An Annual Sunbathing Session. #MyMusicMemoirs Vol. 3

How are you spending Golden Week?
For the past 15 years (!), there is a place I have spent this season without fail.

Roppongi Hills Arena, a space covered by a circular roof that stretches across the sky between Roppongi Hills Mori Tower and the TV Asahi headquarters.
If you watch Music Station without fail, this might be a familiar spot to you.

What is TOKYO M.A.P.S?

Since 2009, for two days every Golden Week, this venue has hosted 'TOKYO M.A.P.S,' a free music event co-organized by Roppongi Hills and the FM radio station J-WAVE, which has its studios on the premises.

A music festival gifted to the common people, all for free

Above all, its biggest feature is that it is 'free'.
There is no system like advance reservations.
You can participate just by showing up.
Every year, it is an event where you can enjoy a total of 8 to 10 free live performances over two days, usually from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Although this is a celebrity space occupied by high-end brands, nouveau riche companies, and luxury high-rise apartments (I wonder what grudge I have against the neighborhood), it is opened up for the common people for just these two days during the holidays.

I have participated every year since the second event in 2010.
There have been years where I stayed for both days, and years where I just dropped by while meeting up with friends.
This casualness is also a characteristic.

Exquisite organization by up-and-coming artists each year

The second feature is the lineup, which is connected by the discernment, uniqueness, and a moderate sense of intimacy of a different organizer chosen each year.
Please check the history on the official website for the stellar lineup!

This year, it was handled by MJA2025, the trackmaker and renowned MPC player STUTS, whose popularity is skyrocketing and who also performed as an opening act.
Isn't he the youngest organizer in history?
Thanks to a lineup unique to him, who is also active in various collaborations, more young people gathered than in previous years.
It was the most crowded it has ever been, with the small hill behind the arena in front of TV Asahi filled with standing spectators.

A laid-back Frutiger Aero day

If you're wondering how to spend your time if it gets crowded, Roppongi Hills has an area called the Mohri Garden, which consists of a lawn and a pond, where you can take a break or watch the dogs being walked.
Spreading out a picnic mat for a picnic is also an option.
Strangely, this event is often blessed with good weather, and canned beer tastes better every year.
*Please make sure to take your trash home.
*Food trucks and such are also set up, so all you dutiful readers should spend your money there to support the event organizers.

Hmm? Frutiger...?

What is this Frutiger Aero that suddenly appeared?
It's a bad habit of mine to want to use words I've just discovered but don't know much about...

This is an internet aesthetic that represents the colors of that era in the 2000s, after Y2K and just before flat design became popular.
Maybe 'Windows 7 vibes' is easier to understand.
A design based on blue and green, emphasizing transparency and a somewhat strangely high level of cleanliness.
The keyword is '(once) promised sense of the future'.

There is someone who is researching and presenting this on note, which is interesting, so please refer to it.

When I learned this word, I vividly remembered how I spent my time at Tokyomaps in the Mohri Garden.
Maybe it's not a very positive way of looking at it?

The rehearsals are also a fun, exposed stage

As a final feature, since multiple musicians with different lineups perform on a single stage about every hour, this event allows you to watch the rehearsals taking place in between sets.
They might talk to the audience under the guise of a mic check, or even surprise us by performing an entire bonus track that isn't part of the main set!
Catching a glimpse of both known and unknown talents, along with their dedication to service, is also part of the charm of tokyomaps.

2026: A Gathering of Extraordinary Talents! A Carefree, Spontaneous Hip-Hop

Finally, here is how this year went.
Considering my own interests and personal schedule, this year I only went to seeU-zhaan ×環ROY × Chinza DOPENESS.

I am a huge fan of U-zhaan, known as Japan's premier tabla player, and I even bought the first-press edition of his 1st solo album.
That album, which might be the first and last in history to be scented like curry (!), also included the delightful song "Tabla'n'Rap," featuring the two rappers 環ROY and Chinza DOPENESS, who were active under the name "kakato" at the time, and I thoroughly enjoyed that marriage of skills you won't hear anywhere else.

This unit, or perhaps U-zhaan's personal charm, attracts active interest from all kinds of talent, and his friendship with the late Professor Sakamoto is particularly famous.
The other day, that collaboration track was also released on streaming services as a remastered version accompanying its vinyl release.

