Welcome back! We are back from sorta vacation, and kick off 2013 with a new song from one of our favorite musical outfits going in Japan right now, Kyoto’s Hotel Mexico. They released a new single, called “A.I. In Dreams,” near the end of December, but the official recording can’t be found online at the…
“Parade” is a perfectly pleasant pop song, young singer YeYe handling her vocals well over the peppy music, the sort of thing that could be easily rejiggered into the backing sounds of a Broadway musical. It’s good…but what makes it interesting (and, disclosure, gets it a post here) is the backing vocals. Few songs this…
If you happen to be in Tokyo Monday night (maybe some of you are, I don’t know!) and have no plans for Tuesday, which is a national holiday, you should go to this event at Unit. It features a lot of artists Make Believe Melodies, and should be lots of fun. Say hi to me!…
東京のTeen Runningsが去年発表されたLet’s Get Together Again.を発売します。 去年彼らがLPを発表した時は彼らはFriendsと名乗っておりTeen Runningsと改名してからの新たな発売となります。彼らの昨今の海外ブログでの人気を受けブルックリンのFriendsとの混同を避ける為の変名に至ったという経緯もある様です。新作には新曲もいくつか収録される様です。 そのリリースにあたりTeen Runningsは8月8日にMake It Better.のビデオをリリースしました。このビデオはVideoTapeMusicによって制作されており80年代の映像のマッシュアップのミュージックビデオになっています。 80年代の映像を再構築してのミュージックビデオは決して見新しい物ではありませんが、VideoTapeMusicはこの古い手法で作られたビデオを新鮮に見せる事に成功しています。このビデオのリンクは以下から。
今週日本のインディー界において大きな話題だったのはジャスティン・ビーバーでしたね。大阪のCloudy Buseyが曲をカナダのポップ・スターに歌わせたいと言ったのが発端で、今度はGive Me Walletsがジャスティンのヒット曲、”Boyfriend”をカバーしたみたいです。以下から視聴できます。Give Me Walletsはジャスティン・ティンバーレイクのようなミニマリズムを取り除いて、よりコンプレックスに、より速いテンポで曲を仕上げました。ジャスティン・ビーバーみたいなハイトーンは一切目指さない独自性がこのカバーを素晴らしい物にしています。
If every artist has to have a “sakura song” – a single (usually) that comes out around the time the cherry blossoms bloom and EVERYTHING CHANGES (school graduation, company reshuffling) – might as well not make it suck. Most J-pop artists stick to tepid ballads for this season, so thank goodness we have Kyary Pamyu…
Bedroom-whizz Shugo Tokumaru has released his first glimpse of the follow-up to 2010’s Port Entropy in the form of new single “Decorate.” For those expecting his whimsical, toy-instrument heavy music to morph into something new by now, prepare to be let down because “Decorate” is another solid example of his playroom pop. Tokumaru’s usual assortment of bells, woodwinds and acoustic guitar dominates this song, and at one point he even works in the sound of an alarm clock ringing off. Also intact – the same sense of wonder the majority of Tokumaru’s tracks possess. Listen above. You can buy the single in stores now, and if you do, you also will get the chance to hear Tokumaru’s take on The Buggles’ MTV-launching “Video Killed The Radio Star.” I don’t know what the single version sounds like, but watch Shugo deliver a cutesy live cover below.
Boys Age’s proper debut album STILL hasn’t arrived in stores (that’s next week), yet the duo just keep on pumping out music. It remains their most intriguing aspect and the one that makes them so very hard to really sum up (though when they put out a best-of comp, it is vital). Well, that and…
What happens when you set a movement in motion, but end up not getting the most of it? Tokyo’s cero ushered in the current wave of laid-back, city-centric rock music thanks to “Summer Soul,” a song so potent it got them on SMAP X SMAP. But a bunch of other bands have passed them in…
One of the earliest pieces of music writing advice I received was…don’t dwell too much on album art. But let me just take a second to note how new Kyoto-based label NC4K has established a great visual sense so far into their existence, with a cartoony psychedelic element that I really hope they continue to…
Rarely do really good Japanese bands see albums released in the United States. So when one manages to get across the Pacific and sneak it’s way into select stores…get the new Shugo Tokumaru album in October people!…it really shouldn’t be ignored. Which is to say that Molice’s Catalystrock comes out in the States today. Heck,…
Geez time flies…already June, and that means the June Music Alliance Pact is out. Just in time for the summer we feature Okinawa’s StillSound this month. Check it out! Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the…
This week has seen some exciting news for Japanese music crossovers with the Western world. Today, Lady Gaga announced Hatsune Miku will be opening up some of her tour dates…great, cool, neat. But even if it isn’t headline-worthy, the news that Japanese electronic label Trekkie Trax teamed up with Finnish label/promoters Top Billin is pretty…