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FEMM (duo)

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FEMM
OriginTokyo, Japan
GenresElectropop
Years active2014–present
LabelsAvex Trax
MembersRiRi, LuLa
Websitefemms.jp/femme/

FEMM (short for Far East Mention Mannequins) is an electronic pop duo from Tokyo, Japan. Their debut album Femm-Isation was released on October 1, 2014.[1]

Career

2013: Formation and early work

Kaiho had previously studied dance, theater, and acting. As a teenager, she worked regularly as a beauty and fashion model in Japan, and performed on stage as a dancer.[2] Kaiho moved to Los Angeles, California in order to advance her career as an actress. She shot several films in Japan and Romania, but did not achieve success.[2] Todo was originally a solo singer and primarily sung songs in Japanese. It is currently unknown how FEMM was created, or how Kaiho and Todo met. The group was formed in mid-2013 by the new Avex Live Creative inc., a sub-label of Avex Trax.

In October 2013, the group launched an YouTube channel and uploaded a teaser. The video showed Kaiho and Todo walking around the streets of Japan, talking about their quest of rescuing mannequins.[3] This teaser was used to launch FEMM's website, which uses interactive elements to communicate with their fanbase.[4] Despite the initial lack of popularity at the time, FEMM released their first EP "Astroboy". It contained two digital singles; one of the same name and "UFO".[5] "UFO" is a cover of a song originally recorded in 1977 by Japanese pop duo Pink Lady. "Astroboy" was the first original song by the group.[6] The videos were directed by creative unit IKIOI, who had previously worked with other Japanese artists.[6]

2014: International success and Femm-Isation

FEMM released their first single "Wannabe" on April 12, 2014.[7] The group started to progress their attention to international production teams, and "Wannabe" was handled by Dreamlab. Their second single "Kiss the Rain" followed one week later, and was co-produced by Swedish producer Andreas Carlsson. In mid-May the third single of the group, "We Flood the Night", was released.[8][9] The group started to achieved more tecognition with their fifth single, "Kill the DJ", which amassed almost 200,000 views on Youtube. The "slick, high-concept music video" was directed by IKIOI, and continued their trend of incorporating song lyrics inside the music video. Kaiho recognized "Kill the DJ" as one of her favourite music videos to portray RiRi and Lula.[10]

In June 2014, FEMM uploaded their sixth single "Fxxk Boyz Get Money" onto YouTube, and released it a month later on iTunes.[11] The video achieved positive commentary from music critics, and became a minor viral video.[12] Some critics differentiated FEMM from other internationally known J-Pop acts, because the group is "practically unknown" in Japan. Other critics found it weak, and dissected the public image of FEMM more than their music.[12] However, popular figures including Perez Hilton and Youtube personalities started to praise the songs as a "life anthem".[13] Due to its popularity, the song was featured on the TWERK EM' ALL compilation in July. As of December 2014, the song has surpassed 500,000 views on Youtube and is FEMM's most viewed video.[14]

After the success of "Fxxk Boyz Get Money" and "Kill the DJ", FEMM started to work with more producers from North America and Europe.[10] FEMM collaborated with American producer and songwriter Dan Book and Alexei Misoul on "Party All Night", the seventh single of their first album.[15] Their eighth single "Dead Wrong" was produced by New Zealand-born Australian musician Leah Haywood, Daniel James, and Kevin Ross. FEMM's next releases "Unbreakeable" and "Whiplash" were the final singles to be featured on their first studio album. Femm-Isation, the debut album of the group, was released digitally in October 2014.[1] The instrumental version of the album was released on December 24. On the same day, FEMM uploaded a video entitled "DANCE IS NOT A CRIME". This video was a pronouncement against the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Law, which states that dancing at public venues in Japan is illegal after midnight.[16][17]

Artistry

Musical style

The group cites synthpop, EDM, eurodance, rap, and Otaku culture as their major influences.[18][19][20] FEMM has been compared to Americanized music, including Hip-Hop and club culture.[20] The group has explored themes of girl power, feminism, and freedom of speech in their music. The FEMM singles "Fxxk Boyz Get Money" and "Girls Night Out" have lyrics which discuss female empowerment, and not relying on male labor or assistance.[21] For their single "Unbreakable", the entire production relied on actual orchestral instruments, and was considered a "versatile" move by both fans and critics. According to W-Trouble, the song relies on human feelings rather than of a mannequin."[22] W-Trouble commented "["Unbreakable”] is probably the song that expresses those feelings the most. The other songs are pretty rigid so I think they’re closer to the image of mannequins."[22] The group relies on autotune and vocoder, and are against releasing their music in physical formats such as compact disc or DVD.[22]

"We leave it to the listeners to decide about the message or feel of this track, but as for FEMM, they’re singing about “girl power”. Itʼs okay to be sexy, just donʼt let them take advantage of you. [Fxxk Boyz Get Money] has very aggressive lyrics, but lots of women seem to relate to it. They call it their life anthem."

