Tag - electronic-music

 
 

ELECTRONIC MUSIC

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 11, 2022
The Tokyo club scene's 'temple' may be gone, but the faith remains
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, the artists in Tokyo's club scene are turning to downsizing as a way to survive.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2019
Carl Stone: Plugging into the sounds of the changing city
A resident of Japan for 20 years, Carl Stone has established himself in the local electronic music scene, performing with domestic and visiting musicians
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2019
Aaamyyy whips up a synth-heavy soundscape for the year 2615
"Body," the much-anticipated debut album from music maker Amy Furuhara, aka Aaamyyy (stylized as AAAMYYY), opens with an instrumental of tumbling beats, skittering hi-hats, wonky nighttime synth and pitch-shifted samples of a Spanish monologue — the portal of sound aims to transport the listener to a world 596 years in the future.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 18, 2018
Japan and China: Forging ties in the electronic underground
WWWβ — a subterranean space under Shibuya's WWW and WWWX venues dedicated to "club alternative" — is a frequent stop for DJs and producers at the cutting edge of electronic music. But when a large crowd packed itself into the venue on April 20 for an evening of dark, experimental and at times abrasive sounds, something was slightly different — both headliners were from China.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 9, 2018
Towa Tei goes deep on death and puns
Towa Tei has mortality on his mind.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 28, 2017
When DJs meet startups: TDME aims to build bridges across the Asian dance music community
Despite having a huge music scene, Japan isn't known for conferences such as North America's South by Southwest or Europe's Amsterdam Dance Event. That's where the Tokyo Dance Music Event (TDME) comes in.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 20, 2017
Sapphire Slows is getting more vocal, and not just in her music
When she first emerged on Tokyo's bedroom producer scene in 2011, Sapphire Slows shot to prominence almost instantly, scoring a release on voguish Los Angeles label Not Not Fun mere months after starting out. A full-length album, "Allegoria," followed on the same label in late 2013; and then, like the will-'o-the-wisp vocals that haunted her early work, she seemed to drift off into the ether.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 29, 2017
Quarta330 rewires his sound on 'Pixelated'
Unlike a lot of kids growing up in the 1990s, Toru Koda didn't have much hands-on experience with video games.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 15, 2015
The 3-D world of NHK yx Koyxen's abstract techno
Kohei Matsunaga does not see things like you and I see things. Take the 3-D glasses that he is rarely photographed without, for instance. Throwaway red-and-blue anaglyph paper frames from cinema's distant past, they have become an apt visual trademark for the Osaka-based artist, who delights in operating within different planes and dimensions to most people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 21, 2014
EMAF packs a lot onto its musical menu
In its first week, the Red Bull Music Academy Tokyo has treated local audiences to a wide gamut of sounds, from hip-hop to deep house to noise, while keeping the capital's billboards comprehensively smothered in advertising. The two-day EMAF Tokyo (Electronic Music of Art Festival), held under the auspices of the academy last weekend, offered an opportunity to take stock, catch performances by a few RBMA participants, and ponder an awkward question: Could all that promotional muscle convince listeners to drop ¥6,000 on a lineup of largely unfamiliar names?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 9, 2014
More than beginner's luck for RBMA participant Albino Sound
There's nothing like a deadline to pull things into focus. "When you're making music on a computer, it's hard to know when to stop — you could keep going forever," says Hirotaka Umetani. "It helps to have a cut-off point."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 4, 2014
Eadonmm's beats prove black is back
"Black is the new black" always seems like a safe motto when it comes to picking clothes, but in an electronic-music world that is constantly churning out micro-genre ephemera, some would argue that black has gone out of fashion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2013
Tokyo prepares to get schooled in the art of beats
Although the major spectacle looming on Tokyo's horizon is undoubtedly the 2020 Olympics, there is one event this year that will be eagerly anticipated by anyone who spends longer on their gym playlist than their workout: The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is set to take place here in October.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2013
Red Bull Music Academy grad Mr. Beatnick has tips for the Class of '14
Londoner Nick Wilson took part in one of the early editions of the Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) in Cape Town in 2003. The ensuing years have seen him heavily involved in the city's underground scene, whether it is producing genre-hopping electronic music as Mr Beatnick or writing for publications such as Fact Magazine. The Japan Times figures he's the perfect person to give us an appraisal of the academy's evolution over the past decade.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 29, 2013
Damo Suzuki sees promise in young artists
"I don't like to make music, I like to make energy. Music is just a way to get energy, so why not just make energy?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2013
Producer Yosi Horikawa goes all natural on 'Vapor'
Yosi Horikawa's beats burble, hiss, slosh and gurgle. On his debut full-length, "Vapor," the 34-year-old producer may wield some identifiably hip-hop rhythms, but they're tangled in a rich, intricately detailed tapestry of field recordings, sampled percussion, snatches of tribal chants and warm, guileless synthesizers. It's the best thing you'll hear all year that also bears a passing resemblance to naff ethnic chill-out act Deep Forest.

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A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world