April / May Calendar - Ghost - US Tour

April 28-May 21
Ghost
US Tour

Tuesday, April 28 / The Independent - San Francisco, CA
Thursday, April 30 / Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
Friday, May 1 / The Crocodile - Seattle, WA
Saturday, May 2 / The Badlander - Missoula, MT
Monday, May 4 / 7th Street Entry at First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN
Tuesday, May 5 / Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
Wednesday, May 6 / The Crofoot (The Pike Room) - Pontiac, MI
Thursday, May 7 / Andy Warhol Museum - Pittsburgh, PA
Friday, May 8 / Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, May 9 / Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, May 10 / Velvet Lounge - Washington, DC
Monday, May 11 / Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC
Tuesday, May 12 / Grey Eagle Tavern & Music - Asheville, NC
Wednesday, May 13 / Tasty World - Athens, GA
Thursday, May 14 / Bottletree - Birmingham, AL
Friday, May 15 / One-Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA
Saturday, May 16 / The Mohawk - Austin, TX
Monday, May 18 / Hi Dive - Denver, CO
Tuesday, May 19 / Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM
Wednesday, May 20 / Hotel Congress - Tucson, AZ
Thursday, May 21 / Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA

Source: Rock of Japan

Yoshida Brothers

Calling the music of the Yoshida Brothers (Ryoichiro and Kenichi) "new age" would be selling it short, as would "world music" or any other sort of touchy-feely genre. Sure, it has many of the hallmarks of the otherwise vapid offerings the usual fare has to offer, like a focus on one instrument with very specific ethnic and cultural roots. In this case it's the three stringed shamisen. They are much more than a one trick pony, and their intense playing style sets them slightly apart from the usual light-handed folk scene.

While they do in fact play several tunes that would easily find a home in the patchouli scented section of your local music shop, the fact is that for every straight-up folk tune they play, there is another song that totally breaks out of those narrow confines. They often mix up the shamisen's percussive twang with a full band playing either down-tempo dance tunes or all out rock or even blues. Part of this may be due to their relatively young age. They started playing as children and have only recently broken thirty. On their most recent album Prism they even cover a Radiohead song. Whatever the case, their sound is decidedly modern, something those otherwise dismissive of music so obviously Japanese could listen to without worry.

That's not to say they are some sort of revolutionary force. They do ride a very user-friendly road, playing up the instrument's long folk history for all it's worth. They are first and foremost a traditional/folk duo. Much of their music is soothing and nostalgic, with only a few songs ramping up the tempo enough to get the toes tapping. Yet it's a formula that works. The duo has had much success over the years, providing music for a Wii commercial and even touring around the world. They are currently set to tour the US and Canada with no signs of slowing down.

BUY YOSHIDA BROTHERS RELEASES AT AMAZON and CDJAPAN

Rising




Official Site
MySpace

Albums:
Ibuki - 1999
Move - 2000
Soulful - 2002
Frontier - 2003
Yoshida Brothers - 2003
Renaissance - 2004
Yoshida Brothers II - 2004
Yoshida Brothers III - 2006
Hishou - 2007
Best of Yoshida Brothers - Tsugaru Shamisen - 2008
Prism - 2009

Kodo


Live


Live

May Calendar - Mono - New York Shows

May 8-9
Mono
New York Shows

May 08 - New York, NY - Society for Ethical Culture Concert Hall (SOLD OUT)
May 09 - New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge

Source: Website

Rejuvenated Half-Face

Formed in 2004, the short lived Rejuvenated Half Face threw in the towel soon after in 2008. With only a single album, Ccmmgr, released in that time, it's tough to know what might have been, but the crumbs they've left behind are nothing if not a promising sign.

Their natural post-rock elements are tempered by generally softer treatments and front woman Mai Karasawa's voice. She sings in a very clear and restrained tone, instead letting her breathing do most of the angry work. She seems to sing to the point of exhaustion, then letting her lungs shriek in more air. Her breathing/gasping adds tension and a sense of urgency. It's almost an instrument in and of itself. On "Relative Downer" especially, her high pitched and ragged intakes of breath are highlighted when all the other instruments stop, leaving Mai to do her best drowning victim impression, desperate for just one more taste of air before going under another wave of noise.

Much of their music is a bit like that of School Food Punishment or Mass of the Fermenting Dregs, with a heavy dose of some pretty arty progressive tendencies, maybe more like Zazen Boys (see "Herring Roe"). Yet they always manage to reel in their more out-there passages and bring the melodies back down to earth.

