Ongaku Cafe (The ’90s): H-Jungle with T – Wow War Tonight Remixed (May 1995)

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1. Wow War Tonight – 2 Million Mix (Album Version)
2. Wow War Tonight – Club Mix
3. Wow War Tonight – H Jungle Mix
4. Wow War Tonight – Ragga Mix
5. Wow War Tonight – Metropolis Mix
6. Wow War Tonight – MJ Dub

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Back on December 1994, popular musician/producer TK (Komuro Tetsuya) had generated #1 hits with trf (back then known with all underscore letters) and Shinohara Ryoko.  With Shinohara as the guest on “Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ” hosted by Downtown.

Downtown’s Hamada Masatoshi joked with Komuro Tetsuya about how he can make hit songs that sell a million copies. Hamada asked if TK could make a song and make it a hit?

Hamada was known as a comedian, not a good singer and looked at more at being a TV host at the time.

And by January 1995, Hamada Masatoshi (aka Hama-chan) and TK would create the song “WOW WAR TONIGHT ~Toki ni wa Okoseyo Movement” and he actually delayed a release for trf’s new song “Overnight Sensation: Jidai wa Anata ni Yudaneteru” for Hamada’s song which would be released as a single on March 15, 1995.

By then, TK was a busy man creating hit songs for Amuro Namie, Uchida Yuki, then girlfriend Kahala Tomomi, hitomi and his new unit globe.

The weird thing about the song is that when Hamada asked, he just thought TK would just make the music but the two would create the hit song “WOW WAR TONIGHT ~Toki ni wa Okoseyo Movement” and their unit would be known as H-Jungle with T.

It would usher in the TK Era and also the dominance of the TK Family.

According to both men, it took about an hour and a half to record the song and a week to produce.

Komuro proposed for a “2 Million Mix” for the single and the pre-orders were originally set for 300,000 copies to be pressed but it was increased to 1 million and then later 2 million copies.  Easily selling more copies than Downtown had ever done, especially as the Geisha Girls (their collaboration with Towa Tei) for “Kick & Loud”.

Hamada remembered going to the store to purchase “Pinocchio” for his four-year-old son (musician Hamada Okamoto) and all the clerks were saw Hamada and when he asked if the CD was selling, they told him, the single is at first place. The fact that the song became a #1 hit still hasn’t hit him just yet.

So popular the song, it was the ending song for TK DANCE CAMP, the predecessor to a-nation, which featured avex talent, who were primarily from the TK family.

As for the “Wow War Tonight Remix” CD, it’s an EP that contains the 2 Million Mix and H Jungle Mix from the original single. But included is the club version, dub step version (which is more jungle) and for the most part, the mixes are good but just don’t go with Hamachan’s voice.

With that being said, the 2 Million Mix and the MJ Dub are my favorites.

The EP comes with a paper bag style of album insert with lyrics and it also comes with an H-Jungle with T sticker.

Overall, the singles success was no doubt one of the more fascinating situations to see happen with Japanese pop culture.

Online forums at the time was supportive of TK and his presence in the industry, while others saw it as a cash cow and others felt Japanese had bad taste in music.

For me, to see a super busy musician/producer take a comedian who can’t really sing but make him have hit songs which sold a lot of copies and made a lot of money was a grand experiment.

But considering what TK was able to accomplish, you can’t help but be impressed.

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