Much of Rio Takimoto’s work so far has unveiled snippets of an as-yet unknown wider sound – yet those snippets also show exceptional amounts of promise. Here is a musician and producer who has the untethered mentality of a bedroom pop artist but whose end product is polished in its production, cohesive in style and accomplished in its arrangements.

Takimoto’s Metamorphosis EP, released in January, revelled in a kind of divested, unhindered hyperactivity, fuelled by runaway dance beats but, in its bright melodies and glamourous tinges, clearly rooted in new wave and synthpop. Follow-up singles “yamerarenai tomaranai” [“you can’t stop, you won’t stop”] and “Donut” then showed how soulful pop and hip hop vocals could diversify Takimoto’s already-eclectic array of styles and influences.

Following the release of Metamorphosis and this year’s singles, we caught up with Takimoto to curate a Selector for The Glow. The theme of Takimoto’s playlist is ‘my favourite songs that have influenced me’ and it features an appropriately eclectic array of pop tunes.

 

Fumie Hosokawa – “Dakko shite cho” (2003)

The combination of Takkyu Ishino's comical and powerful signature sound – like that of a good-natured schoolboy – and Fumie Hosokawa's coquettish and charming voice appeals to my maniacal sensibilities. I chose “Dakko shite cho” because I love Ishino's songs, especially those he has provided for female idols.

 

Plastics – “Copy” (1979)

Cheap, escapist, stylish... here are all my ideals and this is the kind of new wave I want to create! I always listen to “Copy” when I'm not sure what I want to express.

 

Scha Dara Parr – “Summer Jam ’95” (1995)

I love the charm of the vulnerable, relatable, accessible word choices. I always wish that I could write lyrics like this! When it comes to Japanese rap, I really like the feeling of Scha Dara Parr.

 

Kraftwerk – “Dentaku” (1981)

This is the Japanese version of “Pocket Calculator”. Just hearing my favourite Kraftwerk song in Japanese makes me jump up and down, but the broken Japanese is also so adorable. The tones are all so cute too. I can listen to it all the time.

 

Plus-Tech Squeeze Box – “Test Room” (2000)

Listening to this song makes me feel like I'm having so much fun, like I'm running all around a city in a video game! I love every PSB song because it's fun and happy, like a toy or a theme park. I got the album Fake Vox, which contains this song, signed by the member Tomonori Hayashibe. It's my most treasured possession!

 

Minca Panopica – “Guten Morgen” (2005)

Kind of like German New Wave, it’s always exciting to listen to “Guten Morgen” because it gives me the impression of fairytales, like toy soldier pop. There's a lovely sense of playfulness, with voices scattered about that sound like dogs barking, or laughing, or like they’re saying ‘hello’ in various languages.

 

lyrical school – “Tsuretette yo” (2017)

The song is great, but above all I like this style of rap. It's not clever and cool rap, but the kind that is life-sized and rough, performed by normal girls that I find cute, relatable and endearing.

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