Honey-B commenting on the themes used in "Fxxk Boyz Get Money".[21]

For their first EP "Astroboy", both members did not yet have any professional experience in singing. The duo stated that the first time recording and appearing in a music video as their agents was challenging.[21] FEMM expressed that they would be honored to collaborate with any producers and songwriters who understand their message.[21] Jacque from Arcadey.net commented that "[FEMM]'s music mostly consists of regurgitated American EDM, dance-pop, and hip-hop, all of which is just as enjoyable as it is generic. I’m guessing it’s supposed to be some kind of meta commentary on mainstream music and manufactured pop stars or something [...]"[23]

Molly Osberg from Vice noted that FEMM combined Japanese fashion and music together. She commented "At least, that's how I imagine we get acts like FEMM, the mesmerizing J-pop electro duo with a backstory more inventive than anything on the SyFy channel right now."[24] Osberg praised the producers and songwriters for being hidden pioneers in order to popularize the group, as she felt producers now were more "the frontmen".[24] Corynn Smith from MTV Iggy was impressed by their English language skills and commented "The pair’s overwhelmingly English discography has something for everyone with electronic taste, whether you’re feeling like a romantic trance trip a la [We Flood the Night], craving a techno remix of ’70s J-pop hit [UFO], or in a twerk-tastic, rubber-maid-outfit-clad [Fxxk Boyz Get Money] kinda mood."[19] Todo has stated that she is only learning English and has to rely on Kaiho.[20]

Image

FEMM are portrayed as plastic dolls, known as a mannequin.[18] Both Riri and Lula are "identically-different", with Riri is recognized as the combat mannequin and Lula is the housekeeper mannequin.[21] According to FEMM, their tagline "Do Dolls Have Feelings? Do Their Songs Move People?" represents their virtual goal is to free all mannequins from human oppression.[18] FEMM recognizes their fanbase as "agents" of the group. Kaiho and Todo portray Riri and Lula respectively, as well as the agents of the mannequins as Honey-B (Riri) and W-Trouble (Lula).[18] The agents are known as the "voices" of Riri and Lula, as the mannequins are portrayed with the inability to talk or vocally communicate. Honey-B stated "For the musical nuances, it’s listening that’s important: the key is to match the sound and flow. If the nuance reveals a kind of attitude, it’s partly due to the songwriting and partly due to [Honey-B]."[20]

MTV has listed FEMM as one of their "Artists to Watch".[25]

Members

FEMM

  • Riri (also known as MS-00000).
  • Lula (also known as SW-000000).

Agents

  • Honey-B
  • W-Trouble

Discography

Albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
JPN US World
2014 Femm-Isation — 10
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

EPs

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
JPN US World
2014 Astroboy — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

Remixes

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
JPN US World
2014 Femm-Isation Instrumentals — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

Singles

  • "Wannabe" (2014)
  • "Kiss the Rain" (2014)
  • "White Noise" (2014)
  • "We Flood the Night" (2014)
  • "Kill the DJ" (2014)
  • "Fxxk Boyz Get Money" (2014)
  • "Dead Wrong" (2014)
  • "Unbreakable" (2014)

References

  1. ^ a b FEMM Discography Official Site
  2. ^ a b http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2990413/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm
  3. ^ FEMM'S AGENCY SYNDICATE "Official Teaser".
  4. ^ FAR EAST MENTION MANNEQUINS | FEMM.
  5. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/astroboy-ep/id821432045
  6. ^ a b http://www.electricbloomwebzine.com/2014/04/far-east-mention-mannequins-femm.html
  7. ^ iTunes - Music - Wannabe | FEMM.
  8. ^ iTunes - Music - Kiss the Rain. iTunes.com.
  9. ^ iTunes - Music - We Flood the Night. iTunes.
  10. ^ a b FEMM – Interview (2014). July 12 2014.
  11. ^ iTunes - Music - Fxxk Boyz Get Money. iTunes.com
  12. ^ a b The Single Jukebox | Femm - Fxxk Boyz Get Money.
  13. ^ FEMM - Fxxk Boyz Get Money. Perez Hilton.
  14. ^ FEMM - Fxxk Boyz Get Money (Music Video). Youtube.com.
  15. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/party-all-night-sfpr-remix/id907303723
  16. ^ DANCE IS NOT A CRIME.
  17. ^ FEMM: “DANCE IS NOT A CRIME”; DANCES AGAINST JAPAN’S DANCE BAN
  18. ^ a b c d http://pureidolheart.net/2014/08/introducing-femm-far-east-mention-mannequins/
  19. ^ a b http://www.mtviggy.com/articles/japan-femm-far-east-mention-mannequins-j-pop/
  20. ^ a b c d http://metropolis.co.jp/features/feature/no-barbie-girls-allowed/#.VBvp1nhOyCk.twitter
  21. ^ a b c d e http://aramajapan.com/featured/arama-japan-interviews-mannequin-duo-femm/5144/2/
  22. ^ a b c http://tokyogirlsupdate.com/exclusive-interview-with-femm-2-20141028667.html/2
  23. ^ http://arcadey.net/2014/07/femms-fxxk-boyz-get-money-new-life-anthem/
  24. ^ a b https://www.vice.com/read/meet-femm-the-sentient-mannequin-j-pop-supergroup-333
  25. ^ Get Ready for World FEMM. MTV81.com.
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