The Trekkie Trax gang have been keeping busy, and thankfully they made sure “releasing new songs onto SoundCloud” remained one of the collective’s mission. Seimei & Taimei’s “Orion” is a fizzy dance track, one that swerves through several high-energy passages, but is always lithe. Listen below.
Kindan No Tasuketsu aren’t afraid to dig into their song catalog and keep exploring. “Twilight” has existed in other forms and versions before, but recently the group gave it a winter rework via a “Bell Rings Ver.),” which…well, adds a lot of bell sounds. The emotional core of the song remains intact, though, as does…
The short version: Well, this is fucked up in a really fun way. The long version: Wasabi Tapes is a new venture launched by the guy behind the Japanese music blog (and, if you can navigate the language, a blog Make Believe Melodies strongly recommends adding to your bookmarks) Hi-Hi Whoopee. The label deals in…
OGRE YOU ASSHOLE take note – here’s how you go about embracing soft rock. Shintaro Sakamoto, formerly of long-standing Koenji rock outfit Yura Yura Teikoku, doesn’t half-ass it or treat bongos and saxophones like hats at UNIQLO – dude gives himself over completely to those often maligned sounds, his silky-smooth croon snaking through the feather…
Roughness helps Evening Cinema stand out from the ever-smoothing Japanese rock crowd. Intentionally or not, the group’s harsh vocals add a sandpapered-edge to twinkling pop full of tight bass lines and sparkly keyboard notes. “Wagamama” shows this isn’t just a demo situation, but rather that the elements just not quite fitting — but coming close…
Foodman has transformed into one of those productive types of artists who I have no idea what to do with anymore. Albums and EPs, sure, write those up! But he also just puts out so many interesting, captivating and weird loosies, that this could turn into the Internet’s number-one destination for Foodman news if I…
It’s important to remember that a large part of the footwork community in Japan (and beyond…especially in Chicago, where it all came from) revolves around dancers. From my living room, it is easy to just focus on the music side, but whenever I go out to an event (even the ones that aren’t billed as…