Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds

Ride the shinkansen over to this week’s issue of Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds!

For those who missed it, there are now free playlists for all of the singles that have been featured on the newsletter so far this year! Check out the highlights section on the Instagram page for more information 😉

Also, for all future The Sushi Platter episodes (including this one), there will be tiny playlists of my favorite tracks from the artist acting as a good introduction to them if you want to get a general idea before checking out these albums! You can find the link at the end of the newsletter 😊

Also also,… this newsletter has reached 100 SUBSCRIBERS!

Around half of you are my friends, but half of you are people I don’t even know. New friend or old friend it doesn’t matter, the fact that you are subscribing and reading this right now makes me so happy and motivated to keep going. Here’s to 100 more 🎉

This week’s episode is about a band that has been around a lot longer than you might think, it’s the modern legends cero!

📖 History and Influence 📖 

cero, consisting of singer and guitarist Shohei Takagi, keyboardist Yu Arauchi, and guitar Tsubasa Hashimoto, were formed in 2004. While Hashimoto wasn’t part of the band when they first formed, there was initially a drummer, Tomoyuki Yanagi, however, he left the band after their first album. Ever since, the drums on their albums have been played by various friends and studio musicians.

While their first couple of albums have a distinct Japanese Pop/Rock influence, they eventually made a genre switch, throwing American Jazz and Soul sounds into the mix. To me, they are the spiritual successor of The Fishmans (you can’t unhear it). Also worth noting they got attention throughout Japan because of support from Keiichi Suzuki, creator of the band Moonriders (classic band) and the soundtracks for the video games Mother 1 and 2, also known as Earthbound Beginnings and Earthbound (classic video game soundtracks).

I think cero are one of the most important bands of the 2010’s for Japanese underground music. Them and other bands like Suchmos were essential to bringing in the Soul inspired sound that is still prevalent in the Japanese underground music scene. Not only that, cero are definitely more experimental when compared to their contemporaries, not being afraid to feature an assortment of instruments, polyrhythms, and vocal effects.

Whether you’re into Japanese underground music or Jazz or both, cero are an essential listen, and if you haven’t listened to them before, here’s an introduction to their discography. 🎶

📈 Rankings 📈 

5. World Record

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

Bold yet still amateurish. That’s the perfect way to describe cero’s first album. Please note that amateurish is not always a bad thing. It’s beautiful to watch someone’s journey of self-growth and figuring themselves out. Calling this album amateur in a negative context would undersell this album. If cero didn’t release the other albums in their discography, I think this would continue to receive higher praise than it currently gets.

So you know how I was talking about American Soul and Jazz earlier? Well throw that out the window for the first 2 cero albums. This is straight up Indie Baroque Pop. This album is extremely orchestral, with so many different instruments and arrangements, you never know what you’re going to get with each track on your first listen. This record is all over the place, hence the bold yet amateurish statement I mentioned at the beginning. The sound of this record has a cute charm that is definitely lost throughout the rest of their discography, so still worth a listen.

4. My Lost City

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

Did you listen to World Record?
Did you like it?
Wanna a more refined version of it?

Here it is.

To me this album sounds like a slightly more serious take of the sound from their first record. The daring use of horn and string arrangements are still present, but the slightly sloppy moments that were occasionally present on their first album are mostly gone. This is a new cero, a confident cero.

While they don’t play tracks from their first 2 albums live that often anymore, the title track “My Lost City” is not only a track that stands up there with their best, but is still a live staple, even if they perform it in a different arrangement nowadays.

With World Record, it would be a stretch to find signs of their signature sound that would be present on later records, but here with My Lost City, you can hear it. The guitar and drums sound funkier all of a sudden. It’s also worth noting this is the first album without their founding drummer Yanagi. I could see this being a record of trying to find their new identity, which they finally found on their next record.

3. e o

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

But it’s not this one, this is their newest album, surprise! You really thought my ranking would be in chronological order? I mean it did seem like that until now so I wouldn’t blame ya.

But for me, this is where cero’s music becomes top tier. This album and the next two on this list could be interchangeable for my favorite album of theirs depending on the day. At this point, the Jazz influence in their discography is just off the chart. With the new addition of more drum machines and bleep bloops introduced to this album, this album can sound like Nu-Jazz at certain points.

Apparently this is the first album they made where there was no concept in mind when they started. While the diversity in tracks make this apparent, there is a somber mood consistent throughout the album that acts as the glue that makes this album sound like a coherent piece of art. Their attention to details and textural additions are second to none at this point in their discography. Non-conforming as usual, I can’t wait for their next release as well (although it will probably be like 3 years later 🥺).

2. Obscure Ride

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

Despite being the third album in their discography, it’s important to remember cero had been a band for 11 years at this point. People can change a lot over 11 years. Think about what you were like 11 years ago. I’m sure the you then feels like a completely different person than the you now, even if you know it was you.

This album is definitely the sign of the tide turning. And while this might not be my favorite cero record, it’s easy to say that it’s their most influential. As I alluded to earlier, nearly 10 years later and the Japanese underground still sounds like this album. The change in sound is apparent from the obviously D’Angelo inspired first track “C.E.R.O”, perhaps eluding to their rebirth not only as a band, but in sound and aesthetic.

If you’re looking for the best “straightforward” version of cero, this is it. This is the closest they got to being a pop act, but it still retains their signature attention to detail. Also, some of their best tracks in their entire discography are here, such as “Elephant Ghost”, “Orphans”, and “Wayang Park Banquet”.

If you’ve never listened to cero before this newsletter, this is where you start. In Japan I’ve noticed most people in Japan would say this album would be considered the “classic” out of their discography.

1. Poly Life Multi Soul

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

But to me, this is the classic. You can’t go wrong with albums 3 through 1 on this list, but I can’t help but feel this album is the perfect balance of experimentation and Japanese Soul music.

While Obscure Ride has songs that have at least a little potential be played on popular radio stations, those don’t really exist here. Each song challenges you, especially rhythmically. Did you like the polyrhythms of “Elephant Ghost” from Obscure Ride? Well this album is for you. I’m pretty sure the Poly Life in the title refers to the polyrhythms throughout the album, because nearly every track has one.

cero has said that Bitches Brew by Miles Davis was one of their biggest inspirations for this album, and calling this album a combination of their previous and Bitches Brew wouldn’t be wrong. There’s an unpredictability consistently present, with moments of showmanship not really present on any of their other records. For example, take the final and title track of the album “Poly Life Multi Soul”, an 11/10 masterpiece that twists and turns throughout all 8:36 minutes, not getting dull at any point.

Once you’ve heard Obscure Ride, this is next. If you like more challenging music or Jazz, you could start with this one, but I think part of the charm of this album is the growth that cero made to this point, their masterpiece.

📊 Tier List and Playlist 📊 

The “gimme the best tracks of each album” playlist:

Spotify
Apple Music

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Also!
I’m a freelance Japanese to English Translator with about a year and a half of experience scattered around various projects. If the ChatGPT version looks sketchy and you’re interested in having a human translate any interviews or articles let me know. I’ll give any follower a hefty discount 😉

See ya next time! Breakfast is ready.