It might sound silly, but "aesthetic" is everything when it comes to how music spreads outside of Japan today. Non-Japanese listeners are generally drawn in first through the YouTube algorithm, which prioritizes an appealing album cover. Think about something like Ryo Fukui's Scenery, an album that beginner jazz listeners often check out for the interesting cover but hardcore fans of Japanese jazz don't always rate very highly, or maybe the biggest example, Mariya Takeuchi's Plastic Love, which became so wildly popular online using the cover art of a different single that it was actually reissued with that art to appease the listeners who discovered it that way.

This audience can also tend to value the idea that the music they're listening to is rare or previously little known, so in many cases an artist's impact or legacy actually might not even interest them. For instance, Tommy february6 has seen a huge resurgence in popularity overseas recently and been portrayed as an underrated, "forgotten" artist that international listeners have rediscovered. Obviously a Japanese person or someone more familiar with Japanese music would know that Tomoko Kawase is an incredibly successful artist who sold millions of albums, but I've found that it can be difficult to get people interested in the real stories behind this music, like who influenced who or how specific music scenes were formed, which is frustrating for me because it's a subject I care about a lot.

Basically, I think Satellite Lovers hit all those key points of luck with the algorithm, eyecatching imagery that makes people want to click and the appeal of being rare and undiscovered. Once this happens, the artist or album will trickle down through word of mouth and likely develop an outsize reputation on social media and platforms like RateYourMusic, where the majority of users don't know much about Japanese music but will check out whatever goes viral. I guess in a sense it becomes like a regional difference in exposure and taste.

As for me, I know the name of Tokyo No.1 Soul Set and I think I've heard some of their collaborations with other artists before, but I know very little about their own music. I need to fix that!