Hello! It’s Kaito again! It’s time for another look at the weird and wonderful world of Japanese music. Today we’re meeting Genki Sudo and his group “World Order”: Proud owners of Japan’s smartest suits and smoothest moves.
Quick guide:
Act Name: World Order
Years Active: 2009 – Present
Genre: Electronic Pop
Notable Singles: “World Order” (2009) “Machine Civilization” (2011)
Suits Provided By: Aoyama Tailor (Since 1964)
You’ve got to love a man in a suit, haven’t you? Well, except from bankers. And politicians. But Japanese pop acts in suits? Yes please. Of course, a band can’t be judged on their appearance alone; it’s the group’s precision choreography and sound that has really caused people to take notice of the group. Curious about what I mean? Well take a look at the video for their debut single “World Order” and you’ll quickly understand why they’re worth taking note of:
The video for “World Order” shot in New York amidst an unsuspecting public.
World Order was founded by former Mixed Martial Arts fighter and kick-boxer Genki Sudo: He’s the bloke in the middle of the photo at the top of the article. (And no, you read that right, he used to face off in combat sport leagues such as the UFC and HERO’S.) Now he leads World Order, supported by the talented group of dancers he has assembled for the act. But he’s not just the main face of the group: Genki also writes the lyrics for the group’s songs, composes the music, and he choreographs the dance routines. Outside of the group Genki has appeared in several small acting roles for major films (including film adaptations for the popular Japanese superhero series “Kamen Rider”), started an amateur baseball team for people over 30 and also written 8 books, with titles such as “神はテーブルクロス” (“Kami wa Teeburu Kurosu”Or “God is The Tablecloth” in English) and “Let’s 猫” (“Let’s Neko” which translates to “Let’s Cat”). Who says there are no more polymaths in the world?
So far World Order has released two albums, two singles and four videos: 2010’s “World Order” was the group’s first album release. “World Order”, which also featured six songs, including the track “World Order” (So, that’s World Order, from the album World Order by World Order) along with “Boy Meets Girl” and “Mind Shift”. “Boy Meets Girl” and “Mind Shift” both had videos created to promote the tracks.
The video for “Mind Shift”
In 2011, shortly after the March Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami disaster, World Order released a new single with a new video, “Machine Civilization”, in response to the incident. It’s a powerful track, and while the video retains the sense of playfulness previous videos have there is a sense of solidarity behind the group’s performance that reaches out to the viewer which is encapsulated perfectly by the message at the end of the video:
The video for “Machine Civilization” culminates in words of solidarity for a nation enduring a time of disaster.
2012 saw the release of “2012”. Six new tracks appeared on this release as well as “Machine Civilization”. (I say, while the music and choreography is exciting and original, the gang sure like to phone it in with album titles, don’t they?) Along with their latest release, the double A-side single “find the light/Permanent Revolution”.
By this point I’ve said all that needs to be said: The music is great, Genki Sudo himself is wicked cool, and the videos are impressive. As such I will leave you with a couple more videos from World Oder and this one last titbit of info that you can do whatever you like with: “World Order”, “2012” and “find the light/Permanent Revolution” are all available to buy in the UK via Amazon MP3 or iTunes.
Anyway, enjoy these last two videos! “Boy Meets Girl” is my personal favourite, both in terms of the video and the song itself.
The video for “Permanent Revolution” sees the gang visit Korea and solve world peace. (I think)
Meanwhile, the video “Boy Meets Girl” sees the lads on a night out, during which they encounter mysterious creatures known as “Girls”.