98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare: Are You Feel Good?
By Thomas Fraki.
There is something genuinely enchanting and indelible that happens when first listening to Fishmans. From the outset, the sound is unlike almost anything recorded, before or since. In terms of music, Fishmans presents the listener with a blend of reggae, dub, dream pop, and neo-psychedelia. All of these different pieces are woven together by the lead singer’s otherworldly, androgynous vocals and catchy pop lyrics and structure.
Translating to “A Men’s Farewell,” 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare was intended to act as a farewell show for a departing band member. However, the sudden death of Fishmans’ lead singer, Shinji Sato, three months later led to the album becoming the final definitive note on the band’s legacy. Surprisingly, Fishmans received much more attention the years after the group’s disbandment following Sato’s death. Their discography circulated through a variety of online music communities, receiving generally high praise, particularly for 98.12.28.
As an album, 98.12.28 is especially fascinating because it is an underground classic for the internet era, having spread by word of mouth through online forums and blogs years after the album’s release. It has been rated and reviewed extensively online with the common consensus surrounding the album being that it is an “experience” to listen to. While it may seem a bit banal to say this of an artist’s final work given the circumstances, the truth is that this album genuinely is something special to listen to. Both in style and ability, Fishmans establish once and forever that they are on a realm of their own with 98.12.28.
Reggae Under The Rising Sun
Fishmans was the creation of university students Shinji Sato, Kin-Ichi Motegi, and Kensuke Ojima in Minato, Tokyo mid-1987. From the beginning, their group was rooted in the Tokyo ska scene, making appearances with local ska-punk bands. Bassist Yuzuru Kashiwabara and keyboardist Hakase-Sun would join the group in 1988 and 1990 respectively, filling out Fishmans’ ranks. Shortly after this, Virgin Records Japan approached the band for a record deal and Fishmans’ debut album, Chappie Don’t Cry, was released in 1991.
Over the course of their discography, the group would dive into a wide array of genres. With the first few demos and albums, Fishmans was pretty well locked into dub, reggae, and rocksteady stylings. As they put out more albums, their sound evolved. The songs were more complex, falling into progressive/dream pop and neo-psychedelia. This sampling of song elements and styles was also similar to Shibuya-kei, a cut-and-paste pop music genre prominent in 1990s Japan.
Of Fishmans’ later work, their 1996 album, Long Season, would go on to receive acclaim and a cult following comparable to that of 98.12.28. The album is a continuous 35-minute composition that is a reworking of the group’s single, “SEASON,” that was released earlier that year. For the Long Season recordings, the band brought on a handful of outside musicians to help with the production including K-pop singer, MariMari, and frequent collaborator, Honzi, on violin and keyboards. The result is a wonderfully hypnotic suite that strolls from part to part, taking in the rhythm and atmospheric melancholy.
A Men’s Farewell
Toward the end of 1998, bassist Yuzuru Kashiwabara decided that he would not continue with his musical career and would leave the group at the end of the year. The band agreed on a set of shows at the Akasaka BLITZ in Minato, Tokyo as both a farewell for Kashiwabara and to mark a new era for the group. The setlists for these shows would feature songs from across the band’s career and serve as a retrospective. As it turns out, the final show would be the last Fishmans performance, as lead singer Shinji Sato would die three months later due to unforeseen heart failure.
The recording of the final two-hour performance would become the material for 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare and be later released in September 1999. While the album is composed of previously released songs, at no point does it feel like 98.12.28 is simply rehashing old work. The music is fresh and at the same time familiar. Songs from both the band’s early and later albums are imbued with a sort of stylistic hindsight, blending together techniques from across the Fishmans catalog. Through the whole set, there is an expert control of the balance and contrast that flows through each song.
By far, the standout track is the closer, a 41-minute rendition of Long Season in its entirety. Aside from the fact that this is the last song the band ever recorded, it is the most moving song on the album and perhaps their whole discography. Motegi’s pulsing drum beat along with an airy piano bar echo throughout the majority of the song. This is then accompanied by various instruments drifting in and out of focus.
One End Of Tokyo To The Other, Halfway Dreaming
Even until their last show, Fishmans was reinventing and trying new musical avenues. It seems a little tired using a genre descriptor to talk about a band’s music, but listening to 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare is like being half in a dream. Fishmans’ ability to entwine mesmerizing loops and rhythms leaves you in trance-like sedation, and the lasting effect it has is hard to describe. The level of mastery in composition and instrumentation is all the more impressive given that the album is a live performance. It is easy to understand how so many people hold this album in such high regard. A group like Fishmans and an album like 98.12.28 will probably never be seen again, and the world is a little more the worse for it.
- Disc One
- “Oh! Slime” (Lead-in)
- “ナイトクルージング” (“Night Cruising”)
- “なんてったの” (“What Was It”)
- “Thank You”
- “幸せ者” (“A Happy Person”)
- “頼りない天使” (“Unreliable Angel”)
- “ひこうき” (“Airplane”)
- “In the Flight”
- “Walking in the Rhythm”
- “Smilin’ Days, Summer Holiday”
- “Melody”
- Disc Two
- “ゆらめき in the Air” (“Flickering in the Air”)
- “いかれた Baby” (“Crazy Baby”)
- “Long Season”
Thomas Fraki is a Minneapolis-based journalism grad, music aficionado, book nerd, hiker, amateur photographer, and beer drinker with an overgrown wall of records.