Honorary General Secretary Shariffah Ili Hamraa recommends music for fans of the fictional titular songstress of Shunji Iwai’s All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001).

A compelling tale of teenage anomie, Shunji Iwai’s All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) explores the restlessness of Japanese youth in a post-digital world. Set against the backdrop of a disaffected Japanese society plagued with juvenile delinquency, the experimental coming-of-age film details the lives of Japanese high-schoolers and their devotion to enigmatic pop-star Lily Chou-Chou.

In an interview from the year 1997, Iwai mentions, “We have to make movies that appeal to [Japanese youth] and reflect the world they're living in.” All About Lily Chou-Chou eloquently captures the zeitgeist of the time through various ways – one of which, its music emblematic of the Y2K era. 

J-pop artiste Salyu lent her vocals to the fictional chanteuse Lily Chou-Chou, soundtracking the film with the album 呼吸 (Kokyū) which was produced and arranged by Takeshi Kobayashi. A hypnotic blend of dream pop, trip-hop, and art pop, Kokyū is an album ahead of its time.  While the fictional artist is unlikely to release any new music unfortunately, here are some songs that could fill that void.

1. Milk - Sweet Trip (2009)

Roberto Burgoss, one half of the duo that makes Sweet Trip, said that “Milk is about an insomniac bitter that their lover gets to sleep. The chorus is sarcastic: fine, fall asleep, good for you, I’ll be here awake forever.”

Reminiscent of Lily Chou-Chou’s vocals, Valerie Cooper’s wistful singing of the lines — “And it's true / You will drift away / And I won't mind / Yes, it's true” — evokes an inexplicable kind of melancholy. It feels like a desperate attempt at distancing herself from the resentment she feels towards her lover. The desperation in her voice builds up and reaches its apex in the track’s bridge, juxtaposed against the shimmering jangly guitar, and is nothing short of heart-wrenching.

 “Don't you drift away / Don't you drift away / No, I won't mind” 

2. Hardly Ever Smile (Without You) - POiSON GiRL FRiEND (1992)

Noriko Sekiguchi’s airy vocals, bolstered by the downtempo beat and emotive strings, exudes a dream-like quality that encapsulates the distance separating her and the object of her attraction.

Despite knowing the futility of her longing for someone who does not reciprocate her feelings, she pines.

 “I  wish you could be mine, I could be yours / But it's only an illusion”

 “I'd give up my life / For just your kiss”

3. D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L - Panchiko (2000)

A blend of lo-fi rock and glitch aesthetics, the track reflects the retro-futuristic sensibilities akin to those in All About Lily Chou-Chou. Sounds of CD-skipping and electric hums are sprinkled throughout the song.

“Do-do-don't-, do-do-do-don't- / Do-do-don't-, do-do-do-don't play the track”

Owain sings about a girl whose identity revolves around death metal music, in a bid to fit in. 

“She's in with the rockers / But it's not to her taste”

As Cheng Hao (NTU Film Society’s content creator) puts it in his review of All About Lily Chou-Chou, “[Lily Chou-Chou’s fans] remain markedly disconnected, [and] polarisingly separate” despite their shared devotion for the popstar. D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L loosely explores this paradox of stan culture, where blind devotion, even when done in a community, is more alienating than it is unifying.

“Let it go / Let it go / Let it go / Let it go / No one knows / Where she goes”

Some interesting lore on Panchiko: although originally produced in 2000, D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L was only released officially by Panchiko in 2020. A rare CD copy of the EP from the 2000s was discovered in 2016 at a second-hand shop in the United Kingdom. The finder of the CD uploaded the album onto the forum 4chan, spawning a community of fans who were dedicated to tracking down Panchiko’s band members. It was only in 2020 when lead vocalist Owain Davies was made privy to the circulation of the EP. Since then, Panchiko have reunited, released their EP officially, put out new music, and even gone on tour.

4. Clockwalk Around the Ache - Asian Glow & Weatherday (2022)

The noise rock track details the narrator’s entrapment in a relationship. Their vocals drowned out by the track’s gritty and fuzzy instrumentals, Weatherday’s Sputnik sings,

“In your blocks I lost my way / In your blocks I head for nothing”. 

The narrator finds themself always coming back to their lover, unable to escape from the destructive relationship.

“All of my penetrated spells were found to / Head to you through the neon signs”

Building up to the cathartic denouement, the repetition of “If we come to break in time” underscores the narrator’s desperation in breaking free from this inescapable loop, so that they “No longer suffer from each other.”

5. meringue doll - Ichiko Aoba (2023)

In this folk track, Ichiko Aoba sings of yearning. As she reminisces a memory in a distant past, she craves for a homecoming. She pleads to her lover to not desert her.

“Surely one day / I'll find my way home / So, just wait for me”

The song’s title perfectly encapsulates the sweetness (and fragility) of life. Aoba’s dreamlike vocals float above the sentimental strings, as she wistfully sings of life’s ephemeral nature. 

“I savor the taste of you by my side / When I hold you close”