Nineteen-year-old singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Vaundy wants to take over the world, and he’s not wasting any time.
On his viral track “東京フラッシュ” or “TokyoFlash,” Vaundy showcases a smooth and elegant vocal delivery over punchy drums, rubbery bass and a hypnotic, harmonious leading guitar riff, all beautifully complemented by jazzy piano chords.
The music video came out on YouTube Sept. 27 and has already amassed over 1 million views.
With help from artist and animator Kazuo, Vaundy put together the bouncy and jazz-rap inspired effort alongside a minimalistic, animated video on his most recent track, 不可幸力” or “Unusual Power.”
He has three other songs available at the moment, “わかってないよ” or “Don’t Know,” “soramimi” and “pain.” The first one is structured like a traditional J-Pop song, with a pop-ier vocal delivery to boot.
“Soramimi” has a catchy Euro-house inspired beat, and “pain” is a softer piano ballad with a rap, almost spoken-word delivery over it.
In one of his first public appearances, Vaundy held a small acoustic set last month in Japan where he sold a couple of CDs.
Unfortunately, the set ended early after police showed up due to the crowd growing exponentially and spilling out into the streets.
At the time of this writing, you’d be hard-pressed to find his music available for listening, streaming and/or purchase state-side anywhere but YouTube. That being said, it’s fair to assume that these things will come with his growth in popularity.
I recommend Vaundy to everyone in the hopes that his musical variety will have a little something for every kind of music fan.
Music has a pretty fascinating way of transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries, and Vaundy certainly is a young and versatile artist to keep in your sights as the year comes to a close.
