A-to-J Connections' Favorite Songs of 2016!

12/31/2016

Last year we at A-to-J put out a collaboration article where we each picked our personal favorite songs of 2015. This was a fun article that about three quarters of our then membership participated in and saw a wide variety of genres and music styles covered. That article was a lot of fun to put together so we are of course making it a yearly tradition! Before we jump into that though, let's take a quick look back at A-to-J in 2016.

2016 was an important year for A-to-J. Our extensive coverage and close working relationships with KOTO and Hitomi of @home Cafe began, our membership grew and many of these new members are now central to A-to-J's operations, we covered dozens of events the world over, and even conducted over a dozen interviews. I've mentioned before that interviewing C-ute in 2015 was the turning point of A-to-J. where things got serious and our growth was steady, but 2016 marked the completion of two of A-to-J's original goals. When A-to-J Connections was first formed in 2014 we figured the pinnacle of our success would be being able to interview Morning Musume and covering a Hello! Project concert officially in Japan. This of course owing to the fact that myself, and the other founders of A-to-J, were big Hello! Project fans. Both of these goals were met this past year when we interviewed Morning Musume '16 at Anime Matsuri in Houston, Texas and when we covered Buono! Festa at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo! Following this we were forced to set our next goals higher. This is the type of "problem" that I hope we encounter more in the future! Even though we accomplished a lot this past year, I know that 2017 will be just as big as 2016 and I hope that our membership grows further and that we move closer to A-to-J's central goals of becoming one of the best sources of news, coverage, and interviews around!

With that out of the way, let's jump into our favorite songs of 2016!

Manuel: A-to-J Connections Project Leader

2016 was the year of BiSH in many ways as far as A-to-J is concerned. I'll admit that I was barely even a fan before Justin joined us, but after being exposed to BiSH via his many articles had me intrigued, but for some reason I wasn't totally convinced on their greatness. Flash forward to the second half of the year and BiSH were releasing their third album (their SECOND in 2016!) and were releasing the video for "Orchestra" to promote it. Once again I was barely interested and gave the album only a passing notice. I don't even think I watched the video fully around this time. Then it happened. The video for "Hontou Honki" was released and everyone was losing it over how awesome that song was, well I looked it up and was decently impressed, but after it was done playing the video for "Orchestra" popped up. This was it, I was hooked. This is a song that you have to look at from every angle to really appreciate it. The production is flawless, the lyrics are incredible, the video matches everything perfectly, and Aina's performance completely steals the show. This is one of those cases where every element falls into the right place at the right time and an instant classic is created. I could go on forever about how amazing this song is, but I'll stop there and instead implore you to listen to it yourself first. I mean REALLY listen by the way, take the time to watch the video, listen to the lyrics, and if you don't know Japanese, look up a translation online. You can thank me for that later. For added effect watch the performance at the Less Than SEX TOUR FiNAL, if you aren't moved in some way then perhaps you're not really human.

BiSH - Orchestra MV

BiSH - Orchestra (Less Than SEX TOUR FiNAL)

Tiffany: Chief Translator / Artist Liaison

I'm just going to say I Kill by Deep Girl because I connected to it the most. I think it's hard to understand how bullying in Japan is and how serious it is and that video and song really shows it. The chorus is catchy and the different ways they used I Kill (Aa, Ikiru, Ai Kiru, I KIll) in the lyrics was interested and very well done. I also love showing my friends the song because its just so good and is visually shocking enough to make them think a lot about it.

This was a hard decision because I love KOTO so much and I love her songs of course but I didn't have one song I loved more... If only Otokonoko-chan was this year... Butou Yuugi was also great but I didn't think it was as great as Platonic Planet or Otokonoko-chan or my other favorite songs. ALSO I wanted to pick a Yunomi song but yea, theres too many I like and I think I only wanted to pick Good Luck because I'm sad about BPM... No H!P songs were as striking to me last year...

