Japan jumps into the music stream
The biggest moment for streaming music in Japan this year came via a handwritten letter. In late June, Kenta Matsumoto of pop-punk trio Wanima shared a note on Twitter announcing ...
Kitri: Sisters are doin' it for themselves
Monami Kida can't remember the last time she had an argument with Hinano, her younger sister and partner in the classical-meets-pop project Kitri. "It might have been a disagreement regarding the order of the songs we would play live," Monami, better known as Mona, says. ...
George Porter Jr.: The man bringing the funk to Fuji Rock
If the Beatles are Liverpool's fab four, The Meters are New Orleans' funky four. During the 1960s and '70s, bassist George Porter Jr., drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste, keyboardist Arthur "Art" Neville, and guitarist Leo Nocentelli created music that is still recognized globally as some of ...
The Let's Go's: Guitar, bass, drums, vocals and plenty of beer
The Let's Go's are a celebration of pure rock 'n' roll energy. Dressed in matching, vivid, cherry-red outfits, the Tokyo trio delivers upbeat tunes with infectious enthusiasm. Fresh from a recent trip to the United States, The Let's Go's released their new album, "Heibon Cherry," on ...
The entertainment industry on Wednesday mourned the death of Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of one of Japan's most powerful talent agencies, which shot a long line of boy bands to fame over a period of more than half a century. "He's like a father to ...
Johnny Kitagawa, founder of agency that launched numerous boy bands, dead at 87
Music mogul Johnny Kitagawa, who shaped Japan's boy band landscape for more than half a century, died of a stroke Tuesday at a hospital in Tokyo, his office said. He was 87. Kitagawa, who founded the country's top male talent agency and production company Johnny ...
Emi Meyer: Trading in the jazz standards for original songs
The first half of the 2010s offered singer-songwriter Emi Meyer few breaks. She released a full-length album every year until 2015, driven both by creative energy and a feeling that she needed to put herself out there. "That was my fulfillment in life. It was ...
A musical pilgrimage to an adopted homeland with DYGL
Scroll through the comments under DYGL's videos on YouTube, and the same reaction comes up again and again: I could've sworn this lot were from England. It isn't just the music the Tokyo-bred quartet makes, channeling the best bits of guitar acts from The Clash ...
The Lethal Weapons: Locked and loaded on the streets of Tokyo
Nostalgia for the 1980s usually plays out more as an aesthetic than an authentic yearning to go back to the days of Rubik's Cubes and "Miami Vice." But that's not the case for Aiki Kiyohisa, 38. "My dad's company collapsed in 1989, when I was ...
Sadao Watanabe, Japan's godfather of jazz, passes on his wisdom
Before he became one of Japan's best-loved jazz musicians, saxophone player Sadao Watanabe was one of the first Japanese musicians to study in the United States. As a young man he studied at Berklee College of Music, in Boston. "Back then, the journey was long. ...
Japan's summer festivals plan for a final party before Olympic fever hits
As Yo La Tengo once sang, "summer's what you make it," and that's especially true in Japan this year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are likely to throw a major wrench (or should that be hammer?) in the works for next summer's festival ...
Pioneering singer-songwriter Sachiko Kanenobu finally gets her due
If she had to sum up the past couple of years, Sachiko Kanenobu would probably opt for a simple "OMG!" "That's what I've said so many times, repeating over and over and over: 'Oh my God!'" she says, speaking by phone from her home in ...
