Music News

Puffy AmiYumi go to New York
It's been awhile but Puffy will be doing a show on October 10, 2010 at New York's Irving Plaza as part of the "Far East To East Showcase (FETES)" in the New York Anime Festival.

Read More - Posted 7-12-10

Yoshida Brothers 2010 Tour
The masters of the shamisen are coming back to the US for a tour beginning on July 30 at Otakon.

Read More - Posted 7-12-10

High and Mighty Color break up
A sad day for fans of High and Mighty Color as they've announce their intention to break up. They will be releasing a farewell single "Re: ache" on August 11 featuring the songs Re:ache, night light parade, day dreaming and a live version of RED.

Read More - Posted 6-18-10

New SCANDAL Album: Temptation Box
Everyone's favorite high school uniform wearing band is back with their second album, featuring 13 songs including Shunkan Sentimental, Taiyo to Kimi ga Egaku STORY and Namida no Regret.

Read More - Posted 6-18-10

J-Pop Ghost Story Contest
Got ghost stories? Here's your chance to get them out there as part of the promotional tie-in with the upcoming release of "Kai-Ki: Tales of Terror from Tokyo." Judges will include J-Pop idol and actress Erina Mano.

Read More - Posted 6-1-10

LOUDNESS New Album
The grandfathers of Japanese Heavy Metal are back with a new 14 track album entitled "King of Pain" on 5-19-2010.

Read More - Posted 5-20-10

New Vamps Album set for 7-7
Vamps will be releasing a new album on July 7th featuring the song "DEVIL SIDE". Limited edition includes a bonus DVD featuring music videos for their single and album songs.

Read More - Posted 5-13-10

L'Arc-en-Ciel release 4 CDs of their Greatest Hits: "Quadrinity"
Been putting off buying your L'Arc-en-Ciel CDs? Now's the time. On March 10 they will release four CDs, each containing songs picked by each band member.

Read More - Posted 2-5-10

Kumi Koda New Greatest Hits and New Album "Universe"
The pop star is serving up a double release of her third greatest hits album "BEST - third universe" featuring 16 hits and her eighth album "Universe" featuring 13 new songs.

Read More - Posted 1-15-10

Puffy's Yumi Yoshimura Got Married on New Year's Eve
Yumi started the new year with a new husband. She apparently broke up with her long term boyfriend Nao Omori in August and has been dating what is being described as a "29 year-old businessman" since September.

Read More - Posted 1-6-10

Want to be in an X Japan video? Yes you can.
The band will be filming four music videos in Hollywood, CA on January 9, 2010.

Read More - Posted 1-6-10

Kaela Kimura Greatest Hits Album: "5years"
Kaela's debut self-titled album was released on December 8, 2004. To celebrate she will be releasing her first greatest hits album with the apt name "5years" on February 3, 2010.

Read More - Posted 12-18-09

Namie Amuro: "Past < Future"
The new album by Namie Amuro features the songs My Love and Copy That.

Read More - Posted 12-17-09

Vistlip 1st Album: Theater
The Visual Kei band have released their first full album entitled "Theater - Visiter" (CD+DVD) and "Theater - lipper" (CD only).

Read More - Posted 12-9-09

Crunchyroll.com Contest
Win Cds and posters at this anime/music website featuring girugamesh, Hangry & Angry, mucc, VAMPS and vistlip.

Read More - Posted 12-8-09

KinKi Kids Are Back: "J album"
Everyone's favorite duo named for Japan’s Kansai aka "Kinky" region are back with a new eleven track album.

Read More - Posted 12-4-09

Yoko Nagayama Idol Box "Legend of Venus"
Singer, actress and Japanese idol Yoko Nagayama is celebrating her 25th Anniversary with an eleven CD and DVD release of her work.

Read More - Posted 11-30-09

News and Comments Archives
A list of our past Music News and Interviews in WordPress format. Great for looking up specific artists.

Latest Interviews

"For me, music is art and a way of life, but so much more. It's a mission. To learn more about how I understand life and life around me." - Kitaro

Legends in music are born from a burning desire to chart their own path. For Grammy and Golden Globe Award winning Kitaro, his path would lead him into the heart of the New Age music, yet go far beyond any such label. A true genius of composition, Kitaro's works have expanded into many genres, but at their core is a wondrous spiritual understanding for expressing the depth of human emotions.

His credits are vast, from his scores for the film "Heaven and Earth", his "Silk Road" series to more recent "Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai" series and his score to the upcoming film "442 - Live With Honor, Die With Dignity." There seems no end to his ability to fill our world with music that moves the heart.

