Archive for the ‘NOKIES!’ Category

h1

Best of 2012: J-Rock Fridays Part II

January 18, 2013

The last batch of the best J-Rock videos of 2012, although hopefully not the last list of the year. We’ve been to many places this year and it’s time to revisit.

The Novembers- “Harem”

Starting off part II of the best J-Rock videos of 2012 is another “weird stuff happens in the woods” video! The Novembers’ follow a mysterious gypsy into the woods where she does a sword dance while they look on like Twilight vampires. Haunting!

Aureole- “Live Again”

I really do love these woods videos! This time a mysterious schoolgirl stumbles into the woods and finds a magic sword while Aureole plays their flute song behind a bed sheet. She will protect them from harm.

matryoshka- “Monotonous Purgatory”

A beautiful animated video about a soul leaving its body that could have probably been expanded to a short film and submitted to certain film festivals. A wonderful treat for the 5 year album wait.

Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Aureole, Best of 2012, Hisashi Suto Gatali Acoustic Set, J-Rock Fridays, kindan no tasuketsu, Love Me Tender, matryoshka, nego, NOKIES!, oono yuuki, Pay Money To my Pain, sakanaction, The Novembers, uminote, Year End Lists | 1 Comment »

h1

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 87

December 28, 2012

The last J-Rock Fridays of 2012! Just because the year is ending doesn’t mean Japan has slowed down their music video production.

miila- “Santa Baby”

Is it too late for Christmas songs? Oh well, I was never in the holiday spirit to begin with. Not the cheeriest version of the song anyway. This cover is actually a couple of years old, but I’m glad miila (from Miila and the Geeks) got around to making a video for it.

Sawao Yamanaka- “Answer”

Can you believe Yamanaka’s on his third solo album already? Just like his other side project The Predators, I can’t differentiate “Answer” from a standard pillows track. That’s great if you’re a fan of the pillows, but I would like to see him do something different for a change. This is his chance to do something new and he blew it again.

DOLLS$BOXX- “Loud Twin Stars”

DOLL$BOXX is Fuki from Light Bringer and all of the gals from Gacharic Spin. Although their other single and individual projects lean towards girly pop rock, Gacharic Spin’s keyboardist spends half of “Loud Twin Stars” screaming and it’s awesome.

Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Dir en grey, DOLL$BOXX, J-Rock Fridays, kindan no tasuketsu, miila and the geeks, NOKIES!, Pirates Canoe, Sawao Yamanaka, SEVENTEEN AGAiN, Skall Headz, the cabs, The Crater, The Girl, the pillows | Leave a Comment »

h1

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 85

November 30, 2012

Raining down a new bunch of J-Rock videos. Just FYI, this is the time of year my part-time job becomes a full-time crap fest so don’t be too worried if I disappear for a while!

Shugo Tokumaru- “Decorate”

Finally! P-Vine has been region blocking this video for months, but now we have a viewable upload thanks to Polyvinyl announcing they’ll be releasing Shugo Tokumaru’s new album In Focus? in the states in January. “Decorate” continues what Tokumaru does best, bedroom pop with a mix of childlike wonder.

Magdala- “Memories”

If you’ve been missing mutyumu, hatis noit has a new project with Aureole frontman Daichi Mori. She drops the operatic voice for Magdala, substituting her universally beautiful voice. Sure I miss the random screaming in the background but this is pretty too.

LOST- “Christmas Eve (English Version)”

It’s Christmas time, again, and LOST recorded a non screamy cover of Tatsuro Yamashita’s “Christmas Eve.” You can find it on Santa Causes: It’s A Pop Rock Christmas, which I can only hope is a continuation of this awesome CD,  with a bunch of other mostly Japanese artists.

Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in itsue, J-Rock Fridays, LOST, Magdala, NINGEN OK, NOKIES!, Plastic Tree, Quattro, SEVENTEEN AGAiN, Shugo Tokumaru, sonodaband, sounddrug, The Paellas, Tricot | Leave a Comment »

h1

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 78

August 24, 2012

The heat wave is back!

Aniss & Lacanca- “Aniss & Lacanca’s Theme”

Aniss & Lacanca is the side project of two of the prettiest singers in Japan, mmm and Mai Mishio from Uzumibi. “Aniss & Lacanca’s Theme” is a bit more cheery than their individual projects with the enthusiasm of a Broadway musical. It’s nice to see them goofy for a change dancing on a hillock with smiles so wide you can fit that windmill in their mouths. Click here for the more rocking “You’re Cool.”

Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in 99RadioService, Aniss & Lacanca, another sunnyday, Asshole Unite, cellzcellar, J-Rock Fridays, Liquid, NOKIES!, ONE OK ROCK, Quruli, shuly to 104kz, The Mirraz, Z | Leave a Comment »

h1

NOKIES!

March 7, 2012

myspace band of the week

NOKIES! is a young indie band from the Kansai region. Yusuke Kume (vocals, guitar), Kotaro Matsumoto (bass), Yu Sugano (guitar) and Atsuya Kose (drums) met at college and decided to mold their passion for music into a band. Osaka based record store Flake Records signed NOKIES! last year, the first Japanese band for the label. NOKIES! is known for their guitar charged dance riffs and pop song melodies and is often compared to bands like Vampire Weekend and The Strokes.

Flake Records released an EP and a 7″ last year from the band. NOKIES! will be playing at SXSW this year for Japan Nite and the Japan Nite tour.

http://www.myspace.com/nokiestheband

Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in myspace band of the week, NOKIES! | Leave a Comment »