This is most obvious on "Antimony," an epic trip through bizarre and frenetic mash-ups of notes followed by some soaring vocal passages. Even more so on "Cucumber," the closing track on Ccmmgr. It's one song, but with many different ideas broken into several tracks. It's as if they wanted to pack up all their remaining material into one song, doing their best to mold it into a single cohesive whole, yet still making sure to keep it separated for some reason, at least cosmetically.

Sometimes it's best for everyone when a band puts everything they have into a single, precious package, quietly leaving it behind for future fans to discover and wonder about. Other times, one can only morn the loss of so much potential. In this case, it might be better if the world could at least get another chance with Rejuvenated Half-Face.

BUY REJUVENATED HALF-FACE RELEASES HERE

Cause and Effect



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Mai Karasawa - Vocal, Guitar
Yuki Abe - Guitar, Backing Vocal
Hiroshi Kishi - Bass, Backing Vocal
Hideyuki Sakamoto - Drums, Backing Vocal

Albums:
Ccmmgr - 2006

Boris

While most might think of Boris as a band of extremes, they are also a band of rather pure and simple work. "Loud" would be one facet of their sound. "Heavy" and "huge" a couple others. "Uncompromising, "unfashionable" and "unrelenting" even more. While they may be very experimental at times, they also limit themselves to a small pallet of sounds, sticking almost entirely to the traditional line up of guitars, drums and vocals.

While they occasionally fall into the stoner-rock sound, they are anything but dull and boring. Droning, yes, but at the same time their music is active and full of a sort of inevitable weight. Their album titles alone are a useful look into their sound: Amplifier Worship, Heavy Rocks, Dronevil, Megatone (with Merzbow!), Sun Baked Snow Cave (again, with Merzbow!), Pink. OK, that last one might be ironic. Anyway, think lots of lumbering guitar riffs, lumbering drums, etc etc.

But it's not all blissed-out guitar drone jams. Very far from it. Over the years their sound has slowly drifted into territory a bit more palatable to the hard rock masses. Their songs are more like songs and less like steaming rivers of slow-moving tar. Their latest album Smile ranges from all-out rockers to downright sentimental tunes. Of course there's also plenty of noise and obliterated instruments, but on the whole it's a solid, thundering, rock and roll album.

Statement


Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Takeshi - Vocals, Bass, Guitars
Wata - Guitars, Vocals
Atsuo Mizuno - Drums

Albums:
Absolutego (1996)
Amplifier Worship (1998)
Flood (2000)
Heavy Rocks (2002)
Akuma no Uta (2003)
Boris at Last: -Feedbacker- (2003)
The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked (2004)
Dronevil (2005)
Soundtrack from Film Mabuta no Ura (2005)
Pink (2005)
The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked 2 (2006)
The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked 3 (2006)
Vein (2006)
Smile (2008)

My Neighbor Satan


Heavy Friends


Pink

Japanator Radio 84

After a brief intermission, we're back with another on-time edition of Japanator Radio!

This week we've got new stuff from Exist Trace, old stuff from P-Model, Yoshida Brothers in the Artist Spotlight and a whole lot more. 

I don't even know why you're still reading this. Aren't those download links screaming loud enough?

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 84 AT JAPANATOR

RSS Feed

Random updates via Twitter.

Track-list and links after the jump!

00:00 OP: Shiina Ringo x Saito Neko - Gamble (Inst.) - Heisei Fuuzoku [BUY]  

01:00 Exist Trace - Hana no Sakanai Machi - Vanguard of the Muses [BUY from JapanFiles.com]
04:21 Yogurt Pooh - Aoi Munasawagi - Single [BUY from JapanFiles.com]
08:41 Discharming Man - The End - Dis is the Oar of Me [BUY]

11:45 Break: Tokyo Solisten - A Hard Days Night - Yesterday On Baroque ~ Lennon & McCartney ~ [BUY]

12:43 Akira Yamaoka - Love Me Do - iFuturelist
16:15 Megumi Hayashibara - Shuuketsu no Sono he ~AYANAMI ver. - Single [BUY]
21:33 Wada Hiroshi and Mahina Stars - Nakanaide - unknown [BUY]

25:25 Break: Tokyo Solisten - Help! - Yesterday On Baroque ~ Lennon & McCartney ~ [BUY]