DEEP GIRL - I kill

Teepu: A-to-J Plays Project Leader / Staff Writer

Interestingly I was originally conflicted between Morning Musume '16's 'Sexy Cat no Enzetsu' (awesome lyrics, amazing music and the video as super cute) and C-ute's 'Jinsei wa Step' (I have a huge weak spot for jazz-like pop songs...and C-ute nailed it here), for very different reasons. Then as I was sifting through songs I discovered a song I forgot about for some reason: Juice=Juice's 'Dream Road ~Kokoro ga Odoridashiteru~'. I first discovered this song during the Hello Project! Summer concert this year, which was already emotional for me because I've been wanting to go for almost a decade. I remember sitting in the concert hall and when this came on, I was confused at not having known the song but amazed with how immediately enthralled I was! The sound, flow and direction of the song are just emotionally pleasing to me in a way I simply cannot describe in words. It also helps that the lyrics connect in me in ways that no other song this year have managed to do. So despite the AMAZINGLY hot year H!P has had this year, and other music groups who I just discovered this year, Juice=Juice managed to pull off the most amazing feat for me. It's difficult for a song to connect with me in so many ways immediately. <3 <3 <3

Juice=Juice - Dream Road ~Kokoro ga Odoridashiteru~

Justin: A-to-J Music Project Leader / Staff Writer

Even if there might have been some better songs this year, none of them had as much impact on me as DEADMAN. As a big punk fan, I completely disagree with the criticism of this song for being too short or too abrasive or whatever else. As somebody who isn't even that much of an idol fan, DEADMAN solidified BiSH for me as something really different, a group who could not only live up to the BiS legacy but maybe even surpass them. On top of that, the video had a fantastic cyberpunk aesthetic that I never knew I so desperately wanted until I saw it. DEADMAN occupied an awkward place in between the hardcore punk of groups like Guso Drop and the larger idol world, being BiSH's breakthrough onto a major label, but I respect the group and their producers for making the effort and taking the risk. Honorable mentions: PassCode's "AXIS", Guso Drop's "I do! I do!", POLYSICS's "アルプスルンルン", and BILLIE IDLE's "どうせ消えてしまう命なら..."

BiSH - DEADMAN

Heidi: Idol Project Leader / Translator / Correspondent

My pick for best song of 2016 is Installation by Hayami Saori. Popular voice actress Hayaomi Saori started her long awaited musical career at the end of 2015. Though I loved her debut song, the main track for her second single, Installation, released in early 2016 blew me away. From the slow breath Hayami takes in the beginning of the song, you get the feeling something amazing is going to come after. After the slow soft intro with only Hayami's voice and piano, the rest of the orchestra picks up and you're teleported to a thrilling fantasy world for the rest of the song. It's hard to pinpoint what I love so much about this song, this song is just magic for me and I can never grow tired of it.

Hayami Saori - Installation

Kelsey: Visual Kei Project Leader / Staff Writer

My personal favorite song of this year is "Refrain" by m:a.ture . Machiya (WagakkiBand) is the vocalist and guitarist in this band and I found them after seeing WagakkiBand perform this year. This song immediately struck me with how raw and emotional it sounds. I don't know what it's about since I don't speak Japanese and there aren't any translations out yet, but I don't mind not knowing. The song is so powerful and the way it grows and softens only to grow again has really drawn me in and I often listen to it on repeat for hours!

m.a.ture - Refrain

Janette: A-to-J Eats Project Leader / Staff Writer

My favorite song would be ‘Nijikan Dake no Vacance [feat. Sheena Ringo]’ by Utada Hikaru. 2016 gave us the return of Hikki, in fabulous form. While Fantome contained several songs that she had released previously (Sakura Nagashi, Manatsu no Tooriame, and Hanataba wo Kimini), Nijikan Dake no Vacance was the first single from the new album proper. A duet with Sheena Ringo, the song starts off almost reminiscent of 70s soft rock track, building up to a string crescendo of catchiness. The whole track feels floaty and dreamy, the kind of song you could drive down the highway at sunset to. The video is a retro sci-fi fever dream, in all the best ways. It’s the kind of video that I’d watch an extended short film of. After an absence marked with both tragedy and joy, I’m happy to have Hikki back in top form. If Fantome is any indicator, she has no problem returning to music and keeping up with artists she inspired.

