Tag - vinyl

 
 

VINYL

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 10, 2020
Facing the music: Can Japan’s vibrant record culture survive the COVID-19 pandemic?
An iconic Tokyo record store prepares to close, leaving vinyl fans fearing for the future.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 6, 2020
City Pop on Vinyl brings back the glitzed-out sounds of Japan's bubble
Soak up the sounds of city pop with five albums that highlight old-school heavyweights or showcase newer artists' takes on the bubble era genre.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 27, 2019
Delving into a century of Japanese sound
Robert Millis has been playing guitar, making music from field recordings and old records, and making compilations of music from all around Asia for decades.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Mar 21, 2019
Tower Records goes all in on the vinyl trend with its new store, Tower Vinyl
Last year proved to be a pivotal one for streaming music in Japan. According to a report by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, 2018 saw plays via platforms such as YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify overtake digital downloads.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 27, 2019
Yusuke Ogawa: The man in Japan giving jazz fans their rare record fix
'There are just so many records in Japan," says Yusuke Ogawa, owner of Universounds, a used record shop selling jazz, soul and funk in the Western suburbs of central Tokyo. Now, with the rise of internet sales as well as the increasingly interconnected music world, buyers worldwide are catching on to Japan's stockpile of good quality, rare records. Ogawa is one key point in this international record buying culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 12, 2019
Plastic fantastic: Examining the obsession over Japan's soft vinyl toys
It's a cold afternoon in mid-January and, inside a factory operated by Maruyama Toys in a quiet residential area in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward, Cory Privitera is making sofubi (soft vinyl toys).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 9, 2019
Tatsuhiko 'Ryu' Akashi knows you're never too old to play
Medicom Toy's urban vinyl and other designer toys keep the inner kids alive in their adult fans.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 15, 2017
Vinyl records enjoy streaming-led rebirth in Japan after three-decade hiatus
Music on vinyl is enjoying a renaissance, with digital streaming services generating interest in records once more.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 14, 2016
Digging for gold on Record Store Day
No longer the territory of purists and DJs alone, records have once again started to be recognized as a perfectly legitimate medium through which to collect and consume music.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Mar 27, 2016
Indie music finds a novel way to survive in Kyushu
We are living through the dying days of the CD format. It clings to life here and there, but its usefulness as a medium for transmitting music is pretty much over. What remains is a sort of meta-existence, where the value of a physical music format lies purely in the tactile physicality of the object at the moment of an exchange — before it gets ripped to your computer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2014
'Izumi Kato: Soft Vinyl Sculptures'
As someone who liked to play with plastic Ultraman superhero and Kaiju monster toys as a child, Izumi Kato has been long familiar with soft vinyl, and since 2010, the artist has been using it to create sculptures.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 15, 2014
Record Store Day finds its groove in Japan
It won't be business as usual at Big Love Records this Saturday, April 19. The store, one of the best places to shop for records in Tokyo's trendy Harajuku neighborhood, will be selling limited-edition music from various artists, including film director David Lynch. Meanwhile, shadowy beatmaker Sapphire Slows will perform live at the store. Shop owner Masashi Naka says visitors can buy beer, and get free food, if they buy some music. It's all in celebration of Record Store Day.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 28, 2014
Ten years on, Hyperdub finds that it pays to be weird
Most journalists hope to get a few decent quotes from an interview. Steve Goodman ended up getting a record label.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores