Ulfuls

Ulfuls formed in Osaka in 1988, starting as a street band with core members Toru Kohashi on vocals, Youji Nara on guitar, and Shinpei Kurosawa on bass. Their sound mixed ska, reggae, funk, and Japanese folk influences, which felt less like a calculated blend and more like the natural result of three musicians playing what they liked. They put out albums like 'Oyasumi' in 1992 and 'Tokyo, Monogatari' in 1997, but it was the 1998 single 'Te o Tsunaide' that really connected with people. The song's straightforward melody and lyrics about holding hands turned into something bigger, getting used in commercials and films and sticking around as a kind of shared reference.

Their other songs show a different side. Tracks like 'Baka Survivor' and 'Honkii Man' have a rougher, more playful energy, while '6.3.3' and 'Animal' keep that rhythmic, genre-hopping feel. They weren't trying to fit a mold, and their lyrics sometimes touched on subjects that made some listeners uncomfortable, but that was just part of their approach. They kept making music through the 1990s and into the 2000s, releasing albums like 'Banpaku' in 1993 without ever smoothing out their edges to suit a broader format.

What you hear in their music isn't a polished fusion but the sound of a specific band from Osaka doing their thing. The influences are there, Japanese folk, American soul, Caribbean rhythms, but they feel absorbed rather than showcased. Their records have a lived-in quality, the kind that comes from playing together for years on the street and in clubs before ever hitting a studio. It's less about conquering charts and more about the particular sound they built, one that included both an accidental anthem and odder, driving songs like 'Record Mawasu yo' and 'Ii Mouke'.