Meet Hiyn, the Osaka-based artist redefining what Soul, Citypop, Funk, and Disco sound like in Japan.

At only age 20, he is juggling three soul infused bands (meanwhile, I can’t get my band to meet on time… ^^;) and causing major groovy waves in the Tokyo music scene.

BAND 1 – LUV

Debuting in the past year, Luv’s members consist of Hiyn’s childhood friends and peers in the Jazz club at his university.

The band’s name “Luv” comes from the English slang for love.

Hiyn is obsessed with novels and is currently studying Literature in college.

His songs tell abstract stories with fun concepts and rhymes injected with English, all while managing to keep an addicting lyrical flow.

I have no idea what he is saying half of the time without looking at the lyrics, but it still sounds so good.

In the song that recently went viral, “Send to You“, Hiyn overlaps Japanese with English in the song title and outro (3:30).

I wanna send to you,　銭湯いいんだ湯

(sento iinda yu)

The MV is filmed in a “Sento (bathhouse)” which sounds like “Send” in English.

He chants “Sento iinda yu” meaning something like, “The water feels nice“. Unless you read the lyrics, (even if you are a Japanese native) you would think he is saying “Send to You” instead.

He uses this overlapping style in many of his songs. It’s fun to guess if he is speaking Japanese or English, and to find the double meaning of his words.

Playful and clever all the way through.

Hiyn also has a passion for European high fashion. The members always wear some dapper suit jackets and long pants.

He quotes his first encounters with music as B.B. King and Eric Clapton – music his dad listened to when he was a child.

Hiyn wrote his first song in high school and, at his peak, made songs at a pace of three in one day. Chill!

BAND 2 – MIYAKE BUKI

This song, from Hiyn’s solo act Miyake Buki, is the first song he wrote by himself and loved.

Miyake Buki stands out for having the most “indies rock” and guitar centric sound of the group, but it still keeps Hiyn’s signature funky disco sound.

BAND 3 – GELOOMY

Geloomy (pronounced “Jeremy”) describes themselves as “Hyper Self Produced Neo Disco“.

The DJ from Luv and Hiyn’s childhood buddy, Ofeen, is in Geloomy too.

While Luv makes beautifully polished songs, Geloomy gets a little more experimental with their sound. Still the great disco sound – but the samples are a bit more underground, the solos go on a little longer, and the music videos are snippets of friends goofing around together.

They state their recordings are done inside of their car, which is pretty cool. Geloomy feels homemade and laid back and is all about vibes.

❤️❤️❤️

Hiyn and his bands, especially Luv, are huge players in Japan’s Soul music revival.

I wrote more about the current state of Funk and Soul in Japan here.

If you have any interest in Japan’s Soul music scene, definitely check out Luv and Hiyn’s other bands. Don’t forget to leave them likes and comments on their videos. Every little bit counts!

Until next time. ❤