J BUROGU +Japanese Pop Culture Blog+: Musician Introduction: ULFULS

Musician Introduction:
ULFULS ウルフルズ

Hello again, and welcome to J Burogu. I'd like to do my second Musician introduction, this time being the rock band Ulfuls.

Ulfuls generally play standard Rock'n'Roll, and Beatles type music as well as some Funk. The members are all from the Kansai area of Japan, which is a place well known for people with upbeat and cheerful personalities compared to the rest of Japan. This is translated onto their music, and you can hear that these guys are having genuine fun playing their music. The lyrics to their songs are simple but powerful, and the feelings and thoughts expressed are really relate-able even to the average person. They also have many songs that express hope and courage, and to live your life to the fullest, which can be quite inspirational at times when you are feeling down. Furthermore, these lyrics are delivered spectacularly by the soulful voice of Tortoise Matsumoto, who sings his songs with utmost sincerity, and you can feel the emotions he's trying to convey.

Another thing I like about Ulfuls is their energy. These guys are great live, and their PV's (Promotional Videos **What Japanese people call 'music videos') are usually quite funny. I suppose thanks to their heritage as people from Kansai, they like to joke around and laugh, and this kind of warm atmosphere is present in many of their songs. Some of their songs are even all about just being stupid and having fun.

Also, I think that they're songs would be great to listen to if you are studying Japanese since they are simple, and are good for singing at Karaoke.

However, Tortoise Matsumoto does sing a lot in Kansai-ben (Kansai dialect) so you may need to be familiar with this way of speaking. Alternatively it may be a good way of studying that too.

They broke up in 2007 but have left 11 great albums, and a few 'best of albums' to listen to, and the members have embarked on other projects, most notable being Tortoise Matsumoto's solo career (he's released 2 pretty nice albums so far).

Members:

-Tortoise Matsumoto (トータス松本) Vocalist. Actual name is Matsumoto Atsushi.

-Ulful Keisuke, Guitar, actual name Keisuke Iwamato, usually wears a cowboy hat

- John B. Chopper, Bass, aka Toshihiro Kuroda

Their most famous songs would be

Gatsu daze! ガッツだぜ！
--Translates to 'It's Guts!' (Guts as in "you need guts to do such a thing")

Ashita ga Aru sa (明日があるさ）
---Translates to 'There is Tomorrow' . This is a cover of Sakamoto Kyu, the only Japanese person to chart No.1 in America (with the song 'Sukiyaki'). It has since been covered by members of comedic duo Downtown.