Artist Spotlight: Yoshida Brothers
27:00 Yoshida Brothers - The National Anthem - Prism [BUY]
30:54 Yoshida Brothers - Storm - Yoshida Brothers [BUY]
35:12 Yoshida Brothers - Hujin - Prism [BUY]
38:30 Yoshida Brothers - Rising - Single [BUY]

41:58 Break: Tokyo Solisten - I Want to Hold Your Hand - Yesterday On Baroque ~ Lennon & McCartney ~ [BUY]

43:23 P-Model - Art Mania - In A Model Room [BUY]
46:26 Nobuo Uematsu - Crazy Motorcycle - Final Fantasy VII OST [BUY]
50:02 Yellow Magic Orchestra - La Femme Chinoise - Public Pressure [BUY]

55:45 ED: Shiina Ringo x Saito Neko - Sakuran (Terra ver.) (Inst.) - Heisei Fuuzoku [BUY]    

May Poll - Where Do You Buy Your Music?

This month's poll is a simple one. Where do you buy your Japanese music? Do you buy physical CDs and DVDs, or do you prefer digital downloads? Personally, I'm a liner-notes nerd, not to mention a huge fan of album art and design, so I need to have a physical object to go along with my music. I've picked up a few things from iTunes, but I shop at CDJapan for the vast majority of my music.

What about you? Feel free to mark a few different stores if you like to shop around, but I'm really just looking to see where you go most of the time. Oh, and if you don't see a store listed that you use a lot, then by all means share your links in the comments. I'd also love to hear any personal anecdotes you'd like to share about your experiences with any music outlets, both good and bad. Anything we should avoid at all costs? Had someone go above and beyond to help with an order? Let the world know. Thanks!

(And oh yeah, the poll is located at the top right-hand side of the blog.)

Otaku USA Magazine #12

Just now, just as I was about to start on this, I realized that it has officially been one year since I started writing for Otaku USA Magazine. What? It also turns out that with the June 2009 issue, Otaku USA itself is two years old. Sure, that probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans in your world, but to me it's pretty alright.

Anyway, the new issue is out, and it's also pretty alright. I've got an exclusive interview with the founder of Japan Nite, Audry Kimura. Did you know that the tour was eleven years old this year? I think it's safe to say that Audry is the hardest working woman in the already daunting business of bringing bands from Japan to the US.

I've also got a couple albums reviews: The VORC compilation Squarewave Surfers: memory of 8bit, and the incredible Moralist S.S. EP from Lillies and Remains.

But that's just the music section. There's also a massive feature on the new Street Fighter IV game, tons of film and anime coverage, way more manga stuff than you can handle, cosplay, toys, news...the list goes on and on for 128 pages. I'm sure you're sick of me saying it, but Otaku USA Magazine really is the best, most diverse and most open minded otaku-lifestyle magazine around. (Oh yeah, and also the only one around.) I really hope you check it out!

May Calendar - It Came From Japan - UK Tour

May 11-30
It Came From Japan
UK Tour

Featuring:

Natccu
16 Brighton, The Great Escape @ The Queen's Hotel (1-4pm; free sushi and beer)
17 London, It Came From Japan @ The Fly
23 Liverpool Sound City @ Bumper
29 London, The Dublin Castle
30 Brighton, Moshi Moshi open-air festival (with Levelload)

TOKYO PINSALOCKS
14 Bath, Moles Club (with Casiokids)
16 Brighton, The Great Escape @ The Queen's Hotel (1-4pm; free sushi and beer)
17 London, It Came From Japan @ The Fly
20 Liverpool Sound City @ Magnet

SKUNKRICE
16 Brighton, The Great Escape @ The Queen's Hotel (1-4pm; free sushi and beer)
17 London, It Came From Japan @ The Fly
18 London, The Dublin Castle
21 Liverpool Sound City @ Korova

REMAIN ON
11 London, The Dublin Castle
16 Brighton, The Great Escape @ The Queen's Hotel (1-4pm; free sushi and beer)
17 London, It Came From Japan @ The Fly
20 Liverpool Sound City @ Bumper

LEVELLOAD
23 London, Meat Raffle @ Catch
26 London, Old Blue Last (single launch party)
30 Brighton, Moshi Moshi open-air festival (with Natccu)

Source: MySpace

May Calendar - Melt-Banana - UK Tour

May 13-18
Melt Banana
UK Tour

13th May, Music Box, Manchester
14th May, The Adelphi, Hull
15th May, The Rainbow, Birmingham
16th May, ATP, Minehead
18th May, The Engine Room, Brighton

Source: MySpace

My Interview With Final Fantasy's Nobuo Uematsu for Japanator

A couple weeks ago, I had the great privilege to sit down, in the same room and at the same table and everything, with the amazing Nobuo Uematsu. Just in case that name is unfamiliar to you, you might at least know of his work writing almost all of the music for the Final Fantasy video game series.

