Sugar’s Campaign: “Netokano”

Sugar’s Campaign is a collaborative effort between two electronic producers from Osaka: Avec Avec (aka Takuma Hosokawa) who just reached American audiences with the genre-hopping samples of his Plastic Soul Redux 7” released through LA’s Mush Records; and Seiho, an enthusiast of dark atmospheric hip-hop production and jazz samples, who gave us his debut album Mercury last year on his recently founded label Day Tripper Records. Despite both producers’ leaning towards more forward-thinking electronic sounds in their individual efforts, Sugar’s Campaign’s newest track is a surprising and grooving slice of straightforward pop, dropping unwavering hooks intended to recall the radiance of older J-pop acts. The video for their track “Netokano” finds visual delight in mimicking the whimsical and simple aesthetics of a coke ad, while putting a spotlight on the colourfulness of mundane items and an annoying blinking habit. With it, Sugar’s Campaign reminds us that pop music is at its best when it’s making something sound effortless and conventional that’s often decidedly not.

Written by Pierre Lestruhaut