Given the Professor's career, I have a strong image of him disliking "energy flow" because it sold too well, but this record, re-cooked by the best performers, is very soothing.

Now then.
As someone who has seen U-zhaan's stage many times, I was used to seeing him desperately tuning his tabla on stage during rehearsals, but it was taking longer than usual.
Since it's a sentimental instrument that is easily affected by the weather, I was watching thinking, "That must be tough," but the performance time was approaching, and eventually, it was time for the entrance music. lol

The three-man act began with an introduction from J-WAVE navigator Takumi Fujita: "They are already on stage, but..."
While humbly saying, "Ayano Kaneko (who had a huge crowd right before this stage) was so good that I lost my motivation," the first thing U-zhaan picked up was not a tabla, but an acoustic guitar.
"It's U-zhaan, the guitar player!" Chinza-san also hyped him up lol
And after playing just one phrase, he looped that sound and then brought out a tambourine!

...I wasn't making a living just by playing drums! lol
*Kawagoe Rendezvous lyrics reference

Even for someone like me who already knew of his versatility as a flugelhorn player and his ability to sing Kecak, I was overwhelmed by how much he had powered up after not seeing him for a few years.
Moreover, the song played right after was the seven-beat track "Nanayoubi" (Seven Days).
The two rappers riding on top of that are also amazing.
And what's even more amazing is that they carry themselves with such a laid-back atmosphere that they never make you think they are incredible people.

In the corner (?) where Kan-san and Chinza-san's freestyle was performed, it was revealed through freestyle that Chinza-san had forgotten to bring his sampler. lol
And what was performed as a first-time attempt without rehearsal, according to U-zhaan, was "Technopolis," which is also included on the aforementioned new album!!
I was expecting a performance of Energy Flow, but I didn't expect them to play this too!

What caught my attention was the performance where, instead of lining up all types of tabla in a row, he used a looper to create 2 or 3 tracks by swapping them out for different sizes depending on the tone.
He also incorporates guitar and flugelhorn into the looper.
I was enchanted by the visual interest and the skill, as you could tell at a glance that he was doing something very busy.

However, this song, which is prepared with three verses, had a messy development with repeated singing failures, perhaps because it was too difficult for the first time. lol
Furthermore, to deal with the trouble of forgetting the sampler, it seems they did a makeshift fix by outputting the backing track from U-zhaan's PC, and there was a mishap where a LINE notification sound came through during the performance.

🦱 "Ah, I can't record this for the radio-" he laughed
*It is customary for a portion of this event to be broadcast later in a special program on J-WAVE, but I wonder... lol

However, with the enthusiasm of "We'll try it at double speed" (U-zhaan), they performed a high-speed version of "BUNKA" that was probably 1.25 times faster than the original.
...but they still stumbled www

This report has become nothing but nitpicking, but there were many mistakes that you wouldn't even notice if they didn't make fun of them in their MC or rap.
I even thought the LINE notification earlier was that kind of sampling. lol
Watching the gods at play was nothing but fun.

And for the finale, the organizer STUTS also appeared!
I'm embarrassed to say that despite going to so many festivals, this was my first time seeing his performance.
"This is my first time in my life trying an odd time signature!"
STUTS, who expressed his nervousness, started setting up his MPC player on the spot with the PA staff.
Even though he is the most important person over these two days, he is so humble even in his interactions with the staff!
How cute.
He is highly likely to be a charmer on par with U-zhaan.

What was unleashed from there was the song "Nya," which, according to the guy listening near me, was in 11/8 time (!!).
It was a strange odd time signature that was probably a first-time experience for me, yet it was groovy and fun.
Because the players are having fun, you just get carried away, I thought deeply.

While laughing out loud, the time that was laid-back but definitely groovy ended in the blink of an eye.
Just this one act made it a day where I found a future I want to promise, thinking I'm glad I came this year and I want to be able to come again next year.

My TOKYO M.A.P.S

Since this is a festival I've been attending for 15 years in a row, I'll make a playlist.
For today, I'll just set up today's portion, and once I add the past ones, I hope to introduce them as these music chronicles.
Please wait patiently!