The live show Distant Worlds, a night of orchestrated Final Fantasy favorites, is currently on tour. I saw them at their first stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota and had the chance to interview both Uematsu-san and conductor Arnie Roth before the performance. You can read the entire interview over at Japanator. You can get my review of the show there as well.

It's not often that we get to meet those people who have so strongly affected our lives from afar. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to talk with Uematsu-san and everyone else involved with the Distant Worlds production. My sincere thanks to them all.

May Calendar - 100% Genki - UK Tour

May 15-22
100% Genki UK Tour

Featuring:
De De Mouse, 80kidz, Riddim Saunter and Tucker

Friday 15th May
Brighton
The Great Escape
various

Saturday 16th May
Brighton
The Great Escape
various

Sunday 17th May
Manchester
Futuresonic festival
Night & Day

Tuesday 19th May
London
Strummerville party
Under The Westway, W.London

Thursday 21st May
London
Stag & Dagger festival
The Queen of Hoxton, E.London

Friday 22nd May
Liverpool
Liverpool Sound City
tbc

Source: New Music From Japan (Check link for specific line-ups)

May Calendar - Kizuki Minami - New York Show

May 3rd
Kizuki Minami

with Teletextile, Pwrfl Power and Lucinda Black Bear

The Studio @ Webster Hall
125 E 11th St, New York, NY 10003

Source: Superglorious

Japanator Radio 83

Free as free can get, it's time for another Japantor Radio!

This week, new music from Hangry and Angry, some very old music from Kouta Katsutaro, a little Pop Chocolat and Shugo Tokumaru in the Artist Spotlight.

Pick a link, any link!

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 83 AT JAPANATOR

RSS Feed

Random updates via Twitter.

Track-list and links after the jump!

00:00 OP: Shiina Ringo x Saito Neko - Gamble (Inst.) - Heisei Fuuzoku [BUY]   

01:04 Fuji Fabric - Sugar!! - Single [BUY]
05:11 Sloth Loves Chunks - Loveless Ideals - Shikakui Vision [BUY]
09:14 Pop Chocolat - Hikouki - Niji Falsetto [BUY]

13:05 Break: DJ Deckstream - Georgy Porgy - Music Castle [BUY]

14:17 Kouta Katsutaro - Shima no Musume - Single
17:22 Susumu Hirasawa - Lounge - Paprika OST [BUY]
21:50 Buffalo Daughter - Discotheque Du Paradia - A Long Life Story of Miss Cro-magnon [BUY]

28:37 Break: DJ Deckstream - Georgy Porgy - Music Castle [BUY]

Artist Spotlight: Shugo Tokumaru
29:42 Shugo Tokumaru - Rum Hee - Rum Hee Single [BUY]
33:23 Shugo Tokumaru - Mist - L.S.T. [BUY]
36:47 Shugo Tokumaru - Typwriter - Night Piece [BUY]
40:10 Shugo Tokumaru - Parachute (Alt. Version) - Rum Hee Single [BUY]

43:01 Break: DJ Deckstream - Georgy Porgy - Music Castle [BUY]

44:05 Hangry and Angry - Sadistic Dance - Single [BUY at JapanFiles.com]
47:43 Ayumi Hamasaki - Next Level [BUY]
52:04 Malice Mizer - Kyomu no Naka de no Yuugi - Single [BUY]

58:38 ED: Shiina Ringo x Saito Neko - Sakuran (Terra ver.) (Inst.) - Heisei Fuuzoku [BUY]   

Japanator Radio 82

Hi! How are you? I am fine, think you. Please take this Japan Radio as a token of my gratitude.

This week, music from Vamps, Hangry and Angry and Koenjihyakkei, with a bit of Gutevolk in the Artist Spotlight and, actually, a lot more than just that. It is nothing if not eclectic. 

