''Newtown'' is the second
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. by the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
band
Folks, released on February 12, 2014.
It was the band's first major label release 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 ...
.
Writing and production
''Newtown'' was recorded 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 ...
at Hit Studio and Geimori Studio in 2013.
The album has four of the five songs on ''Take Off'', along with three new compositions. Fumito Iwai is the main songwriter and vocalist for the album, writing every track except "River", which was written and sung by Katsutoshi Iwai. "Good-bye, Friends" was composed by all members of Folks, with lyrics written by Fumito Iwai.
Their self-produced 2012 extended play ''Take Off'' was produced and arranged by Fumito Iwai alone. After performing the album live for a year, it began to feel like their own album as well and not just Fumito Iwai's. On ''Newtown'', all the members contributed to the arrangement and production.
The arrangements of ''Take Off'' songs were changed after the band performed them in front of live audiences. Fumito Iwai had never considered how songs would sound live, so experimented by changed their percussion balance and tempo, and created live arrangements for them.
Work on ''Newtown'' started several months after their first live concert in April 2013, as the members created ideas and discussed what they wanted to do together as Folks.
The style of French indie rock band
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
's album, ''
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
''Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix'' is the fourth studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix. It was released on 25 May 2009 by V2 Records. While the band's previous work enjoyed a moderate underground following, the release of ''Wolfgang Amadeus Pho ...
'' (2009), influenced thm greatly and they sought to use some of the techniques Phoenix used.
"Replica", a song about the end of summer in Hokkaido, was written in summer 2012 by Fumito Iwai.
It was the first song he worked on after leaving Galileo Galilei, and expressed the sort of music he wanted to create.
The first song recorded for the ''Newtown'' sessions was "Forever".
"Everything Is Alone" was described as having an "updated funk sound" by Fumito Iwai, and was a mix of everything the band members wanted to express in a song.
They had difficulty in arranging and tuning the drums, as they had not worked with live drums in a recording before.
"Gaga" from ''Take Off'' was re-titled "You're Right" for ''Newtown''. Fumito Iwai felt the main association of the word was the American musician
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
, and changed it as he felt that too limiting.
"Two Young" had not been performed live by Folks before ''Newtowns release, but was written to be performed live.
"Good-bye, Friends" was based on a demo Katsutoshi Iwai had made and Noguchi expanded on. However, the song was created by all of the members of the band, discussing and experimenting together.
After ''Newtown'' was recorded, Fumito Iwai and Yoshitomo Kobayash went to Tokyo to oversee its mixing.
Tatsuki Masuko, a member of the Japanese instrumental band
Rovo
Rovo is a Japanese instrumental band founded in 1996 in Tokyo by guitarist Seiichi Yamamoto ( Boredoms), electric violinist Yuji Katsui (Bondage Fruit), and synthesizer/effects technician Tatsuki Masuko, and featuring Yasuhiro Yoshigaki on drums ...
, helped to mix and master ''Newtown'',
unlike ''Take Off'', which Fumito Iwai mixed alone.
The title ''Newtown'' refers to the
planned community
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
of Megumino in Eniwa, which is a motif of the release.
The cover and artist promotional photos were taken in Eniwa by the photographer
Yoshiharu Ota, as well as the music video for "Everything Is Alone". The video was shot at the members' homes in Megumino.
Promotion and release
"Everything Is Alone" was the first song promoting the album.
It was released to radio stations; its music video was a power play video on the music video station
Space Shower TV
is a Japanese music television channel operated by Space Shower Networks, Inc. The company is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The channel launched at 6:00 on December 1, 1989.
The idea behind establishing Space Shower TV was to create a special ...
in January 2014. The song received minor requests to radio stations on a national level in January 2014, however was extremely popular in
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
, being the number one requested song at radio stations for January 2014. The song peaked at number 81 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary Airplay Chart. The song was chosen as the February ending theme song for the
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
radio station
Zip-FM's ''Spice Up'' weekend morning radio show.
The band performed their first live show outside of Hokkaido at the
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
Tsutaya O-West on January 20, 2014.
The band held their first live show in Eniwa just after the EP's release, on February 15, 2014, at the Eniwa Musōkan, where Fumito Iwai's high school band Guild first performed.
To promote the album, Folks appeared on many Hokkaido-based radio stations such as FM North Wave, Air-G', STV Radio and HBC Radio. They were also interviewed for music magazine ''Musica''.
Critical reception
Critical reception to ''Newtown'' was positive. Akihiro Okumura from ''What's In?'' was impressed with the "overseas resonance" of the band, likening Folks to indie rock musicians like
Passion Pit and
Mumford and Sons Mumford may refer to:
*Amazing Mumford, a Muppet character on ''Sesame Street''
* ''Mumford'' (film), a 1999 American comedy-drama film
*Mumford procedure, also called distal clavicle excision or distal clavicle resection, an orthopedic surgical pro ...
, as well as having the approach of
James Blake. Okumura was very impressed by the "lyrical vocal lines" of Fumito Iwai and Kazutoshi Iwai, and likened them to the 1980s
city pop
is a loosely defined form of Japanese pop music that emerged in the late 1970s and peaked in the 1980s. It was originally termed as an offshoot of Japan's Western-influenced "new music", but came to include a wide range of styles – including ...
movement in Japanese music.
Saori Kishiba, a reviewer for ''Skream!'', likened the band to
Animal Collective
Animal Collective is an American experimental pop band formed in Baltimore, Maryland. Its members consist of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb). The band's work is characterized ...
and
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...
, praising the "dreamy pop sound" and polished arrangements of songs on ''Newtown''.
''CDJournal'' reviewers felt the EP made the listener feel the "transparent feeling and pathos" of Northern European rock, while having a post-rock base. The reviewers praised the "beauty of fusion" in the album's "pleasant songs", and wrote that their harmonies "reminded you of an aurora".
In March 2015, Folks' extended play ''Newtown'' was awarded the best Hokkaido-region artist award at the 7th
CD Shop Awards
The is an annual set of music awards presented in Japan. It is sponsored by All-Japan CD Shop Clerks Union and awarded based on votes by CD shop clerks from all over Japan. It is referred to as a "music edition of Japan Booksellers' Award".
Abst ...
.
Track listing
Chart rankings
Charts
Sales and certifications
Personnel
Personnel details were sourced from ''Newtowns liner notes booklet.
Folks
*All members – arrangement, production
*Yoshitomo Kobayashi – guitar, synthesizer, percussion, chorus
*Fumito Iwai –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
(#1-4, #6-7), guitar
*Katsutoshi Iwai – guitar, vocals
(#5)
*Kazumasa Noguchi – bass, chorus
*Masatsugu Takahashi – programming, synthesizer, chorus
Technical, production and imagery
*Yuri Furukawa –
A&R chief
*Noriyuki Kikuchi – A&R
*Kenichi Koga – recording engineer at Geimori Studio
(#1, #3, #5-7)
*Tatsuki Masuko – mixing, mastering
*Yoshiharu Ota – art direction, photography
*Naonori Sakamoto – assistant recording engineer at Geimori Studio
(#1, #3, #5-7)
*Hirano Tanaka – art direction, design
*Naoya Tsubakihara – support drum, drum technician
*Hirokazu Tsuruha – recording engineer at Hit Studio
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2014 EPs
Eniwa, Hokkaido
Indie pop EPs
Indie rock EPs
Folks (band) albums
Japanese-language EPs