Frederic is a Kobe-base band formed around twin brothers Kenji and Koji Mihara. Their name comes from Leo Lionni’s 1967 illustrated children’s book of the same name. But before we even knew that my kids and I stumbled upon one of the band’s older songs from 2014 called oddloop. The upbeat, infectious track has been on heavy rotation in casa spoon & tamago. Have a listen below.
Like many of Frederic’s tracks, oddloop is upbeat, catchy and humorous. And their videos often feautre quirky but easy-to-dance-along-to moves. Whereas many Japanese bands in their 20-somethings sing about seishun (youthfulness) Frederic finds more meaning in espousing on the joys of dancing or the pressures of wrapping things up so they don’t miss the last train. And despite the group’s young age their tracks are peppered with nostalgic melodies that sound like they’ve been remixed from showa-era Japan.
Below are two other more recent tracks: Owarase Night from 2015 and Only Wonder from 2017. They don’t appear to have put any new music out this year yet but we’re looking forward to watching how this band evolves.
Like what you hear? You can find more of their music on YouTube. Frederic is also on Twitter and Instagram. And be sure to check out our other Music Monday picks.
June 5, 2017 at 11:14 am
I love Frederic, thanks for sharing! Never knew they were twins!