Please to be downloading the show immediately, so as to assure maximum freshness and good feelings. 

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 82 AT JAPANATOR!

RSS Feed

Random updates via Twitter.

Track-list and links after the jump!

 

00:00 OP: Shiina Ringo x Saito Neko - Gamble (Inst.) - Heisei Fuuzoku [BUY]   

0:01:04 Vamps - I Gotta Kick Start Now - Single [BUY]
0:05:29 Ogre You Asshole - Ties - Pinhole (Single) [BUY]
0:12:23 Supercar - Seven Front - Sunday People (Single) [BUY]

0:15:54 Break - DJ Deckstream - Tom's Diner - Music Castle [BUY]

0:16:43 Coaltar of the Deepers - Shed - Bear EP [BUY]
0:21:19 Koenjihyakkei - Angherr Shisspa - Angherr Shisspa [BUY]
0:27:51 Metalucifer - Heavy Metal Hunter Pt. 1 - Heavy Metal Hunter [BUY]

0:32:42 Break - DJ Deckstream - Sweet Child O Mine - Music Castle [BUY]

Artist Spotlight - Gutevolk
0:33:46 Gutevolk - The Door to Everywhere - Tiny People Singing Over the Rainbow [BUY]
0:37:55 Gutevolk - Kikyu no Notte - Suomi [BUY]
0:42:49 Gutevolk - Horizonto - Suomi [BUY]
0:45:10 Gutevolk - Dream Walker - Tiny People Singing Over the Rainbow [BUY]

0:50:43 Break - DJ Deckstream - I Like Chopin - Music Castle [BUY]

0:51:53 Hangry and Angry - Angelia - Kill Me Kiss Me (Single) [BUY at JapanFiles.com]
0:56:18 M.O.V.E. - Dive into Stream - Humanizer [BUY]
1:01:01 De De Mouse - Last Boy Dance - Sunset Girls [BUY]

1:06:56 ED: Shiina Ringo x Saito Neko - Sakuran (Terra ver.) (Inst.) - Heisei Fuuzoku [BUY]  

May 09 Calendar - Yoshida Brothers - US/Canada Tour

May 8-23
Yoshida Brothers
US and Canada Tour

5/8 LA, CA @ El Rey Theatre
5/9 San Diego, CA @ Anthology
5/12 SF, CA @ Yoshi's SF
5/13 SF, CA @ Yoshi's SF
5/14 SF, CA @ Yoshi's SF
5/15 SF, CA @ Yoshi's SF
5/16 SF, CA @ Yoshi's SF
5/19 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
5/20 Seattle, WA @ Triple Door, 2 shows: 7PM (All Ages) / 9:30PM (21+)
5/22 Victoria, BC (CANADA) @ Alix Goolden Performance Hall
5/23 Vancouver, BC (CANADA) @ Vogue Theatre

Source: Domo.com

Japan Nite Review/Photo Blitz on Japanator

Actor, photographer and, most importantly, Japantor reader Ace0fClub5 went to the Japan Nite gig in LA a while back. He came back battered, sweaty and with a fist full of amazing photographs like the one above. That's Omodaka helping out singer Akiko Kanazawa.

You can check out his full review, along with tons of up close and personal photos here. You can check out a few extra Japan Nite photos, as well as Ace0fClub5's larger photo collection here.

July/August Calendar - Vamps - US Tour

July 11 - August 1
Vamps
US Tour

July 11th - Fillmore at Irving Plaza - New York, NY
July 12th - Warped Tour - Hartford, CT
July 14th - Warped Tour - Columbia, MD
July 16th - Sonar - Baltimore, MD
July 19th - Showbox at The Market - Seattle, WA
July 20th - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
July 25th - Grand Ballroom at the Regency Center - San Francisco, CA
July 27th - Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Las Vegas, NV
July 29th - Soma - San Diego, CA
August 1st - Wiltern Theater - Los Angeles, CA 90010

Source: MySpace

April Calendar - Otokage (音影) - US/EU Tour

April 4-16
Otokage
US/EU Tour

April 4th - Tekkoshocon - Pittsburgh, PA
April 5th - Cherry Blossom Festival - Philadelphia, PA

April 8 - Gibus - Paris
April 10 - P60 - Amsterdam
April 15 - Rohre - Stuttgart
April 16 - Pub Chez Paulette - Nancy

Source: Comments