Punters heading off to Makuhari Messe this weekend for SonicMania — the all-night event preceding the annual Summer Sonic music festival — should try to arrive at the venue early to secure a prime spot for the evening's first act: pop trio Perfume.
Once Perfume steps off the Mountain Stage, rush over to the Sonic Stage to catch the tail end of French electronic act Madeon (real name: Hugo Leclercq) followed by American electro-popper Porter Robinson.
If you hear similarities in the sounds of all three acts then you've got one man to thank: Yasutaka Nakata. The maximalist sound producer has helped Perfume win thousands of fans over the past decade, and Leclercq and Robinson are among the growing number of overseas artists who cite Nakata as a big influence.