August 9th, 2010
Post your comments about our Kitaro Interview and let us know what you thought of him.
“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.
On July 22, 2010 Kitaro was kind enough to give an interview to J-Pop World. Kitaro Interview.
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August 2nd, 2010
Post your comments about our Ai Takekawa Interview and let us know what you thought of her.
“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.
On July 4, 2010 at the J-MELO fan meeting in London, Ai Takekawa was kind enough to give an interview to writer Spencer Lloyd Peet. Ai Takekawa Interview
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July 22nd, 2010
Post your comments about our STEREOPONY Interview and let us know what you thought of them.
“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.”
On June 16, 2010 the members of STEREOPONY were kind enough to give an interview to J-Pop World. STEREOPONY Interview.
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July 15th, 2010
Post your comments about our RAINASH Interview and let us know what you thought of them.
“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.
On July 7, 2010 the members of RAINASH were kind enough to give an interview to J-Pop World. RAINASH Interview.
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July 12th, 2010
Puffy AmiYumi: Yumi (left) and Ami (right)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. In addition to their ongoing Japan tour they will also be making stops in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
HONG KONG
Date: September 23, 2010
Time: 8pm
Place: Hall 5G, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Ticket price: HK$690/490/290
Contact: Bravo Entertainment
Tel: +852-8104-7355
TAIWAN
Date: September 25, 2010
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: TICC Taipei International Convention Center
Contact: Kuang Hong Arts Management
Tel: +886-(0)7-7809900
NEW YORK
“Far East To East Showcase (FETES)”
Date : October 10, 2010
Place : Irving Plaza, NY (adress : 17 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003)
TICKETS: $22 / tickets bought day of show will be $25
Information : Irving Plaza
Ticketmaster
Links:
Puffy’s MySpace page
Superglorious.com
J-Pop World News and Comments Homepage
J-Pop World Homepage
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July 12th, 2010
Yoshida BrothersThe masters of the shamisen are coming back to the US for a tour beginning in July. Check their official site for the latest info and be sure to check out our 2008 interview with this fabulous twosome.
7/30 OTAKON 2010
Baltimore Convention Center
1 West Pratt St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
8/3 (TUE) Highline Ballroom
Door Open 6PM / Show 8PM
431 W. 16th St.
New York, NY 10011
Ticket: $25 – $45
8/5 (THU) Regattabar
Door Open 7:30PM / Show 8PM
One Bennett St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Ticket: $22
8/7 (SAT) Old Town School Of Folk Music
Door Open 7:30PM / Show 8PM
4544 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
Ticket: $18 – $22
8/10, 11, 12 (TUE, WED, THU) Yoshi’s San Francisco
Door Open 7:15PM / Show 8PM
1330 Fillmore St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
Ticket: $28
8/14 (SAT) El Rey Theatre
Door Open 8PM / Show 9PM
5515 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Ticket: $38 – $58
Links:
Yoshida Brothers official site
J-Pop World News and Comments Homepage
J-Pop World Homepage
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June 18th, 2010
High and Mighty ColorA 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. Here’s hoping the band members have many more successful projects in their future.
Be sure to check out our 2009 interview with the band: High and Mighty Color Interview
Re: ache (8-11-2010)
Label/Distributor BM.3
1. Re:ache
2. night light parade
3. day dreaming
4. RED (LIVE Ver.)
Links:
High and Mighty Color official site
High and Mighty Color MySpace
J-Pop World News and Comments Homepage
J-Pop World Homepage
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June 18th, 2010
Temptation Box regular album coverEveryone’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.
Be sure to check out our 2009 interview with the girls: SCANDAL Interview
Temptation Box (8-11-2010)
Label/Distributor Sony Music Entertainment
Links:
SCANDAL official site
SCANDAL MySpace
J-Pop World News and Comments Homepage
J-Pop World Homepage
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June 9th, 2010
Post your comments about our Kazha Interview and let us know what you thought of them.
“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.
On June 3, 2010 the members of Kazha were kind enough to give an interview to J-Pop World. Kazha Interview.
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June 1st, 2010
Post your comments about our WEZ Interview and let us know what you thought of them.
“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!!”
On May 24, 2010 the members of WEZ were kind enough to give an interview to J-Pop World. WEZ Interview
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