Utada Hikaru - Nijikan Dake no Vacance (feat. Sheena Ringo) Clip

Nijikan Dake no Vacance from taopriest10 on Vimeo.

Dia: Staff Writer

My favourite song of 2016 would have to be 'GREEN WORKER' by Matenrou Opera. It isn't often that I'm fond of all songs on a single release, but PHOENIX RISING was absolutely delightful. Support guitarist Leda (Far East Dizain)'s distorted guitar playing melds in perfectly with the catchy chorus, while vocalist Sono's high tone vibrato seems to have mellowed out slightly and now sits in well with the instrumental. Sono’s lyrics, meanwhile, confront the stigma of a typical Japanese salaryman’s lifestyle, ‘scared of sleeping and scared of resting.’

Even after the band and its fans saw guitarist Anzi's departure in July this year, Matenrou actually showed improvement in both music and personality. Their previous releases had even left me, as much as I hate to say it, deeply disappointed - Chikyuu and BURNING SOUL’s compositions had both failed to match up to the quality of the band’s work in the GLORIA or Avalon eras. Despite Anzi having been my favourite member, GREEN WORKER and PHOENIX RISING have left me very excited and hopeful for the band's impending release in spring and the possible induction of a new guitarist (presumably JaY of progressive metal band LIGHT BRINGER).

Matenrou Opera - GREEN WORKER

Paloma: Staff Writer

I became a huge fan of DEZERT within the past year. I fell in love with their style and how dark, disturbing, yet odd it could be. Their previous songs released like Kimi no Shikyuu Wo Sawaru was already my favorite song to jam to. When they released Hentai, it was another notch in their belt. It's incredibly catchy from the start and makes you want to headbang as Chiaki screams "Hentai". This song is a great mix of heavy and catchy and knows exactly how to make you want to headbang. Certainly, if I had a chance to see this song live I would be headbanging until my neck snapped hah!! DEZERT are certainly a highlighted Visual Kei band for me when you want something of the heavier and darker style with Chiaki's creeping voice that can change into a dark growl easily. I seriously recommend that you check out this band!

If the title "Hentai" doesn't catch your interest already, then you're seriously missing out on a solid song and band!

DEZERT - Hentai

Angie: Correspondent

My song of the year has to be "Hakuchumu" from BPM15Q. A duo composed of Rinahamu (ex BiS member) and Nicamoq, this upbeat song gets stuck in my head more often than not. They definitely pulled off their goal as artists, to create a unique music style not done before so that when people hear something in the future that sounds like it you'll say "Oh, this sounds like a BPM15Q song." This group truly brought me back to my roots of listening to Comiket dempa albums, but mixed with something new.

Hakuchumu has the traditional dempa sound contributed by Rinahamu and Nicamoq's high singing voices, but uniquely mixed with popular dance/electronic music sounds to bring something unheard of to the Japanese idol music scene. In the video they do some generic idol things like playing with balloons, but they also pose and smoke cigarettes with rinahamu holding some sort of alcholic beverage. This would be really shocking for almost any other idol group, but for BPM15Q it just kind of works. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean!

2016 has unfortunately stolen BPM15Q from us as well, Nicamoq has quit the duo while Rinahamu works with a new member Pochi to create a new group CY8ER which will carry on the BPM15Q sound and spirit with them. I'm sad about the breakup and loss of Nicamoq, but excited to see what their future holds. So here's to 2017 and more unique idol music!

BPM15Q - Hakuchumu

Rin Rigoni: Staff Writer / Correspondent (Japan)

On one hand, there is BiSBiS by BiS as it brought back the good form of BiS. I still haven't gone to anything after the debut live, but that song alone and the debut made me like them again and I just felt so happy to see Pour Lui again as herself and not in some silly rock band. Gimmick or not, she and her version of BiS are just amazing. I mean just the opening line gets you hooked, "How about a little taste?" (Can be seen HERE) Then on the other hand, I was so happy to see my dear Shinozaki Ai (Ha! You thought I was gonna say Flower Notes) finally get her major debut. And the song was just so perfect. "Kuchi no Warui Onna" just is Ai. And paired with the comedic video that showcases both her sexy and fun side, it was a great way to really show those who only knew her gravure side that YES she can sing.

