One of the biggest highlights of the recentCrunchyroll Expoanime festival in San Jose wasn’t on paper or celluloid. It was Atarashii Gakko, a unique and eclectic Japanese quartet. For an hour, the foursome of Suzuka, Mizyu, Kanon and Rin performed a wildly entertaining show composed of breakneck choreography set to its rambunctious mix of hip-hop, punk, cabaret jazz and retro Japanese pop.
Speaking via translator on a video call, AG member Mizyu said the group’s music references Showa-era kayōkyoku pop but maintains it is genre-fluid. “We’re also rock and hip-hop,” Mizyu said. “Those types of music get people pumped up. It’s in our blood.”
The group are ideal youth ambassadors of modern Japan. Roughly translated as “new school leaders,” Atarashii Gakko formed in 2015, its members hailing from Tokyo, Saitama, Osaka and Gunma. Their costumes reference the country’s rigid conformity, but their eruptive music, original dance moves and individual personalities are anything but. They’ve recorded helpful cultural videos (“Seishun Academy”) explaining Japanese school life, taking the subway, New Year’s traditions, temples and bento boxes in their own inimitable style.
Their hyperkinetic videos caught the eye and ear of88rising, the arbiters of all things Asian and cool. Together, they released catchy singles like“Nainainai”and “Woo! Go!” whichwas featured in a Japanese Nike ad. Arecent YouTube videotidily sums up what gets repeat plays on the AG karaoke machine: TLC’s “No Scrubs,” Momoe Yamaguchi’s late 1970s hit “Playback Part 2,” Mariya Takeuchi’s enduring City Pop smash “Plastic Love,” Kiss’ “I Was Made For Loving You,” and an EDM remix of their latest single, “Pineapple Kryptonite.” Each member dresses up in the corresponding era’s finery to belt out their song.
“Our music doesn’t fit into a genre, it becomes ‘AG Stylem,’ ” said Suzuka. “We like everything and feed everything into our music. The four of us each pick what we like and create our own style.”
When asked about influences, band members pointed to Beastie Boys, a group that also channeled multiple influences into a swirling, head-bobbing/banging stew. In concert, AG runs a similar onstage weave that Beastie Boys used to. AG has covered “Intergalactic” and recently collaborated with Beastie Boys keyboardist Money Mark on “Free Your Mind” and “Pineapple Kryptonite.”
“Working with Money Mark in L.A. manifested our artistic vision fully,” Suzuka said. “We want to bring that vision back to Japan and perform it live, so that the audience in Japan can see it. It doesn’t quite fit in J-pop or anything that they’ve seen.”
Said Mizyu: “And that’s good because maybe this is the beginning of a new genre, opening up the Japanese audience to something new, something bigger. That’s what we’re hoping will happen.”
Atarashii Gakko made its Northern California debut at an anime festival, which, given their tailored costumes, felt copacetic (“We look like we leaped out of an anime,” said Suzuka). But once they entered the stage — Suzuka and Mizyu on the shoulders of Kanon and Rin, no less — it was unlike anything fans had seen on the small screen. For the next hour, minds were blown as the quartet breathlessly moved like an eight-legged groove machine. A packed crowd of Japanophiles cheered them on. Anime festival conquered, it’s on to the next episode.
“We want to do everything that we can until all of our energy is depleted,” Suzuka said. “We want to go beyond what we think is possible.”
Atarashii Gakko:8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17. $20-$25. Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell St., S.F.www.gamh.com