Mikeneko Homeless Bring Greatest Hits to Streaming Services

Electronic duo Mikeneko Homeless has long been an essential project emerging from Japan’s vibrant netlabel music community. Their ability to play around with multiple styles in their songs has resulted in celebrated tracks online, and turned the pair into influential architects of the sound of modern J-pop, working with some of the most buzzed-about acts in the country today.

Now, for the first time, Mikeneko Homeless’ greatest hits officially arrive on streaming services and YouTube starting on December 15, 2021. These songs from across the duo’s career offer an intro to their eclectic catalog, a snapshot of the constantly mutating Japanese internet music landscape, and a hint of where the country’s sound will go in the new decade.

The pair, consisting of members hironica and mochilon, started working together as Mikeneko Homeless in the late 2000s. They primarily released original work through trailblazing Japanese netlabel Maltine Records. The duo played around with sub-styles of dance music ranging from U.K. Garage to Jersey Club to jazz. This mix-and-match approach resulted in some of the biggest netlabel hits, arriving on streaming and YouTube for the first time ever in an official capacity with the breezy “Kanekure” and the bouncy “Soba Ga Tabetai.”

They’ve also worked with a wide variety of other artists and vocalists during their decade-plus time together. One of their most fruitful collaborations is well represented on these official uploads — Tokyo creator lulu’s husky voice and melancholy lyrics reflecting on the challenges of modern living have always matched up with Mikeneko Homeless’ jazzier and funkier works. They make up a majority of songs here, including the critically lauded 2015 EP This Christmas Lovely Day, which offered a contemporary spin on the idea of a holiday offering.

As the 2010s zoom further into the past, Mikeneko Homeless’ work from this period has revealed itself to be critical to understanding modern Japanese music, both as they become more prominent producers and songwriters, and as a new generation of creators who grew up listening to them enter the spotlight. These songs offer a compact history of the group — and point to where things are going.