RESIDENT DJ 048: Cornelius

Cornelius is the brainchild of Japanese multi-instrumentalist Keigo Oyamada. A performing musician since his teens, Oyamada's international breakthrough came with the release of Fantasma in 1997. He quickly became a sought-after producer/remixer for Blur, Beck, Bloc Party, James Brown, and k.d. lang, among many others. As a musician, Oyamada became the backbone of Yoko Ono's reformed Plastic Ono Band and played in the final configuration of Yellow Magic Orchestra. Oyamada continues to write and produce as Cornelius, in addition to composing for soundtracks including Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Ghost In The Shell: Arise. Cornelius joins KCRW as our Resident DJ for September 2026. This is his first mix in the series.

1. i o e o — Manami Kakudo — 2024 Manami Kakudo works across percussion, songwriting, sound art, field recording, and spatial performance. “i o e o” moves from underwater sound into an ensemble setting, showing how contemporary Japanese experimental music can connect naturally with intimate song form.

2. PUZZLE 34 — Yasuaki Shimizu — 1981 Yasuaki Shimizu was a key figure in the shift from jazz and fusion toward new wave, electronics, and experimental studio production. “PUZZLE 34” belongs to a moment when Japanese fusion was becoming less about virtuosity and more about structure, texture, and conceptual play.

3. Gradated Grey — Yellow Magic Orchestra — 1981 YMO brought synthesizers, computers, and rhythm machines into the center of Japanese popular music. “Gradated Grey” reflects the darker, more inward-looking side of Technodelic, where sampling, repetition, and restrained emotion replaced the brightness of their earlier technopop.

4. Aoi Sakana — Sachiko Kanenobu — 1972 Sachiko Kanenobu was an early example of the personal, introspective Japanese singer-songwriter, distinct from the more political folk movement of the period. Misora later became a major rediscovery, linking early-1970s Japanese folk to later generations and international listeners.

5. Night People — Little Creatures — 2005 Little Creatures emerged during the band-boom era but avoided conventional rock language. Their music combines jazz, folk, funk, and experimental pop through highly controlled ensemble playing, making them an important model for later Japanese alternative music.

6. Senaka (Minna no Junray Version) — ASA-CHANG & Junray — 2005 ASA-CHANG & Junray combined tabla, spoken language, electronic editing, and the rhythm of Japanese speech. Their importance lies in treating the voice not only as language or melody, but as a compositional and percussive material.

7. Tenzai Misshu — MOST — 2001 MOST brought together figures from different generations of the Japanese underground. Rather than reviving early punk nostalgically, they reduced it to repetition, physical force, and vocal tension, carrying its raw energy into the 2000s.

8. FIRE — G.I.S.M. — 1983 G.I.S.M. expanded Japanese hardcore by combining punk aggression with heavy-metal guitar, extreme vocals, and a highly confrontational visual identity. Their work became influential far beyond Japan, especially in hardcore, metal, crust, and grind-related scenes.

9. Tr14 — Masonna — 2002 Masonna, the solo project of Maso Yamazaki, is one of the central names in Japanese noise. “Tr14” has no individual title and condenses scream, harsh noise, duration, and physical action into a very short form, reducing music to pure impact.

10. Doglamagla — YBO² — 1985 / 1986 YBO² connected post-punk, progressive rock, noise, and the literary grotesque associated with Yumeno Kyusaku. The group became a defining presence in the 1980s Japanese independent underground, where music, text, design, and mythology formed a complete world.

11. Circle/Line (Edit Take) — Masabumi Kikuchi — 1981 Masabumi Kikuchi helped establish Japanese jazz as an independent international language rather than a copy of American models. “Circle/Line” brings together post-Miles electric jazz, funk, repetition, electronics, and a highly distinctive sense of space.

12. P.J. — Melon — 1982 Melon, led by Toshio Nakanishi and Chica Sato, connected Tokyo new wave with funk, fashion, advertising, and New York club culture. “P.J.” represents an early-1980s moment when music, visual design, consumer culture, and nightlife became inseparable, leading toward Major Force and Japanese club music.

13. Memories of Tape Recorder — Yann Tomita — 1992 Yann Tomita brought dub, hip-hop, sampling, exotica, electronics, and speculative science into Japanese pop with unusual depth. In his work, the studio and recording technology are not merely tools, but part of the subject, narrative, and imaginary world of the music.

14. The City of Light — HASYMO — 2008 HASYMO was the later configuration of Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Ryuichi Sakamoto, combining YMO and Human Audio Sponge. Rather than recreating early technopop, they translated their electronic legacy into a restrained mixture of ambient sound, live instrumentation, and mature ensemble playing.