Satellite Lovers

For anyone blessed enough to find Satellite Lovers through that original video posted by the YouTube channel, almeda, back in 2024, you know exactly what that feeling was when you heard the first 10ish seconds of the opening track titled Best Friend.

Discovery

Even today it is difficult to describe how I felt at that moment.

It was as if all of the light and space around me was trapped in this container, and someone gently lifted the lid for all to hear; like rubbing my eyes after taking an exam and finally seeing clearly again.

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At the time, this was honestly like some profound once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I would soon learn that in the world of personal cd/record rip YouTube channels, this was like any other day.

Best Friend is off of the album Sons of 1973, the group's most popular and acclaimed work during their three-album run which spanned (only) three years. One (MUSIC) came out in 1994, and the other two (Sons of 1973 and Sons of 1997) both in 1996. The years make it so confusing, but we ball.

Click click click click...

Circling back to when I discovered this album/group on YouTube, at the time I had it in my mind that this must be some absolute gem. While it definitely is, it turns out that gems attract additional gems too, via the YouTube algorithm.

If you've clicked on this type of "ARTIST NAME - ALBUM NAME Full Album (YEAR)" video, then you have been welcomed to the world of probably very old (but definitely very swag) people who rip and upload their music collections. Trust me, this is exactly where you want to be. Even amongst all of the channels I really like to watch, this phenomenon of people sharing their collections on YouTube is probably the highlight of the site for me. As of early August when I'm writing this, I've pretty much been getting, listening to, and writing about music solely because of YouTube. It's great.

Something that does kind of ruin the fun is that after hearing one of the best songs in your entire life, you go to look up the artist or group and the only result Google can muster is a Discogs link. Sure, it's nice to read the credits and see how many copies are in circulation, but I want to know more about them.

This fate of obscurity has fallen upon Satellite Lovers all the same, and what little I could find about them is urban folklore from some oracles on Reddit. I really enjoyed reading this response in particular:

"Searched for the vocalist's name in Japanese characters. Saw a blog post from 2014 where the poster said that they read an interview from 1996 that Mika Ikeuchi was working in advertising. I did more Google searches on Japanese websites and used Google Translate. Saw an advertisement where it said that she was a planner.

Blog: https://makurakotova.hatenablog.com/entry/2014/03/26/121320

Ad: https://www.bpcj.or.jp/search/show_detail.php?program=147827

Maybe she went full advertising for a more stable career? Makes me feel so nostalgic and sentimental about the routes we could've taken in life, man. Really wonder where she is now though. A mom? A wife? Settled down in her own apartment, not knowing people from all over the world are enjoying her music almost 30 years since? Damn."

Besides the last sentence being super funny, this person really conveys just how much people want to know about these special groups like Satellite Lovers, myself included.

I'll (again) skip the more in-depth history, since an EQP favorite, Orange Glider, kills it with that everytime. But, I will say that I wish this band's three-year run was much, much longer, and I hope that this newfound(ish) popularity will spring them back into action as it has done for many other projects in the Shibuya kei sphere recently.

The Music

Getting back to the music though, I'll write a bit about an album that has been in my mind and playlist for years now, Sons of 1973.

The instrumentation and sound design are otherworldly on this one.

Those horns in Best Friend mean something to me dawg...they come in so strong, yet so gentle. Like a gust of wind sweeping you up and up and up... And the harmonica run a little over halfway through the song feels like breathing again after a long, long cold somewhere barren and unforgiving.

The same can be said about the percussion on Sunnyday, Holiday, which, as the title suggests, feels like the morning right before leaving on holiday. Still structured and a bit predictable, but indicative of a long adventure. Idk.

Some other favorites from this album and others are Living Nights Together, Central Park, How Much I Love You, Baby, and 夏の続き.

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Couldn't think of a great way to close this out since I like to work with the music I'm writing about playing in the background and I'm rocking with it hella right now.

Please please listen to this remarkable band.

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