Japanese singer-songwriter and musician
Gen Hoshino emerged as a primarily
acoustic pop artist with his debut albums Baka no Uta (2010) and Episode (2011).[1] Hoshino's parents were both fans of
jazz (his father was a
jazz piano hobbyist and his mother at one point aimed to be a jazz vocalist) and he would became known for his love of
Michael Jackson.[2][3] With his instrumental band
Sakerock, Hoshino performed songs inspired by
funk,
soul, jazz, and
rhythm and blues genres, and experimented with a mixture of Japanese and
African-American styles on the
B-sides to his
singles, such as "Yuge" on "
Kudaranai no Naka ni" (2011), "Moshi mo" on "Film" (2012), or "Kisetsu" on "Shiranai" (2013).[3][4]
Whilst in the process of wrapping up recording for his third album, Hoshino collapsed to a
subarachnoid hemorrhage in December 2012.[5]: 27 [6] After a three-month hiatus, Hoshino released Stranger, which brought his sound into a more up-beat direction by incorporating greater use of synthesizer and
string sections.[1][7] He followed Stranger with the non-album
rock and roll single "
Gag" for the
anime film Saint Young Men a week later,[8] but assumed a second hiatus in June after a reinspection discovered a relapse in his hemorrhage.[9] While awaiting the reinspection, Hoshino wrote the lyrics to "
Why Don't You Play in Hell?" – the theme song to the
Sion Sono film of
the same name – and had it released in October, whilst still on hiatus. Hoshino used the song to reconsider his musical roots ("1960s jazz, soul,
Motown sound
black music") and was his first time incorporating African-American influences on an A-side.[10][11][5]: 27
At the start of 2014, Hoshino officially commemorated his full recovery from the hemorrhage by finishing touring for Stranger in February and performing the Fukkatsu (復活,
lit. "Revival") Live Tour in April.[12][13] His first post-recovery single – a
double A-side of "
Crazy Crazy" and the
J-Wave campaign song "
Sakura no Mori" (
lit. "Cherry Blossom Forest") – was released on June 11, 2014.[14] "Crazy Crazy" was written as a homage to the
Japanese jazz band
Crazy Cats, reworked from a somber melody created by Hoshino during his surgery's waiting process.[15][16] A love for soul artists such as Michael Jackson re-disocovered during the single's production primarily inspired "Sakura no Mori",[17] and showcased Hoshino merging Japanese and African-American styles into his musical direction.[3]
Concept and writing
A fun production process on "Sakura no Mori" inspired Hoshino to write an album in the same style, and conceived Yellow Dancer after noticing similarities in the stylistic origins from African-American music in the song and "Why Don't You Play in Hell?".[5]: 27 Hoshino was encouraged to explore the styles more openly after noticing a rise in popularity of Western artists such as
Chich,
Daft Punk, and
Bruno Mars in Japan; daily airplay of
Mark Ronson and Mars' "
Uptown Funk" (2014) at his local convenience store and the response to "Sakura no Mori" from J-Wave listeners further motivated his work on the album.[5]: 28
Track listing
All tracks are written, arranged, and produced by Hoshino, except where otherwise noted.
The first edition DVD/Blu-ray includes
audio commentary from Hoshino and his collaborators.[19]
The analog version is a
double album, split between "Why Don't You Play in Hell?" and "Nerd Strut".[20] The 2019
LP re-release splits the album into four records: the first disc contains tracks 1–3, the second 4–7, the third 8–11, and the fourth 12–14.[21]
^
abKuroda, Takanori (January 14, 2017).
"星野源の音楽はなぜ"キャッチーでマニアック"なのか?「ひらめき」から「恋」まで楽曲分析" [How Gen Hoshino's Music Captures a Catchy Mania — Dissecting the Discography from "Hirameki" to "Koi"]. Real Sound (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^Hoshino, Gen (June 25, 2010).
"『ばかのうた』星野 源 インタビュー" [Baka no Uta — Gen Hoshino Interview]. Cinra (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Tanaka, Hiroshi. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
^
abcMori, Tomoyuki (December 1, 2015).
"星野源の新作『YELLOW DANCER』が心と体に響くワケーー収録曲の音楽的アプローチから分析" [Why Gen Hoshino's New Yellow Dancer Reaches the Heart and Body: A Musical Dissection of the Track Listing]. Real Sound (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^Kuroda, Takanori (December 1, 2015).
"一躍お茶の間の存在となった星野源。音楽家として何がすごい?" [Gen Hoshino Became a Household Name — What Makes the Artist Great?]. Cinra (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^
abcdHoshino, Gen (November 2015). "星野 源 — アルバム『YELLOW DANCER』発売決定!!" [Gen Hoshino Announces Album Yellow Dancer!]. Musica (Interview) (in Japanese). Vol. 103. Interviewed by Tomoko, Arizumi. Katsumi Omori (photographer). p. 16–33.
^"星野 源、くも膜下出血でしばらくの間休養" [Gen Hoshino Assumes Hiatus Due to Subarachnoid Hemorrhage]. Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). December 22, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^"星野源、くも膜下出血から快復「病気が教えてくれたこと」" [Gen Hoshino Talks About What Illnes Has Taught Him Upon Revival After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage] (in Japanese).
Oricon. April 1, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
^Koike, Hirokazu (May 6, 2013).
"ブッダ=星野 源のシングル" [Gen Hoshino (Buddha)'s Single]. Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 19, 2024.
^"星野源 くも膜下出血で2度の手術を経験 当時の心境は「一瞬自暴自棄に」も「絶対に大丈夫と思ってた」" [Gen Hoshino Reflects on Second Surgery for Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: "A Moment of Despair But I Thought for Certain It Would Be Alright"]. Sports Nippon (in Japanese). April 26, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
^"「幸せですね」星野源、満員の初武道館ワンマンで完全復活" [Gen Hoshino Makes Full Recovery to Packed Crowd at the Budokan]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). February 7, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
^"星野源、両A面シングルに「緊急特番」含む77分の映像集も" [Gen Hoshino Will Release 77-Minute Video Collection with "Emergency Program" on Double A-Side Single]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). May 14, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
^Hoshino, Gen (May 19, 2014).
"新シングル『Crazy Crazy / 桜の森』で才気大爆発! 星野源、衝動とともに新たな王道を突き進む" [Gen Hoshino Pursues a New Direction with Impulse on New Single "Crazy Crazy" / "Sakura no Mori"] (Interview). Musica (Interview) (in Japanese). Vol. 86. pp. 82–89. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
^Hoshino, Gen (July 2014).
"星野源 — インタビュー" [Gen Hoshino — Interview]. Skream! (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Yoshiba, Saori. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
^Onuki, Nobuaki (n.d.).
"『SUN』を紐解く。" [Unraveling "Sun"]. HoshinGen.com (in Japanese).
Amuse Inc. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
^"YELLOW DANCER — 星野源 (ランキングデータ)" [Yellow Dancer — Gen Hoshino (Ranking Data)] (in Japanese).
Oricon. n.d. Retrieved July 16, 2024 – via the You Taiju service.