Archive for June, 2013

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J-Rock Archives: June 2013

June 30, 2013

6/05 1966Quartet- Help! Beatles Classics (Video)

6/05 Air Swell- The Art of Psycho (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 Buzz Mothers- Rizume and Blue (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 A Crow Is White- かいじゅうばくはつごっこ (Video)

6/05 a crowd of rebellion- Zygomycota (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 Brian the Sun- Non Sugar (CD Japan)

6/05 FEELFLIP- Touch the Monolith (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 FoZZtone- Reach to Mars (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 HaKU- Wonderland (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 Hinomari- Gold (CD Japan/Video 1,Video 2)

6/05 Jinn- For the Seeker (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 Kemuri- All For This! (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 Lite- Installation (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 Meg Zombies + Meg- Kiss or Bite/Save (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 Outrage- Spit (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 The Starbems- Sad Marathon With Vomiting Blood (CD Japan)

6/05 su-xing-cyu- Fyuchan (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 Takashi Fujii- She Is My New Town / I Just Want To Hold You (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 thatta- Boys Be Commercial! (CD Japan/Video)

6/05 VDX- Everything! Is! Going Forward! (CD Japan/Video 1, Video 2)

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 100

June 28, 2013

Did I really write 100 of these things? Thanks for sticking around these past four years and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

andymori- “Neverland”

In a few short months, andymori will be gone forever, so they might as well start pumping out those music videos now. “Neverland” is presented as a short film, and tells the story of adult size Peter Pan. While Captain Hook adjusts to the corporate life, Pan continues on his childish exploits even after losing the ability to fly. All it takes is a child to believe in him!

sakanaction- “Inori (Extended Mix)”

In case you’ve only been keeping up with sakanaction through their singles, they’ve been including one track over their past few albums that is much more dance than rock. “Inori” is from this year’s self titled album and is being released as an extended mix on vinyl. This may be a boring black and white video with the band standing around with their Macbooks, but I assure you this is one for the clubs!

Czecho No Republic- 「１人のワルツ」

Czecho No Republic heads to the country for the second video off their Tower Records exclusive single. They meet some llamas and ostriches but mostly sing and dance all happy like in the park.

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Posted in andymori, BiS, Champagne, Cold Name, Czecho No Republic, J-Rock Fridays, kindan no tasuketsu, Merpeoples, Nahavand, sakanaction, The Cigavettes, The Natsuyasumi Band, uminote, Urbangarde | 1 Comment »

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Puffyshoes

June 26, 2013

myspace band of the week

puffyshoes

Puffyshoes is a vintage pop rock duo from Tokyo. Formed in 2009, Usagi Hops (guitar, vocals) and Neko Meows (drums, vocals) began recording right away releasing CDs and tapes from Canada to Japan. Their first album Something Gold was released in 2010 by French label Social Alienation. In 2011 they played SXSW in Austin and released their second album Finally the Weekend in Japan that summer. The girls took a break soon after when Neko Meows announced she was pregnant. Their latest release is Spaceshit Volume 1, a zine + CD-R with one new song and 16 covers. Download their albums at Amazon MP3 and watch out for their new album later this year.

http://myspace.com/puffyshoesx/

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Mix Market

June 19, 2013

myspace band of the week

mixmarket

Mix Market is a female fronted punk rock band from Shinjuku. They formed in 1997 and the current lineup is Yutty (vocals), Kota (guitar), Daisuke Udagawa (guitar), Shinichi Tateno (bass) and Shunsuke Takayama (drums). They released their first two singles in 1999 and 2000 through K.O.G.A. Records, which received a lot of airplay on Japanese and Korean TV. Their first album Fuzzy Floor came out in 2001 and their second Treasure Land in 2003. A best of album was released in 2004 and the band went on a hiatus after their drummer and bassist departed that year.

Former Japanese MP3 music site JapanFiles.com gave Mix Market increased exposure in the US and the band started to play again with a new lineup in 2006. They released two albums in 2007 and 2010 from Elephant Music and returned to K.O.G.A. this year. Their new mini-album Whammy will be released in July. You can find their releases at CD Japan and Amazon MP3.
http://myspace.com/mixmarket07

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 99

June 14, 2013

Primetime 99. Only one more column until we hit triple digits!

Language- “Hikari”

It’s the end of the world and only two people are left alive! It’s easy to forget that this is a video about the undead apocalypse once the gorgeous vocals of “Hikari” fade in and the girl wanders off into rural Japan, but the lovers’ tragic fate is just as beautiful as everything before it.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra- “Diamond In Your Heart feat. Takeshi Hosomi”

Long-running Japanese ska band Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, who I just found out played Coachella a couple of months ago, has teamed up with the HIATUS’ Tekeshi Hosomi for their latest single. It’s the kind of positive song Hosomi used to sing back in Ellegarden, but with a with a lot of great horns in the background.

SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS and Shiina Ringo- “Koroshiya Kiki Ippatsu”

Two epic J-Rock collaborations in one week! Shiina Ringo is free to do as she pleases now that Tokyo Jihen is done and here she is jazzing it up with the SOIL&”PIMP” boys on a boat. Everyone’s an assassin and we might not make it to dinner in the captain’s quarters.

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Posted in Comeback My Daughters, Czecho No Republic, Hotel New Tokyo, J-Rock Fridays, Language, Passepied, ROTTENGRAFFTY, Scenarioart, Shichu Zukan, Shiina Ringo, SOIL&"PIMP"Sessions, Spangle call Lilli line, Tekeshi Hosomi, Tetsuko, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra | 1 Comment »

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a picture of her

June 12, 2013

myspace band of the week

apictureofher

A picture of her is a mostly instrumental post-rock group from Minamihoncho. Tono Shogo (guitar) and Kikuchi Hiroshi (bass) formed the band as a trio in 2004 and Tago Wataru (guitar) and Kameyama Yuzo (drums) joined in 2008. They released their first EP A Fanatic Socialist Looked Up At the Stars… a year later. Their first album titled C, was released in May and was mixed by Takaaki Mino from toe. It’s available at CD Japan and Amazon.

http://myspace.com/apictureofher

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GalapagosS

June 5, 2013

myspace band of the week

galapagoss

GalapagosS is a new wave/punk band from Tokyo. Formed in 2010, the trio includes Sharaku Kobayashi (vocals, guitar) and Shintaro (drums), who have played in metronome and FLOPPY together, and Gokimi. (bass). Although their get up is very similar to Polysics, their sound is more influenced by chiptune and video game music. The band is named after the Japanese term “Galápagos Syndrome,” which refers to a current phenomenon where Japanese people seem to be evolving inwards instead of being affected by globalization.

Their second album Run Like Fury will be released on July 3. The rest of their music is already available at CD Japan.

http://www.myspace.com/galapagoss
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