Daniel Robson - The Japan Times

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Daniel Robson

Daniel Robson, a British journalist based in Tokyo since 2006, is a features editor and writer at The Japan Times. He also writes freelance about music, videogames and Japanese pop culture for other publications around the world.

For Daniel Robson's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 13, 2006

School's out for Oreskaband teens

'I don't think being high-school girls is an important part of our band," says 18-year-old Tae-san, drummer with Osaka ska band Oreskaband. And with mere months until their graduation, we're about to find out if she's right.

CULTURE / Music

Oct 6, 2006

The Lemonheads "The Lemonheads"

If you want to love this album, look to the lyric sheet. Reviving the sweet 'n' sour Lemonheads moniker with new bandmates, Evan Dando eschews the warm country tone of his 2003 solo album "Baby I'm Bored," instead opting for a less dynamic, spiky electric sound. Despite sweet vocal melodies on "Become The Enemy" and "No Backbone," and some smart guitar riffs scattered throughout, most of the songs are unspectacular, and Dando's voice doesn't make the listener all gooey as it can do when he's on form. Worse still, guest J Mascis delivers the same guitar break he's played on every Dinosaur Jr. album, dating the record instantly.

CULTURE / Music

Sep 15, 2006

With her Minnie-Mouse-on-helium voice and overt Bjorkisms, there's no denying that Yuki is one of J-pop's most colorful stars. But after her success fronting Judy And Mary, Yuki's solo sound was far from consistent until, after two dodgy albums, she hit her stride with 2005's "Joy," an out-and-out pop record with dynamic songs perfectly suited to her weird, squeaks-to-moans range.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Aug 18, 2006

Fans go cool on Arctic Monkeys

You might think it would be exciting for a band from a Sheffield suburb to play a huge festival in Japan. But when Arctic Monkeys played the packed Mountain Stage, it was without even the merest flicker of a smile. Preferring to bemoan the noise coming from the stage next door, vocalist Alex Turner seemed like the sulky boy at school who always refused to participate on sports day.

CULTURE / Music

Aug 11, 2006

Nikaido Kazumi "Nikaido Kazumi No Album"

Kazumi Nikaido's first solo album in three years is an odd proposition. It's scattered and insane, like a schizophrenic puppy that's been at the cough medicine. But when it shines, it really shines.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 21, 2006

Putting pop back together

"I'd say Canada's music scene is very healthy at the moment," says Brendan Canning, founding member of Toronto's swollen indie supergroup Broken Social Scene. And he's not wrong. Dozens of diverse Canadian bands are becoming worldwide exports: Montreal's Arcade Fire have swept the globe, selling over 500,000 albums and even finding fans in U2, who have come on stage to their song "Wake Up" every night on their "Vertigo" tour. And other smaller bands are hitting the radar in the wake of Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire.

CULTURE / Music

Jul 14, 2006

Primal Scream "Riot City Blues"

Primal Scream are essentially two bands rolled into one. Sometimes they're fiercely experimental innovators; at others, they're little more than a Rolling Stones/Faces tribute band. "Riot City Blues" falls into the latter camp. It's hardly the most exciting prospect, but then many Scream fans would argue that originality is a vastly overrated thing.

CULTURE / Music

Jul 7, 2006

Puffy "Splurge"

It's been 10 years since Ami and Yumi shot to fame with the million-selling debut single "Ajia no Junshin," and it's almost unthinkable that a manufactured pop duo should last so long. But Puffy's strength has always been in embracing the unpredictable, and "Splurge" is a confident, mature pop album that will catch any fan off guard.

CULTURE / Music

Jun 23, 2006

Utada Hikaru "Ultra Blue"

Utada Hikaru's back on form -- whatever that means. Her English-language "Exodus' album in 2004 was a global flop, yet undeservedly so; an experimental set that chose artistry over chart domination, it was a quiet masterstroke after three albums of undiluted pop smashes. She said it was the album she'd always wanted to make; that she was no longer interested in pandering to her fans.

CULTURE / Music

Jun 16, 2006

The Chalets "Check In"

The Chalets are a gang. Like bands ought to be. Their playful, irreverent Irish humor is sharp and sweet, like an ice-lolly with a rusty blade for a stick, as they sing of sex-crazed sentient computers, crap bands and drunken seaside holidays.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Apr 25, 2001

Concert Preview by PHILIP BRASOR If you are conflicted about going to the trouble of obtaining tickets for Radiohead's autumn shows without first hearing their new album, "Amnesiac," which doesn't hit the stores until the end of May, you may be reassured to know that the material was recorded during the same sessions that produced "Kid A."

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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