Shinozaki Ai -Kuchi no Warui Onna

篠崎愛 - 口の悪い女 by pporosa

Tom Kiryu: Correspondent

My personal pick for favorite song of 2016 is RUVISH by THE BLACK SWAN. As a big fan of NEGA (vocalist Jin’s former band), I have been really pleased with the dark and heavy style that THE BLACK SWAN has been releasing. Even though I cannot understand the words that are being sung and have not even been able to find any lyrics online, it’s how this song makes me feel that I love. This song is filled with heavy-hitting drums, fast-paced distorted guitars, low-tuned bass, and Jin’s harsh guttural screams that give a sense of anger and pain. THE BLACK SWAN also mixes in some piano melodies and clean vocals by Jin. This gives the song a more rollercoaster feel with soft and heavy sounds so perfectly juxtaposed. RUVISH is beautifully dark and, in my opinion, that’s what I think Visual Kei is mostly about or at least what some VK bands uniquely do better than other types of metal bands. The intensity of this song fills me with so much energy; this song is perfect for blasting when pushing for that last rep at the gym or running faster on jogs, and this is why I love music. Music can help energize you and make you feel more awake and more alive. RUVISH is a perfect example of a song that is overflowing with energy

THE BLACK SWAN - RUVISH

Rubi: Translator (Spanish) / Correspondent (Mexico)

I’ve been a fan of SID since years ago and after the band's hiatus in 2014, the most I was expecting was a new single release. After Mao’s surgery I wasn’t sure if we could get a new song soon. What took me by surprise was the announcement of his first solo album and that was, in my opinion, the best album of 2016, or at least the best I heard lol. I must confess I even bought the whole CD on itunes without hearing it first. He released two albums, one called "Tsuki/Hoshi" and the other one (Which was a full album) "Maison de M". What I liked about both was how different the music there was compared to SID’s music. Maison de M is a mature album, the sound more classic and calm, with a bit of jazz and slow rhythm. Mao was in charge of the lyrics and although he’s in charge of the lyrics most of the time in SID, they were completely different here. If you read the lyrics of SID, you can find a ‘Teaser Mao’ meanwhile in Maison de M you meet another phase of him and I totally loved it since I didn’t what to expect from it. Even Mao himself said it was a challenge because it was his comeback after the surgery and that he wanted to try new things but was afraid because of he didn’t know how fans would react.

My favorite song is Sayonara Last which is the promotional single of Maison de M. The lyrics are bittersweet and when you listen to it, it gives you the feeling of a break-up, even if you didn’t have a breakup or anything like that. It’s a song that you like after hearing just a few seconds of it. It gives you a weird feeling when you listen to it and when you read the lyrics you are left thinking: "Ah! So that’s why I liked it." You must listen to his solo album and I’m sure that like me, you’ll be left wanting more from him.

Mao from SID - Sayonara Last

Kaz: Staff Writer / Correspondent

One song that definitely caught my attention this year was NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST's "Malice against". It was one of the few songs this year that I kept on replay for many reasons. Not only is it catchy, but it actually gave me the energy to want to jump around. Though it is a Japanese Visual Kei based song, this song has many American Hardcore/Metal influences. It's low growls, high screams breakdowns, and fast pedals show off NB's talent for creating a hardcore-unfluenced masterpiece all while the flashy outfits and body movements seen in the PV bring in the perfect mix of Visual Kei. Though I don't normally listen to American based music as much as i used to, a mix of both that and Visual Kei amount to some of the best songs I have every heard. Malice against being one of the top ones.

NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST - Malice against

Reida: Staff Writer / Correspondent

My favorite song of the year would be MALUM by the GazettE. Their DOGMA era had begun back in 2015, but continued onto this year and overall it's been a fun, crazy ride. The entire album and singles during this era are special to me, and I've always been a fan of the harder songs. While I've never looked into the lyrics, I feel that MALUM itself is the type of song that's perfect for a concert because it gets you into the mood of a rock show and allows me and other fans to have so much fun. It even has a bass solo, which I personally think should happen much more. Overall, it's a catchy song that allows me to think back on all the concerts I've attended this year and how crazy the past year and a half has been for the GazettE fans!

the GazettE - MALUM

Danny: Staff Writer

My favorite 2016 song would have to be VACANT by The GazettE. I bought their single Undying as soon as it was released in May, which happened to be three days before their SF concert. I listened to it constantly between then and the performance, so much that I had already began to sing along at the actual concert hehe. At first it wasn’t my favorite of the single since I’m usually more into their harder music, but after experiencing the song live I’ve definitely changed my mind on it. Listening to VACANT brings me really amazing memories; Uruha’s guitar solo is especially vivid to me, and I always love Ruki’s gorgeous vocals. Their entire DOGMA movement has really impressed me, and the dark themes presented in both their lyrics and their visuals was the perfect touch of eerie. I’ve always been a fan of occult imagery, and it was exciting to view everything come together with this last single. Overall, VACANT is a melodic, haunting, and beautifully atmospheric song that has surprised me with its elegance. It was a great addition and finale to The GazettE’s DOGMA era; I can only hope that I’ll be this satisfied by other future releases!

the GazettE - VACANT

Paida: Correspondent (Texas)

My top song pick of 2016 was definitely ORESAMA's 'Ginga'! It came out in the earlier half of the year but still deserves attention. ORESAMA is a group with member Pon as the vocalist. Ginga is very upbeat and energetic, and it does a great job at merging a new style of music with an old school vibe. Pon's soft vocals are unique and distinct, giving this techno-pop-jazz mix a cute twist to enhance it. The lyrics are cute and creative, expressing the feeling's in a girls heart. Like all of their music videos, the visuals are stimulating, with artwork by UTOMARU you really cannot expect anything less. This video compliments the melody and lyrics well, while uniquely providing a cute story involving aliens and friendship. As soon as I heard this song it has been in my everyday playlist, and I don't see that changing for some time. Please give ORESAMA your attention in the future, as they will only continue to produce great music!

ORESAMA - Ginga

Eric: Staff Writer / Correspondent (Hawaii)

I'll be going with the song that got me the most HYPE out of this year's releases. "Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku" from ANGERME is in my opinion, the best song thus far from 2016. This was the debut single of 4th gen member Kamikokuryo Moe and the final single for 2nd gen member Tamura Meimi, but 3rd gen member Sasaki Rikako is still the best part of it all! All joking aside this is a very fast paced exciting thrill of a song that is sure to get you pumped up for whatever the occasion may be. Another amazing aspect of this is the ever-so loved butt fanning dance!

For added hilarity and entertainment, play the video at 1.25x speed and try to sing along, it's great fun.

ANGERME - Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku

Claudia: Contributor

While various Visual Kei artists released plenty of well-composed songs this year, I'm giving the spotlight to a fairly new band, Anima. In February, the 4-member group released their second single, "Fukanzen Catalyst", with the title track being a unique, catchy tune that immediately made me a fan. The song transitions from what seems like a ballad to a mix of electronica and rock. The fusion of genres cleverly illustrates the massive heartbreak that results from what is inferred to be the end to a bittersweet relationship. The colorful and drama-directed focus of the PV adds to the poppy ring of the song. Overall, the members of Anima cooked up a vibrant ride with this single. With 2017 along the way, I excitingly look forward to the band's future releases.

Anima - Fukanzen Catalyst

There you have it! Our individual favorite songs of 2016! We at A-To-J Connections hope everyone had an awesome 2016 and hope you'll have an even better 2017! We look forward to more great music and the opportunity to bring you even more great content in the coming year!

-Manuel (alavic_222) and the rest of the crew at A-To-J Connections!

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