I hate the old saying, “they don’t make them like they used to.” However, in the case of Atsuko Okuno – better known as Iria – you could argue that she has always made herself into exactly what she wanted to be. From pioneering Japanese girl punk rocker to her wonderful left-field turn as a Lovers Rock singer, she’s someone I’m excited to talk about with you (even if my favorite turn of hers is ultimately 1995’s reggae-tinged Japanese Lovers).
Atsuko Okuno, born in the bustling neighborhood of Nakano, Tokyo in October 1957, began her musical journey during Japan’s folk music boom. It was her love of guitar – inspired by the early Japanese folk protest era – that compelled her to start playing the classical guitar at age 15. Later, she switched to electric guitar, inspired by her high school guitar idol, Robert Fripp (!). She formed her first band, Fantasmagoria, during high school but disbanded it due to creative differences. Later, while attending Joshibi University of Art and Design, Atsuko joined and formed several all-girl bands, culminating in the formation of the band Girls in 1977, which became one of Japan’s first all-female rock bands. They refused to play the role of cutesy pinups dominating the Japanese music landscape and were more interested in tearing things up.
It was during this time that Atsuko adopted the nickname Illya (later changed to Iria), inspired by Illya Kuryakin, the fictional character from The Man From U.N.C.L.E., to fit in with Rita, Lena, Sadie, and Gill, who formed the core of the group. The band was known for its groundbreaking presence in the Japanese music scene and played a significant role in popularizing female rock bands in the country. Inspired by American acts like The Runaways, Blondie, and the New York Dolls, Iria’s creative impact came not from being the lead singer but by being their lead guitarist, playing epic riffs while wearing glittery spandex with equal aplomb.
After the dissolution of Girls two years later, in 1979, Iria continued her musical career by joining Haruo Chikada’s backing band, BEEF, which later rebranded as Juicy Fruits when Haruo transitioned from singer to producer, using them as a vehicle to pursue the creative exploits and influence of the burgeoning New Wave and post-disco movement. As a member of Juicy Fruits, Atsuko found her calling as lead vocalist and guitarist, achieving significant success fronting a group that aimed to compete with other upstarts like YMO, Moonriders, and Southern All Stars.
From 1980’s Drink! to 1984’s Come On Swing, one could argue that Atsuko kept the group constantly forward-thinking, evolving from a Ventures-inspired New Wave group into one that could tackle myriad styles and ideas. In Japan, Iria inspired a new generation of techno-kayō female singers who wanted to break free from the paternalistic and sexuality-driven music industry.
You could argue that the seeds of Iria’s solo work were sown during her time with Juicy Fruits. On their final record, 1984’s Come On Swing, Iria began her exploration of “island” sounds. Moonlighting as a band member of early Japanese dub/reggae musician Haruyasu Kudo, Iria was able to explore new contours to her vocal stylings, moving away from her pixie-size high falsetto into more mature phrasings that culminated in Juicy Fruits’ dub-tinged “オ・シ・エ・テ・ア・ゲ・ル”.
When the breakup of Juicy Fruits arrived in 1984, Iria pursued a solo career while balancing her role as a homemaker and mother of two. Jamaican music would be one of the many things she’d keep in her back pocket, waiting for the right opportunity to pursue it further. In 1988, working with Fairchild’s Seiji Toda, Iria launched her solo career with a noticeably harder rock-tinged sound.
Leaning more into her guitar and following a path few understood at the time, Iria hinted at the next generation of “alternative” music bubbling under the surface. In hindsight, one can listen to a track like “銀波 ~Silver Wave~” from that album and hear just what Iria was capable of, though it would take nearly a decade for that promise to be fully realized. Art pop with decidedly Caribbean leanings was something few, if any, explored on that side of the world.
In 1995, Big “H” Haruyasu Kudo had a dream: what if he could convince his friend Iria to follow that path, to give it a wholehearted go as a reggae singer? On stage, they had done a killer cover of Aswad’s “Don’t Turn Around” (popularized by Ace of Base) as a Lovers Rock number. The more Iria listened to reggae and its female-driven “Lovers Rock” subgenre, the more she fell in love with the style. Yet, to do something truly authentic and special, they both knew they had to get closer to the source.
In some ways, Iria had been preparing to go “reggae” all along. After her first stint as a solo singer, she returned to painting and creating art. Other turns as a sometime racing driver yielded equal thrills. However, in her case, the comfort and meditative feelings she experienced while hearing and singing reggae music led her to want to give it a try. That Haruyasu and she were able to convince the great dub legend Dennis “Black Beard” Bovell to produce her music took an act of courage and fortitude.
At a time when she had just given birth to a newborn, Iria followed Haruyasu to Brixton, London (with baby in arms) to make their dream come true. Dennis, proud of Iria’s audacity, wanted to return her trust by giving her a pure production worthy of a classic dub plate. His goal was to create something that could outlive its time and connect with the Caribbean, much like his Lovers Rock work with Janet Kay did for her West Indian community. Rather than smooth out Lovers Rock for the masses, he wanted to infuse it with Iria’s Japanese influence.
Featuring a stellar lineup of iconic dub and reggae session musicians – from John Kpiaye to Paul Blake and Rico Rodriguez – musicians who graced records by Linton Kwesi Johnson, The Specials, and Avi Matos, Japanese Lovers was laced with riddims and grooves that cut to the quick, righteously. Haruyasu mentioned in the original liner notes how Dennis brought out the mature allure of Iria’s voice, and together, Dennis and Haruyasu arranged the songs to sterling perfection.
It was Iria, though, who sank her teeth into the grooves and found a certain verve that still sounds impressive. As if to jettison her past, Iria opened the record with her most famous song, Juicy Fruits’ “ジェニーはご機嫌ななめ” (Jenny Is in a Bad Mood), and reimagined it as a Jamaican dancehall number. New originals like “見知らぬ世界” (The World Is Blurred) sound like they were meant to be blasted on a massive sound system. Dennis Bovell took a speck of an idea from King Harvest’s “Dancing In the Moonlight” and multiplied it into the sexy, sultry “Moonlight Dancing (ムーンライト・ダンシング),” tailor-made for Iria to vamp out, sussing every little bit of its skin-tight groove. “Wake Up (ウェイク・アップ)” follows that up by keeping the tempo nice and rocksteady.
What keeps me coming back to Japanese Lovers are those absolutely stunning tracks like “安心できNight (Can’t Feel Safe at Night (He’s A Bad Boy)).” Another original from Iria, this track signaled a clear ownership of her change in direction. Graced by orchestral instruments and brass, its nocturnal, slinky tone feels like the perfect fit for a track that spans the nightlife of emotion expressed in the music. Then the mood turns truly romantic with Iria coming in with one of the most riveting examples of Japanese Lovers Rock, “二人の恋は100万ガウス (Our Love Is One Million Gauss).” It’s whimsical, yearning, and unabashedly heavy, a magical riddim entirely of Iria’s making, much like the rest of this impressive album.
You hear the cultural crossover seamlessly sway back and forth on gorgeous songs like “ふりむかないで (Don’t Look Back).” You hear the transformed enka of “好きなのに (I Love You, But)” realize itself as a torching Lovers Rock ballad. The album ends on a song dedicated to her angelic-voiced ten-month-old baby. Although Moe couldn’t speak yet, she helped sing (if only for a bit) in that universal language, a “Stardust Harmony (スターダスト・ハーモニー)” once again bringing all those involved together. Not bad for something that took a set of wings and a prayer.