Let’s step into the way-back machine and travel back to the autumn of 2009. I’ve been living in Japan for only a few months, out in the countryside outside of Osaka. Sometimes, for kicks, I’d just go to shows in the city randomly without knowing anything about the group’s playing. Although this resulted in seeing…
New year, same great feature. Here’s the first Music Alliance Pact post of 2013, and representing Japan this month is Tokyo’s OKLobby and their mesmerizing track “Fireworks.” Listen to it…and a whole bunch of other great songs from around the globe (Dragon Inn 3, nice!) below. Click the play button icon to listen to individual…
Neon Cloud Neon Cloud Neon Cloud Neon Cloud! Sorry for the excitement, but this is the first new output from the mysterious Tokyo project since 2011’s excellent (and only getting better with time) Knit EP. This isn’t quite an original work, but what Neon Cloud does to Brooklyn outfit Blue Foundation’s (really good on its…
One of the tougher parts of putting together a year-end feature – like our “favorite songs of 2012 lists” – is cutting it down. This means some really great stuff gets left outside…and last year, one of the toughest omissions to make was Tokyo murmur-pop dude Elen Never Sleeps, whose “My Aquamarine/Spinning Wheel” single featured…
I am usually hesitant of artists remixing J-Pop into another form for a handful of reasons. Usually, I’m happy with the original pop form of song in question, and don’t need a remix. I’m also put off by the idea – implied or sometimes directly stated – that J-Pop (and often just pop) is an…