RHYME SO is a collaboration between Sydney-born vocalist, DJ and poet RHYME and Japanese producer Shinichi Osawa, well known in electronic music circles for his work under the stage name MONDO GROSSO since the '90s.
The duo shot to attention last year with "Fashion Blogger", an electro-pop single that offers a tongue-in-cheek commentary of online influencer culture.
The "Fashion Blogger" music video, with its mesmerising portrayal of ice skating, won RHYME SO two awards at the London Fashion Film Festival 2020, for Best Music and Best Actress/Model.
Their most recent track, "POSEABLE", has racked up over 1 million views on YouTube in just under two months.
Shinichi, 54, and RHYME, 25, met through a mutual friend in 2017, and it didn’t take long for them to start combining their musical talents and cultural backgrounds.
“SO is the initial of Shinichi Osawa,” RHYME told SBS Japanese.
“RHYME SO sounds like ‘I’m so…’ and this is our concept,” she added.
As people's lives are being lived increasingly online through social media, Shinichi saw potential for RHYME SO to dig deep into topics like self-absorption and materialism.
The track "Fashion Blogger" came about when the pair came across the titular "occupation" several years ago and became fascinated with influencer or Instagrammer culture.
“At the time, the idea of a fashion blogger was still new, and its existence shocked me. Yet when we looked around, we realised that everyone was taking selfies, posing… we thought creating a track about it would be interesting,” Shinichi said.
“And this is something we are still digging deep into, the relationship between society and the need for approval.”
RHYME, who “loves acronyms” and “specialises in tongue-twisters”, generally writes the lyrics, while Shinichi adds the beats.
Behind the scenes of the music video for "POSEABLE”, featuring veteran Japanese actress Mari Natsuki, as "grandma" Source: RHYME SO
The two creative minds clash during music production, explained RHYME, “but in a good way”.
It is this process of working through their differences that allows RHYME SO to create the music they describe as “blank post genre”.
“Musical genres are collapsing. For listeners, genres are a convenient way to find music, but as a creator, I don’t want to be categorised,” said Shinichi.
“Before live streaming and travel became readily available, we were technically only given one lane to stay in. But now, there is such an expanding of consciousness that we are simply guided by the universe to find sound, meanings and melodies,” RHYME said.
RHYME has lived in Japan for over four years now and is beginning to “understand more” about the country and its culture. For Shinichi, seeing his own culture through RHYME’s eyes has been refreshing, often giving him new perspectives.
RHYME SO describe their music as "blank post genre" Source: RHYME SO
Australian coffee culture in Japan
When not creating music, the members of RHYME SO can often be found sipping a macadamia milk coffee at their newly opened vegan café, located a 10-minute walk from Harajuku in Tokyo.
The Nut Exchange serves Australian-Japanese fusion food, and coffee with milk alternatives, notably macadamia milk which they produce in-house.
“I was very surprised that most cafés in Australia offer alternatives to cow’s milk,” said Shinichi.
The two saw a “major gap” in the industry and decided it was time the Japanese community had access to these alternatives.
“I miss Australian cappuccinos, too,” said RHYME.
The café follows a zero-waste policy – built from recycled timber, with no plastic materials on the premises.
“Plastic waste is a huge problem in Tokyo, and we hope to show ways to combat that,” said Shinichi.
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