As the cool Winter breeze of January has passed us by, that means it’s time for this months Ongaku Go! We at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms, with Apple Music featured on this site, along with our Spotify playlist here!

“Yellow.” by 7co

7co is an artist who jumped on my radar last year with the track “lonely nights” and ever since then I’ve been keeping track of her music. I’m glad I did too as her latest track “Yellow.” that released mid-December 2023 is fantastic. “Yellow.” is more of an upbeat track than “lonely night” as it’s filled with more energy vocally and in terms of composition. The composition showcases an extremely high energy beat that gets you pumped up. “Yellow.” easily could translate into a dance track or even used to just pump you up in general. 7co has shown that she knows how to utilize her vocals no matter what type of composition. I’m looking forward to seeing what is in store for 2024 for her.

Check out “Yellow.” by 7co here and the lyric video below!

“puzzle” by NAQT VANE

When NAQT VANE announced their latest album, Dispersion, I had it as my most anticipated album of 2024. Dispersion did not disappoint as being anticipated, NAQT VANE hit it out of the ballpark. The new tracks on this album all stuck out and hit hard, but “puzzle” was the one that really resonated with me. Hiroyuki Sawano’s masterful composition pulls you in instantly with its edgy beat, HARUKAZE’s vocals fit perfectly with each verse, chorus, lyrics resonating with my soul. I love how HARUKAZE knows how to intertwine English and Japanese into the lyrics seamlessly.

Check out “puzzle” by NAQT VANE here and the music video below.

“Vroom” by Koda Kumi

Koda Kumi released the digital single “Vroom” back on December 20, 2023 with a promotion of her Driving Hits -Tokyo Auto Salon 2024- Music card. “Vroom” does not disappoint with its high energy composition that hits with bombastic sounds. The versus’ pulled me in more than the chorus as I love the vocal work Koda Kumi displays in them. The chorus is way catchier, but meshes so well with the versus’. This is such a perfect dance song and has been on my playlist since its release. Crossing my fingers this will end up on a physical release as I was not able to secure the music card.

Check out “Vroom” by Koda Kumi here and the music video below.

“Poison” by Miliyah, MUD, & Neetz

Miliyah Kato is an artist I’ve been following since her debut single (Never let go/Yozora) back in 2004. I always loved her R&B style she started out with and hearing “Poison”, it feels like she’s once again going back to her roots. Miliyah has the perfect voice for R&B with its smooth and sultry sound, so “Poison” just immediately sunk its way into my playlist. The composition is that chill R&B that I just love, plus this song introduced me to MUD and Neetz, whom I’ve only heard by name until now. I thought MUD’s rap fit it with Miliyah’s vocal quite nicely and like what he brought to the table. Neetz’ beats just fit perfectly with both artists, which is no surprise as he’s collaborated with MUD before and also has done many other renowned collaborations in the hip hop scene.

Check out “Poison” by Miliyah, MUD, & Neetz here and the music video below!

“Together” by Sala & Shin Sakiura

With the release of Sala’s latest digital singles, “Gacha Gatcha” and “Lazy”, I started to dive further into her discography and discovered the track “Together” that she collaborated with Shin Sakura on. “Together” is an amazing track; Shin Sakiura knows how to compose a track and fit it to that artists strengths with ease. Sala’s vocals are brought out, showing her range as an artist and how veritile she can be. “Together” has more of an upbeat sound but it has that city pop feel with some R&B mixed in. If you are a fan of Shin Sakiura’s other collaborations, such as “Blue Bird” with Maika Loubte, you will love “Together” just as much.

Check out “Together” by Sala & Shin Sakiura here and the lyric video below!