"I want to know myself. I want to be someone who sees the world, and can see herself within the world. I also want to write for other people. I write songs in all different styles." - Ai Takekawa

Having the ability to compose songs in both English and Japanese has made Ai Takekawa globally accessible. Not only is she a talented singer-songwriter, she is also a "Music Discoverer" for the English-language Japanese pop show J-MELO, broadcast internationally on NHK WORLD. It is due to her involvement in the series that she has managed to make her vocation a vacation, and on July 2, 2010 she performed in Europe for the very first time at the Japan Expo in Paris, followed by the first ever J-MELO fan meeting in London two days later, which will air on September 13, 2010.

It's no wonder she's a natural at turning her life experiences into melodic songs, her father is none other than singer-songwriter Yukihide Takekawa who fronts the popular group Godiego, best known outside of Japan for writing and recording the opening and closing theme tune to the classic 1970s TV series Monkey (aka Monkey Magic/Saiyuki). For Ai, music is her life, and it's her gift to the world.

"It's very difficult to describe our own music, and we don't want people to think that we can only do certain things. We hope to challenge many things and create our own STEREOPONY sound." - STEREOPONY

From the first time we heard their debut song Hitohira No Hanabira we knew the group with the oh so cute name was something we wanted to hear more of. With the good fortune of having that song featured on the popular anime show BLEACH and the backing of Sony Music, these three gals from Okinawa have been able to craft a style of music full of emotion and pop.

So come learn the story of the group who says, "All of our lyrics are about our honest feelings, so we never tried to be positive or expressed positivity too much as that wasn't necessary what we were feeling."

"At first, we didn't think to release our works until we signed with a major company or label. But we got many comments and messages from our fans and friends asking us questions like "where can I buy your songs?" We decided that we'd produce our songs by ourselves and release them on iTunes." - tomo

The digital revolution in music has been both a blessing and a curse for musicians. For tomo and emi of the fledgling group RAINASH it has provided an international bridge for their fans to enjoy their music as the duo perfect their craft. First brought together while searching for other band members on a website, it only took one session together to realize they were a perfect match for each other.

With a musical style they describe as being both "heavy and dark" with an emphasize of maintaining a catchy pop flavor, we think these two are a duo to keep an eye on.

"Hideki is just really good at interplaying with my melodies. I was very impressed and actually cried when I listened to his work on Another Day." - Kazuha Oda

When the vocals of one artist flow perfectly with the sounds of the guitar, bass and drums of a band you have found something that no amount of corporate backing can create -- magic. We've heard a lot of that magic in songs like Close To You, I Still Remember and Another Day from the group Kazha. Composed of Kazuha Oda on vocals, Hideki Matsushige on guitar, Yota Sato on bass and Rui Aranai on drums, this new group released their first album "Overture" in 2010 and are currently touring the US.

With music that is both elegant and emotional, we think this new band may well be making some major waves in the near future.

"The mental conflict and passion of life are transformed into a song... and then the melody and music is made." - WEZ

Welcome to world of Emo & Screamo as the Kobe-based band WEZ plays it. Recently formed in 2008, they've landed their first song God knows on the Kobe compilation album "COMIN'KOBE'10" with hopes of promoting their own album "Cross their eyes" later this year.

Composed of Mutt on guitar and vocals, DON on bass and "w9d" on drums and screams this punk rock band rocks to the motto "I'm just screaming!!"

"I wanted to be a songwriter, and write songs for big name people, but as I encountered different problems, relating to race, gender, poverty, and life in general, I didn't find anyone out there who represented me to perform my songs and speak my lyrics." - Miwa Lyric

And so began a life's journey into the world of music, poetry and soul searching. Miwa Lyric, born in Los Angeles, has dealt with the issues of Japanese-Americans all her life. Profoundly affected by the works of Tupac Shakur, she took rap as the major instrument in her own self-expression.

So if you are in the mood for some gritty rap about life and death and everything in between (and have no problems with Parental Advisory stickers on your music) come learn the story of the rapper who says: "Light lip gloss, I wear flip flops, I don't crip walk but I'm still hip hop."

"This song is about girls falling in love. This is a wholly new song for me in a sense that the sound approach is different from songs I've performed before." - Yui Makino

That song would be Fuwa Fuwa♪ from Yui Makino's first single release on March 3, 2010. Fans of anime might best know Yui Makino for her voice acting on shows such as the "Tsubasa Chronicle" series and her singing theme songs for shows like "Soseino Aquarion". Gifted with a charming voice for both genres of entertainment, we think Yui Makino is a talent to keep an eye on as she more fully explores the solo musical side of her career.

In June she'll be returning to Paris to perform at the Japan Expo with additional shows being scheduled for Japan.