MAISONdes

Overview

MAISONdes (pronounced "Maison de") is a Japanese musical project formed in 2021. Built on the concept of "songs of the residents of a six-and-a-half-tatami apartment somewhere," it changes both the singer and the songwriter with every release. Its only permanent member is the Manager (kanrinin). The project is best known for its 2021 single "Yowanehaki," featuring Asmi and Wanuka, and for providing all the theme songs of the second anime adaptation of Urusei Yatsura. All artwork is by illustrator Nakaki Pantz.

Career

The project was planned in 2020 without a fixed name. On January 25, 2021, a music video for the "Bedroom" version of "Hello/Hello" (room 101) was uploaded to Yama's YouTube channel under the name of an unidentified artist called MAISONdes, with vocals by Yama and writing by Nakimushi. The full version arrived on digital and streaming platforms on February 3 and was also featured in the first episode of 7-Eleven Japan's original net animation Rainbow Finder.

The fifth single, "Yowanehaki" (102), featuring vocals by Asmi and composition by Wanuka, was released on May 19, 2021. It took off on TikTok, topping Billboard Japan's TikTok Weekly Top 20 for four consecutive weeks and the TikTok HOT SONG Weekly Ranking for three straight wins, becoming one of the platform's most popular tracks in Japan that year and winning the Music Category of the 2021 TikTok Buzzword Awards. It reached No. 13 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and No. 14 on the Oricon Combined Singles Chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAJ for surpassing 100 million streams. In November 2021 the project released "Rally, Rally" (feat. Pii and Meiyo); that song, "Yowanehaki," and "Aiwon" (feat. Yuuri and Hashimero, released September 2024) have all been performed on THE FIRST TAKE.

In 2021 the project also made TV appearances: NHK General TV's Shibuya Note and more FES.2021 on October 9, TBS's CDTV Live! Live! on December 6, and TBS's CDTV Special! New Year's Premium Live 2021→2022 on December 31.

From 2022 to 2024, MAISONdes produced every opening and ending theme for the second anime adaptation of Urusei Yatsura (1978–1987): "Aiue" (373; feat. Minami and Sakuramoti) and "Tokyo Shandy Rendez-vous" (239; feat. Kaf and Tsumiki) for the first cour; "Love Trap Muchū" (333; feat. Asmi and Threee) and "Not Enough" (210; feat. Yama and Nito) for the second; "Lock-On" (609; feat. Hashimero and Megurimeguru) and "Sakura Blossom" (397; feat. 9Lana and Sakuramoti) for the third; and "By My Darling" (039; feat. Miki Maria and Nito) and "You Make Me Feel Spring" (430; feat. Ayuni D and Nito) for the final cour.

The first EP, Noisy Room, came out on March 15, 2023, featuring themes from the first two cours of the anime. On June 5, 2024, the compilation album Noisy Love Room – MAISONdes × Uruseiyatsura Complete Collection gathered all of the anime's themes. Other tie-ups include "Infinite" (888; feat. Sorane and Meiyo) for a Toyota Corolla commercial, "Wannabe" (322; feat. Hoshimachi Suisei and Sukuma) for the anime Trapezium (2024), "Popcorn!!" (1101; feat. Narumiya and Sasuke Haraguchi) for Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary, and "Bake no Kawa" (800; feat. Kobo Kanaeru, Kasane Teto, Giga and TeddyLoid) for the anime Gnosia (2025).

In 2024, MAISONdes moved from Mastersix Foundation to Echoes, a newly established label and management company. The following year, Echoes and Weekly Shōnen Sunday announced a partnership to launch a sub-unit project, Nichimezo (日曜日のメゾンデ, Nichiyōbi no Mezonde), created for the magazine's 66th anniversary. It contributes songs based on manga from Weekly Shōnen Sunday and the webcomic platform Sunday Webry, with Rei, a former member of Tuyu, as its fixed vocalist. Its debut single, "Modoki Step," was released on March 19, based on the Sunday Webry manga Nisemono Kyōkai and composed by Masadara.

Live performances include MAISONdes Live #1 (2023), Live #2 (2024), Live Room to Room (2025) and Live #3 (2026). The project also runs the remix series "Re:MAISONdes" and the cover series "Dig:MAISONdes."

Musical Style

The name comes from the French "maison des," meaning "the house of..."; musician and Vocaloid producer WhaleDontSleep advised on the title and its formatting. The "six-and-a-half-tatami apartment somewhere" concept comes from a lyric in Yama's song "Haru o Tsugeru": "shin'ya Tōkyō no roku-jō han" (a 6.5-tatami room in late-night Tokyo). Each song is assigned a room number and is created and performed by different songwriters and singers, mostly teenagers and young adults, who act as the apartment's residents. The lyrics generally express the loneliness and gloominess of young people in a small city room. The Manager, who recruits musicians as new "residents," describes the genre as "6.5-tatami pop," an update of the 1970s "4.5-tatami folk." The music videos are animated and begin with a door opening, and lyric videos are produced by maxilla and THINGS.