Archive for September, 2009

Heday Interview Comments

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Post your comments about our Heday Interview and let us know what you thought of him.

“Though I enjoy classical music, I understand that it sometimes requires some training and knowledge to enjoy. To me, what the Beatles did was to digest complicated music into the simplest form, whether it was intentional or not. And that is what I’m trying to achieve.” – Heday

Trained in classical music, it was really the classic rock of groups like the Beatles that first formed the musical passions of the Japanese singer/songwriter Heday. From Shizuoka, Japan, Heday (aka Hidehito Ikumo) took the path of many hopeful Japanese musicians and journeyed to the far away shores of the US to pursue his musical dreams.

Heday has recently joined forces with the beautiful songbird Valerie Stern to form the group Layla Lane. Come take a listen to the music of this promising duo and learn the story of their upcoming debut album, how Heday ended up in Los Angeles and how he finally got to jam with the great Ringo Starr.

On September 4, 2009 Heday was kind enough to give an interview to J-Pop World. Heday Interview.

An Café New Album: BB Parallelworld

Saturday, September 5th, 2009


BB Parallelworld bonus album version

On the day of synchronicity 9-9-9 An Café will be releasing a new 11 track album.

BB Parallelworld (9-9-09)

Label/Distributor: Sony Music Entertainment

1. LET’S BRAND NEW WAVE
2. NATSUKOI NATSUGAME
3. ICHIGO
4. PASSION!!
5. NYAPPY IN THE PARALLEL WORLD
6. ALONE
7. AROMA
8. BUSHIDO TO IUWA SHINUKOTO TO MITSUKETARI
9. SUMMER DIVE -AMATORO PEACH BEACH-
10. MY HEART LEAPS FOR “C”
11. YOU

Where to buy
Order from CD Japan

Links
An Café official
An Café official MySpace

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Shink Interview Comments

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Post your comments about our Shink Interview and let us know what you thought of them.

“We coined the name so it has various meanings. We think the meaning of “sync” is the closest. We want to synchronize with various people through this band.” – Shink

If the vibrant fun and energy of their shows is any indication, it looks like the members of Shink will be “synchronizing” with a growing number of fans over the next few years. With Haruka on vocals, Kuro on guitar and Roku playing bass these three newcomers have released two singles and are working on their first full album.

So if its something new and refreshing you’re looking for, come take a look at the trio with the upbeat message: “‘Everything’s gonna be alright!’ should be recited many times when things get painful. It is possible to become positive if you can just persuade yourself.”

On August 29, 2009 the members of Shink were kind enough to give an interview to J-Pop World. Shink Interview

Manga Contest – Win $100 in music downloads from JapanFiles.com

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Got some skill at drawing manga or just want to give it a shot? Here’s your chance to have your creation appear at J-Pop World and win $100 in free music downloads from JapanFiles.com.

The Scenerio

You will be drawing a recreation of an incident the female rapper Ray-Law describes in her upcoming interview at J-Pop World. Here goes:

“One day when I was on the stage during a performance the Japanese Yakuza (Mafia) came to the club and made a fuss and got into a scuffle. As soon as my male rap partner and the Yakuza man started to fight, I jumped on the Yakuza man. I got punched as he said “Stay away! Ugly monkey girl!” Then it became a sloppy big melee. At the end I was furious and I said “You are the worst for beating on a woman! I’ll never forgive you!” I was so mischievous and feared nothing.”

The Specs

Your manga should be a single picture around 1000 px by 1000 px. It should look like its two pages in a manga publication. Remember, mangas are drawn so the reader reads from right to left, so the action starts in the upper right corner and moves to the left!

Here are some pics of Ray-Law to base her character on. The rest is up to you.

The Pay Off

The winning entry will appear in Ray-Law’s interview at J-Pop World, along with your credit, and that lucky winner will receive $100 in free music downloads from JapanFiles.com. All other entries deemed worthy will be posted at the contest page.

The Deadline

All entries must be in by midnight, September 20, 2009 (Sunday night). You can send them to either comments@j-popworld.com or to our MySpace page. Please put “manga contest” in the subject line along with the name you want in your credit plus any link you want to include.

Got it? Then ready… set… manga!!!!

Yumi Gets Minor Injury While Driving

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

For anyone who missed it Yumi injured herself while driving. Here is the info from Ami’s September 3rd, 2009 blog entry:

“Yumi-chan. Damaged her ribs. More than just a crack but less than a broken bone.

The reason is… While she was driving, she tried to reach for something in the backseat and hit her chest in the headrest. According to Yumi, “Ummm, I felt something was hurting but thought it was just my body going thru adolescent changes so I left it alone for a while. Then the pain didn’t disappear and I realized it wasn’t puberty (LOL) so I finally went to the hospital and I was told it’s cracked. How embarassing.”"

“If you wanna talk about embarassing, it’s the fact that she even thought the pain was puberty(LOL). But, She is totally happy like always so no need to worry. BTW, Ami is sensory sensitive.”

Here is the direct link to their MySpace blog on the subject: MySpace blog

Links:
Puffy official
Puffy MySpace

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Sweet Hollywaiians Interview Comments

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Post your comments about our Sweet Hollywaiians Interview and let us know what you thought of them.

“We bought vintage RCA ribbon microphones and instruments to prepare ourselves for recording. It took about 2 or 3 hours to complete the song. It was really fun like a party.” – Nobumasa Takada

It may be a long way from modern Japan to the Hawaiian music of the 1920s, but there is one group, the Sweet Hollywaiians, who have somehow managed to bring to life the essence of those comforting, laidback sounds. The Sweet Hollywaiians play a nostalgic form of music they describe as “authentic Hawaiian, swing, ragtime, blues, calypso, Italian music.” Composed of Tomotaka Matsui, Nobumasa Takada, Takashi Nakayama and Kouichi Tsutsumishita, they have just released their latest album, “Ticklin’ The Strings” and are making preparations for another tour of the US.

So whip up a few Mai Tais, grab that ukulele you keep in the closet, and come take a listen to the soothing sounds of the tropics — by way of Osaka — and discover which of the Sweet Hollywaiians has mastered that ever important art of climbing a coconut tree — Hawaiian style!

On August 23, 2009 Nobumasa Takada from Sweet Hollywaiians was kind enough to give an interview to J-Pop World. Sweet Hollywaiians Interview.