Words: Ryosuke Akagane
A program in which music streaming service Spotify selects ten next-generation artists expected to make a breakthrough that year 📝
The article for 2023 ↓
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000168.000022249.html
I also made my own predictions for 2023. These ten acts deserve your attention too ↓
https://note.com/aka_kin1/n/ne0d8b50d3f27
Alongside “Ealy Noise Night,” this year it is also being held in collaboration with SUMMER SONIC ↓
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000171.000022249.html
The announcement usually comes around January each year, so here I go again with some serious predictions of my own!
とた
A bedroom singer-songwriter born in the 2000s
In addition to “紡ぐ,” which became a talking point through user-generated content, this artist has attracted considerable attention this year through appearances on THE FIRST TAKE and Tokyo Super Hits. I personally love the realistic descriptions and vivid, lifelike expression. Every time I listen, the combination of softness and rawness in とた leaves me with an indescribable feeling and draws me in.
https://www.ponycanyon.co.jp/artist/31691100
十明
A singer born in 2003
There is still much that remains mysterious about 十明. Acoustic performance videos became popular on TikTok, leading to a major opportunity on “すずめ feat. 十明” for Makoto Shinkai’s animated feature すずめの戸締まり. When the first single, “灰かぶり,” was released, I felt a powerful resonance with 十明’s voice as it moved between reality and the world created by RADWIMPS’ Yojiro Noda. The deft lyrics, reminiscent of a dark hero, show both the producer’s influence and an individual technique.
https://www.universal-music.co.jp/toaka/
a子
A singer-songwriter active since 2020
An artist I want to champion again this year. Beyond the songwriting skills, the creative team centered on londog presents this artist’s world beautifully. I was excited about the wide-ranging musical developments and live shows in 2023, and the contrast I experienced at a live performance immediately pulled me in. That combination of contrast and creativity is surely a quality unique to a子.
HOME
An Okinawa-based trio
Formed in 2020 by sei. (vocals), o-png (PC), and shun (guitar), the trio attracted attention when footage from a performance at an Okinawan live venue became a talking point on social media. For me, born in the 2000s, their first release, “Lucy,” brought back a feeling I had somehow left behind. They truly seem to evoke both “nostalgia” and “alternative = new values.” I especially want to focus on their videos. Their technical skill is evident, but might there also be a past and a future that we once imagined?
Billyrrom
A band of current university students from Machida, Tokyo
If I had to name an artist who took a major leap this year, it would be them. Their soulful funk comes through rock and city pop, making them an alternative act set to lead the coming era. Following their updates and thinking back on our conversations, I feel they see things very clearly. With a vision of where they want to be and passion in their current creative work, they must be one of the bands with the most fire in their hearts right now.
4na
A multidisciplinary artist
4na has drawn attention through achievements including “hazama” entering Spotify’s viral chart in 2021. Further releases and a collaboration with 紫 今 have continued to build the body of work. I want to keep an eye on how this enigmatic presence attracts attention next.
https://www.youtube.com/@4namusic
Liza
A Russian-born rapper based in Tokyo.
Many may remember Liza from the attention around ラップスタア誕生2023 or collaborations with 7 and SEEDA. The appeal lies in a solid yet pop-minded approach to hip-hop, unrestricted by established styles or moods. I have no doubt this artist will take the scene by storm.
https://www.instagram.com/liza_space97/
Nephew
An R&B singer
Nephew is an R&B singer brimming with high-register vocals and melodic flair. Living in a shared apartment in Brooklyn, New York, he creates a world that feels rooted in the R&B scene’s standards, yet his seemingly light voice gains depth through skillful technique. You should let yourself be drawn into his musical world as soon as possible.
https://www.instagram.com/who_is_nephew/
And now… two picks from FTZ!
Has-ki
A Fukuoka-based rapper
He started freestyling at 14 and began making music in earnest at 16. His appeal is the ability to create beyond the boundaries of hip-hop. He works not only with rappers and collectives carrying on an urban style, such as Gerardparman and ADD CREATIVE, but also with Vocaloid producers and singer-songwriters rooted in internet culture. This style and expression could offer a glimpse of a future in which artists join forces across today’s cultural boundaries, rather than only within hip-hop.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-snDZyFmrF-w8od8c35GFA
luv
A five-piece band
They only launched in June 2023, but their personalities and music are distinctive. The five met through jam sessions, and their assured musicianship is addictive, making listeners’ hearts dance alongside their unusual lyrics. Before you know it, you are humming along and moving to their off-kilter groove. Yet beneath that humor, the themes take a turn toward social issues. Coolness with just a touch of humor: perhaps this is a new alternative, classed as Gen Z, that invites us to reconsider the future.
Beyond Early Noise, the numbers surrounding DSPs continue to rise year after year.
Within that landscape, I feel that even as creativity is placed in the category of music, it is being asked to exist without being bound by that category.
As we support artists who struggle with the times and grow stronger, job titles such as A&R or curator may no longer be enough to describe what we do.
