The end of winter signals the approach of one of the most important two-week stretches on the Japanese calendar. Spring equals cherry blossoms, and with the blooming of these white-pink beauties means an opportunity people to drink beneath the petals and get nostalgic about yesteryear, friends and colleagues now lost to the march of time….
30. Michiyo Honda “Paradise Lost” J-Pop remains an easy punching bag in 2011 because most of the criticism lobbed at Japanese mainstream music ring true. A large chunk of acts crowding the upper reaches of the Oricon chart are 90’s holdovers with appropriately bland tunes. Labels seem to be in an arms race to see…
Erectricmole aren’t just writing songs, they’re creating entire worlds. Houka No Hirune, the young group’s recent debut for the fledgling Flawless World imprint, takes the idea of electro-pop being loud techno-leaning feet movers and inverts it, turning the synths inward to create intimate sonic worlds. Erectricmole give their creations plenty of color and life, beats…