Controlled Karaoke: An Intro To Japanese Roots Music
Japan Probe posted a small write-up about Japanese roots music. It’s a nice little introduction to the type of music (one I’m woefully ignorant of, so this is especially great), so give it a read.
Japan Probe posted a small write-up about Japanese roots music. It’s a nice little introduction to the type of music (one I’m woefully ignorant of, so this is especially great), so give it a read.
CNN recently interviewed Yasushi Akimoto, the guy who came up with the AKB48 concept and basically ruined everything. They just put up a transcript of the interview in English, which is worth reading. The biggest reveal of this chat is that Akimoto loves cliche comparisons – AKB48 is like “cheerleading or lacrosse” (huh?) unless it…
The months just keep passing and the summer draws even closer. Let’s check in with Japan’s premier summer festivals to see what’s up. – The big new update on the Summer Sonic front would be reunited indie-gods Pavement getting a slot. They already dazzled Tokyo and (especially) Osaka once before, so if you missed out…
A few new songs appeared online over the weekend, from a pair of rising producers in Japan, so let’s make a little space for them, shall we? – As mentioned before, Madegg is set to drop an album, New, in early November. He’s shared a song from that collection recently called “Dragon,” which you can…
If I have one huge glaring weakness when it comes to covering Japanese music and pop culture, it’s the fact I don’t watch much anime. I’d like to blame this on a lack of time, but that would be a lie — I managed to watch Paddington for the second time ever last night. I…
The few songs Japanese project Swamp Sounds has shared online…well, let’s say whoever is behind it chose an accurate name. These tracks are oftentimes damp, distorted guitar and harsh bass constricting on songs such as the especially tight (in terms of noise, it is actually quite jumbled sonically) “Kontra” (below). Yet the key to Swamp…
The amount of music Yunomi is putting out…whether as Yunomi or alongside a different project, such as idol unit Happy Kuru Kuru…is reaching pretty prolific figures. “Natsu No Hi No Labyrinth” is the latest dash of colorful electro-pop anchored by lithe female vocals, jumping between zippy passages and brief pauses that up the drama significantly….