga members in the process.

The Anatolian band churns out funky, psychedelic jams straight out of Turkey, except that they hail from Amsterdam. With lyrics in Turkish and a heavy emphasis on Turkish instruments including the electric saz (three-string lute), they weave hypnotizing tapestries of native folk music mashed with 70s era funk.

Analogue organs and wonky guitars fused to usher in a range of wildly varying musical textures. Not understanding the Turkish language by no means limits appreciation of their music, as the melodies in the lyrics alone transport us straight to their Balkan-Anatolian world.

A handful of songs actually re-imagine old Turkish folk songs through the psychedelic medium of the instruments used. Not an old Turkish folk song but still chock full of Turkish flavor, the band really hit a high on “Yüce Dağ Başında” which featured handclaps and drum machines as the foundation of its funky strutting beat.

Fans and first-timers alike were transported to another world without ever having to set foot out of the Field of Heaven clearing at Naeba.

This has made the river quite a busy spot, with festival-goers doing everything from dipping their toes to fully cannonballing into the crisp clear waters.

Now with the Sunday sun retreating behind the mountains, don’t miss your last chance to take a quick dip if you haven’t already.

…And remember to leave the Gon-chan rocks in their place for all to enjoy.

More “culture curator” than DJ (his own words), Night Tempo has seemingly become a Fuji Rock mainstay, performing multiple times each visit. This is no doubt due to his ability to connect to older generations who recognize the songs he reworks, as well as a younger audience who are drawn to the catchy danceability of his work.

After gaining some momentum with his “Ladies in the City” live set on Friday, he was ready to really put all he had into his set on Saturday. It really was the perfect timing and perfect location; He hooked in those with tired legs ready to trudge back to their tent but who were suddenly drawn in to the Red Marquee tent, hypnotized by the retro bubblegum melodies and body-moving rhythms.

Even 20 minutes into the set, around the time he unleashed RA MU’s “Aoyama Killer Monogatari”, droves of people were still pouring in the back of the tent, already jamming along.

The “culture curator” title that Night Tempo has coined for himself really is spot on. His ability to clip all the catchiest parts of these 70s and 80s Japanese hits and sprinkle even more magical groove dust on top is really quite impressive. Exceeding super-nerd status in his field, he has his finger directly on the pulse of retro Japanese music and understands how to make them instantly accessible to a new generation.

His set reached back far enough to get deep cuts, but switched gears quickly enough to keep even those with short attention spans interested. He quickly bounced through well known sing-a-long’s like Akemi Ishii’s “CHA CHA CHA” and of course the rework that made him famous, Takeuchi Mariya’s “Plastic Love”.

With all the young kids grooving at the front of the stage at 1:00am, you wouldn’t be surprised to find their moms and dads all at the back, jamming just as hard.

This kind of attitude shown brightly throughout their appearance which was characterized by thrashing guitars that soundtracked MC Nouchi’s hip-hop verses.

Influenced heavily by 1990’s alternative music, Nouchi and guitarist Koshi were joined on stage by a supporting drummer and definitely dusted the cobwebs from Sunday morning audience members groggy morning brains by cranking up the volume as loud as it would go. Nouchi’s verses were peppered with English and sometimes imploded into full-on word salads and scatting.

Their influences (think Rage Against the Machine-type alternative rap/rock) are not unlike fellow rookie band Eiji who appeared Saturday on the same stage, but Kanna wanted audiences to know that they were a completely different band.

Active since 2001 in the Nagoya area of Japan, Kanna is definitely hoping their brand of heavy alternative rap rock resonated with fans enough to earn them a spot on a larger stage in the future.