Androp is a Japanese rock band formed around frontman Takahiro Uchisawa. Their name, intended to be ambiguous and meaningless, is a portmanteau of the words “and” and “drop.” But there is nothing ambiguous about the group’s music. Rather, they create meticulous, calculated sounds with an emphasis on artistic music videos and performances that have won over wide ranges of fans.
Their calculated style extends even to the naming of their albums, a plot 6 year in the making: the first letter of their past 6 albums spells out the band’s name (anew, note, door, relight, one and zero, period).
a still from their latest music video projected onto flowers and livestreamed on the internet
In creating their artistic and widely shared music videos, androp are frequent collaborators with the Tokyo and NY-based creative agency PARTY. Their latest track, which is out today, is called hana (flower, in Japanese) and is projected onto flowers. It’s an ethereal, limited-time music video that will last only until the flowers wilt.
The track is included in the group’s first best-of album that’s this month and is itself a nod to androp’s past. “Hana is a very old song I created 9 years ago,” says Uchisawa. “The message of the song to ‘do what you believe in despite all odds’ is a feeling that has not changed over the years, and in fact is resonating with us stronger as we’ve grown older.” By creating the limited-time music video with a lifespan that’s only as long as the flowers they’re projected on, the band has created a poetic message on the passing of time.
Check out some of their older track below too: Bright Siren from 2011 and Boohoo from 2012.
Bright Siren, also directed by PARTY, utilizes an animated strobe effect by programming 250 Canon EOS 60Ds to flash like synchronized pixels.
Like what you hear? You can find more of their music on YouTube. androp is also on Twitter and Instagram. And be sure to check out our other Music Monday picks.
