Cover American DJ Porter Robinson and Ten Yamasaki and Karin Fujiyoshi from J-pop girl band Sakurazaka46 sat down together after their Clockenflap performance in 2024 (Photo: courtesy of Sony Music HK/Sherwin Wong)
American DJ Porter Robinson and Ten Yamasaki and Karin Fujiyoshi from J-pop girl band Sakurazaka46 sat down together after their Clockenflap performance in 2024 (Photo: courtesy of Sony Music HK/Sherwin Wong)
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American DJ Porter Robinson and J-pop girl band Sakurazaka46 reveal how they intertwine their love for Japanese culture in their music as they navigate a busy February filled with exciting projects
February is shaping up to be an eventful month for American DJ and singer Porter Robinson and J-pop band Sakurazaka46.
Robinson has been on a global tour since August 2024 to promote his third album Smile! :D and is concluding the Japan leg of the trip with performances in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.. These shows provided him with a heartfelt opportunity to reconnect with the Japanese idol group, who just revealed their 11th single, Udagawa Generation, and for which they will release official CDs on February 19.
To mark the occasion, Tatler revisits an exclusive exchange between Robinson and two members of Sakurazaka46, Ten Yamasaki and Karin Fujiyoshi, following their Clockenflap performance.
Read more to find out about their childhood inspirations, how they felt about dancing alongside Canto-pop bands Mirror and Collar and their views on breaking charts.
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Above From left: Sakurazaka46’s Ten Yamasaki, Porter Robinson and Sakurazaka46’s Karin Fujiyoshi (Photo: courtesy of Sony Music HK/Sherwin Wong)
From left: Sakurazaka46’s Ten Yamasaki, Porter Robinson and Sakurazaka46’s Karin Fujiyoshi (Photo: courtesy of Sony Music HK/Sherwin Wong)
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How would you describe your first Clockenflap and Hong Kong experience?
Robinson: I was very excited to talk about this with Sakurazaka46 as we’re both performing internationally and we’re both foreign artists here. I was wondering how the experience of an idol group and a solo artist would differ. My experience was really good. I was really impressed by the festival: there were very eclectic and diverse kinds of music. I walked around the festival by myself, the staff involved were so passionate about music… It felt so good to be surrounded by this kind of energy. I wondered if the crowd would be cool or shy, but as soon as I gave them the first instructions, I could tell that everyone wanted to have fun.
Yamasaki: For us, the main difference was the answer of the crowd. In Japan, the crowd is very unified and answers with one scream. Performing in Hong Kong was new to us in the sense that the crowd and energy coming from within it was very eclectic.
Robinson: When I first travelled to Japan a decade ago, my friend brought me to this indie underground idol bar in Akihabara. I was so surprised by the Wotagei: how every fan was cheering and dancing for every single song. I’ve always wondered if that was something inherent to the idol culture, if that’s something you needed to create, and if a foreign crowd like the Hong Kong one would follow up with this.
Yamasaki: Actually for us, it’s always been very natural. Our fans came up with the cheering [slogans] and dances themselves. I think it’s quite a fun way for them to participate in the performance with their favourite idols. It’s like a bond between us and our fans.
Porter, you’ve worked with Japanese artists such as Wednesday Campanella in the past. Would you like to continue on that path?
Robinson: Absolutely. At some point, I’d like to move to Japan for a little while to focus on collaborating with the local scene. It’s purely motivated by interest and obsession. I listen to Japanese music obsessively, I have become way too familiar with the Japanese billboard charts and the artists on it, including tuki., Yorushika, Vaundy, Mrs Green Apple, HigeDan and more. It might seem a bit weird, but charts have always played a big part in how I developed myself as an artist. There’s this chart for DJs called beatport.com and when I was 18, I became some kind of an expert in tracking movement and predicting trends—until I broke it and became number one myself.
Yamasaki: That’s so interesting. I think in Sakurazaka46’s case, we obviously appreciate being on charts, but this is not a final goal. We want to spread our name to more people and be more well known, but not necessarily be at the top of it.
Robinson: I agree, aiming for charts isn’t a goal—but I just love studying them. I always found that aiming for success is always more complicated than aiming for making something beautiful.
Above Japanese idol group Sakurazaka46 just released its 11th single “Udagawa Generation”
What did you guys listen to growing up?
Robinson: Japanese music was the first music I connected with actually. My brother brought home a copy of the video game Dance Dance Revolution—at the time I was only into sports, that’s all I wanted to do, but I felt that something was missing. When I played this game for the first time, I discovered both Japanese music and electronic music simultaneously. I became obsessed with it: it made so much sense to me. I grew up in the countryside, so I was very far away from any arcades, so I’d beg my parents to take me to arcades growing up.
Karin Fujiyoshi: For me, my parents had a collection of mini disks from Radwimps, so I’ve been listening to them obsessively growing up.
Robinson: Radwimps are amazing, I love them as well.
How do you feel about the recent evolution of the music industry?
Yamasaki: In Japan, I think music has become more light, more bright. It’s been a means to brighten up people’s moods.
Fujiyoshi: Recently, dance challenges have become quite popular, with the rise of TikTok. So, songs with an upbeat catchy chorus have more chance to become more popular here—but it forces us to make more difficult choreographies as well.
Robinson: It’s so interesting. There was this study of American lyrical content showing that lyrics in the West have become more and more negative over the past five to six years. While we do also have happy music for trends, I feel that Western music has been more about expressing jealousy, insecurities, rage and these sorts of emotions.
Does Hong Kong give you inspiration for music creation and performance?
Fujiyoshi: We’ve collaborated with the Canto-pop groups Mirror and Collar recently, and we’ve realised that their way of dancing was so different from ours, so we’d love to incorporate a bit of them in our music.
Robinson: The feeling of the city, the way its structure, its vibrancy, its dynamism… It has really inspired me to create more. Let’s see how it’ll turn out!
Salomé Grouard was Digital Editor and Front & Female Content Lead at Tatler Hong Kong. Primarily focused on managing Tatler Hong Kong’s digital platform and content, she also covers gender equality, the music scene and sports through interviews with industry leaders, experts and trendsetters.
Interview highlights include renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, Korean actor Park Seo Jun, singer Jorja Smith, Chinese TV host Yue-Sai Kan, YouTuber Kimono Mom, Japanese rapper Awich, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Mikey Musumeci.
She has also produced stories on revolutionising sexual wellness in Asia, activism within the surfing community, Asian trans musicians reclaiming their narratives through music and looked at the toxicity of gym culture through the lens of the plus-size community. She also covers music festivals, such as Hong Kong’s Clockenflap and Bali’s Suara.
