j pop

In a downtown Manhattan studio, three impossibly petite women stand at attention, their hands shifting in a series of minute gestures as their high-gloss hair sways smoothly. The scene is an impromptu dance demonstration from Kashiyuka, Nocchi, and A-Chan of Perfume—the beloved J-pop trio, in town to promote their fifth studio album—and the hypnotically harmonized twists and turns draw awestruck whispers, as they have now for thirteen years.

“There’s a beauty in the synchronization that just gives you goose bumps,” Nocchi says of the band’s trademark movement, devised years ago by choreographer Mikiko Mizuno and one secret to their enduring appeal. “Actually, it’s nowhere near perfection . . . yet,” A-Chan adds, in playful deadpan. Given the otherworldly way they bob and weave in time, one envisions hours of painstaking rehearsal, but instead, each song takes just two to three hours to learn, followed by individual at-home practice. “In the morning I go to wash my face, and I’ll do the moves once,” A-Chan explains, pantomiming rapid wrist twists and flicks. “I go on the train, watch myself in the window, do it again in the department store mirror, again and again, until I get it.”

Small wonder that the group has maintained such longevity, with new releases debuting near the top of the charts and a few exciting projects coming down the pipeline, poised to thrust them into the international spotlight. Adding to the spellbinding effect is the fact that their shining lengths have not changed style once in more than 10 years—one perm, one bob, one waist-length curtain with bangs, ever since they were in elementary school. “We’re past the stage of wanting to change it,” Kashiyuka explains. “Now, no matter what I wear, everybody recognizes me as Kashiyuka—and that’s great.” Call it the life-changing magic of a bona fide beauty signature—and one more reason we can't take our eyes off Perfume.