"Hometown Story" (stylised as "HOMETOWN STORY") is a song by Japanese band
Folks. It was released as their first physical single on September 3, 2014, seven months after their major label debut
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. ''
Newtown'' under
Ki/oon Music
is a Japanese record label, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
Artists
Their artists include L'Arc-en-Ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Home Made Kazoku, Puffy AmiYumi, Polysics, Supercar, Pushim, Chatmonchy, Denki Groove, Tomoe ...
.
Background and development
Folks first formed in 2013 when former
Galileo Galilei
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
members Fumito Iwai and Kazumasa Noguchi moved back to their birthplace of Hokkaido to start a band. Iwai and Noguchi asked former Guild member Yoshitomo Kobayashi to join their band, and they moved to
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
, renting a house with Iwai's older brother Katsutoshi Iwai and his friend Masatsugu Takahashi, who later joined Folks.
The group based themselves at their hometown of
Eniwa, Hokkaido
is a city in Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is on the Ishikari plain, 8 km north of Chitose, and 26 km south of the prefectural capital Sapporo. It is reached through route 36 and the Chitose Railway Line. The town is s ...
, and released their first extended play ''
Take Off'' in March 2013, and performed at the
Rising Sun Rock Festival
Rising Sun Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan. The two-day event is organized by WESS. It chiefly features Japanese rock and indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
...
, on August 17, 2013.
In February 2014, they made their major label debut with Ki/oon Music.
After the release of ''Newtown'', the band members moved into the same house in
Eniwa, Hokkaido
is a city in Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is on the Ishikari plain, 8 km north of Chitose, and 26 km south of the prefectural capital Sapporo. It is reached through route 36 and the Chitose Railway Line. The town is s ...
in March, which created new opportunities for songwriting.
During this period, Folks began a series of musical events called ''Camp Fire'', which showcases live performances of bands including Folks. The first event was held on May 31, 2014 in
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
. The band played at several major summer festivals in 2014, including
Rock in Japan Festival
The Rock in Japan Festival is an annual three-day rock festival held during early August at the Hitachi Seaside Park, in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan, organized by ''Rockin'on
''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazin ...
in
Ibaraki,
Summer Sonic
The , also known as Supersonic, is an annual two- or three-day rock festival held at the same time in Osaka and Chiba, Japan. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The line-up cont ...
in Tokyo and
Rising Sun in Hokkaido.
Writing and production
After recording ''Newtown'', the band found that they did not have any songs left in their stock, so spent February writing 30 new compositions over two weeks. Three of these songs became the songs featured on the single.
"Hometown Story" and "Paradise" were written by Fumito Iwai, and "Frenemy" primarily by Masatsugu Takahashi and Katsutoshi Iwai. Fumito Iwai sings the vocals on "Hometown Story" and "Paradise", while Katsutoshi Iwai sings the lead vocals on "Frenemy". The songs were recorded as demos at the band's new house in Eniwa, before being recorded in studio.
"Hometown Story" was inspired by friendship, as well as their hometown of Eniwa.
While writing the song, Fumito Iwai thought more about how catchy melodies and sampled vocal sounds were for a wider audience than on ''Newtown''.
The subject matter was inspired by band members Kobayashi and Noguchi, who both lived in the same
danchi
( ja, 団地, literally "group land") is the Japanese word for a large cluster of apartment buildings or houses of a particular style and design, typically built as public housing by government authorities. Older danchi are sometimes compared to ...
when they were young.
"Frenemy" was created with very little input by Fumito Iwai, instead created by the other band members. The title was inspired by overseas dramas that Takahashi was watching at the time.
Promotion and release
The song was released as a physical single on September 3, 2014. The CD came with a special photobook that detailed the band members' daily lives in Eniwa, shot by Yoshiharu Ota, who had also shot the booklet for ''Newtown'' and the video for "Everything Is Alone".
To promote the release, Folks appeared in issues of ''Musica'' and ''
Rockin' On Japan
''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazine that covers the Japanese music scene and various cultural events in Japan, such as art venues and culinary expos.
History
The magazine was founded in 1972, and focused on prov ...
'' magazines, as well as making radio broadcasts at FM North Wave and Air'G.
On September 9, Folks broadcast their first
Ustream
IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. ...
concert, live from their home studio in Eniwa.
A music video was produced for the song, which was released on the same day as the single's release. It was directed by Shinpei Uno of Video Camp, and was shot in Eniwa over the course of three days. The video made use of a camera attached to a
radio-controlled helicopter
A radio-controlled helicopter (also '' RC helicopter'') is model aircraft which is distinct from a RC airplane because of the differences in construction, aerodynamics, and flight training. Several basic designs of RC helicopters exist, of w ...
to take aerial scenes of Eniwa.
Folks will perform their second Camp Fire event in Sapporo on September 20, alongside bands Asobius and You Said Something.
In December, they will extend Camp Fire to have concerts in Osaka and Tokyo, as well as holding their first solo concert on December 23 in Sapporo.
Critical reception
Saori Yoshiba of ''Skream!'' praised the single, calling it a "densely fantasy" "dreamy world of sound". She noted the "cynical synths", "rock 'n' roll hook" and "'80s pop essence" which managed to blend together seamlessly.
Atsutake Kaneko of ''What's In?'' called "Hometown Story" "up-tempo with a sparkling clear-toned electro production, fused with a folky melody that can make you feel the spread of the continents", and praised the "grunge/alterna base" with additional electronic aspects in "Frenemy". He felt that "Paradise" had a
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
sound, and that the three songs taken together were like an omnibus film, showing different aspects of a hometown.
Track listing
Personnel
Personnel details were sourced from "Hometown Story"'s liner notes booklet.
Folks
*All members – arrangement, production
*Fumito Iwai – arrangement
(#1, #3), guitar, lyrics
(#1, #3), music
(#1–3), vocals
(#1, #3)
*Katsutoshi Iwai – arrangement
(#2), guitar, lyrics
(#2), music
(#2), vocals
(#2)
*Yoshitomo Kobayashi – guitar, synthesizer, percussion, chorus
*Kazumasa Noguchi – arrangement
(#2), bass, chorus, synthesizer bass
*Masatsugu Takahashi – chorus, lyrics
(#2), programming, synthesizer
Musicians, personnel and imagery
*Ayaka Kimura – hair, make-up
*Momo Kobayashi (from Lemchap) – chorus
(#3)
*Tatsuki Masuko – mixing, mastering
*Masayo Morikawa – stylist
*Yoshiharu Ota – art direction, photography
*Hirano Tanaka – art direction, design
*Naoya Tsubakihara – support drum, drum technician
*Hirokazu Tsuruha – recording engineer at Hit Studio
Release history
References
{{authority control
2014 songs
2014 singles
Songs in Japanese
Ki/oon Music singles
Eniwa, Hokkaido
Songs written by Fumito Iwai