The moment that Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada (aka Utada) crossed over from moderate success in her home country to full blown J-pop sensation came at around the same time she decided to start producing her music herself. In taking this creative control, Utada crafted a new direction for her sound that flirted more and more with club music. Evolving away from the R&B sounds that introduced her (and this style) to the Japanese pop mainstream, Utada incorporated synthesisers and increasingly more electronic instrumentation into her music, unsurprisingly reaching international fame in the late 90’s at the height of the J-culture boom and the at a time where club forms like house and rave had become part of mainstream discourse. But aside from the sound, there was always something relatable about Utada. She wasn’t as glossy as the so-perfect-it-must-be-Photoshop veneer of Ayumi Hamasaki, or as provocative as the anime-girl adjacent Koda Kumi. It’s unsurprising that on the cover of BAD MODE, her first album in four years, she poses in a muted tracksuit, languidly leaning against a wall in her home as some sort of pop everyman. Approachable, laidback. Grounded. This sense of stability lends itself to the music on BAD MODE. That ‘everyman’ image sees Utada dance through her influences on this record, from big band inspired funk to trappy power ballads. Still, BAD MODE is a considered and polished body of work that filters these influences through the loungey, louche aesthetic of its album art with production by the likes of Skrillex and Floating Points. But it’s with the latter of these two that Utada strikes gold.
Somewhere Near Marseilles is a feat of a track. A near twelve minute acid house deep dive, it’s an audacious move for a pop star who in accordance to pop standards, is currently in a ‘comeback’ cycle. But this is proof that Utada is more settled than she has ever been. She’s not playing into trends or trying to set them; she’s following her instinct and it’s yielding truly excellent results. Somewhere Near Marseilles is near house-pop perfection. Floating Points crafts an effortlessly laidback landscape for Utada’s voice to make her discotheque, and she practically melts into the scenery like butter. Lush, organic congo claps and synth riff that begins as a simmer underscore Utada’s simple yet effective refrain about meeting a lover between Paris and London, sung first in English and then again in Japanese. As she makes this transition, the synths start to bubble more urgently than before. Utada repeats a bridge that’s house music nirvana; a melody crafted for its effect in relation to everything else. Her voice becomes a computerised ping-pong stutter that blends into the beat. Then, everything begins to unfolded itself slowly, peeling away its layers. But it’s a tease. Just as you expect Somewhere Near Marseilles to shed away until just the beat is left kicking, the track swells with a second wind built around the repetition of that bridge. When it does eventually reach its end, it’s unexpected. The track phases its beat out before the last minute, which is left to its squiggly, acrid synths and sub-level bass which finally boil over.
The entire experience is immaculately conceived, and you can literally hear that Somewhere Near Marseilles is destined for club classic status. Few other house-pop jaunts have come close in recent memory, perhaps comparable only to Roisin Murphy’s brilliant Roisin Machine. It’s unexpected from Utada, but then on further consideration it’s quintessentially her. Impeccably polished, but approachable. Laidback. Exquisite.
Listen to Somewhere Near Marseilles from BAD MODE below.
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