Tag - indie

 
Menu
Search
 
May 02, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

INDIE

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 24, 2016
Cairo breaks with its past for dreamy debut, 'Same as Before'
While talking to the members of indie rock band Cairo, I can't help but feel their sense of excitement. After all, this is their first interview ever.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Oct 23, 2015
Unexpected places step in to fill the role of live house venues in Japan's north
When I made the decision to embark on a largely bicycle-based tour of every prefecture in Japan to investigate music scenes outside the industry mother-brain of Tokyo, I made a point of not having any expectations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 28, 2015
Keep up the hunger to find new music
Have you heard or had this conversation recently?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 7, 2015
Old Lacy Bed and a legacy left by Vivian Girls
"Share the Joy," the 2011 album by Brooklyn trio Vivian Girls, starts off with the distinctive rumble of a drone strike in progress before suddenly veering into a lollygagging eighth-note groove for beginner musicians.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2015
The quirky sounds of indie music find a voice in Boys Age
Around 50 people are watching Kaznary Mutow of the band Boys Age thrash his guitar on a Friday night at Shimokitazawa club Three. He's in the middle of a 10-minute-plus psychedelic freakout, locked into an intense slow-burning session with drummer Takamasa Kobayashi.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Apr 24, 2015
The secret to indie success is in the bag
Here's a joke: When is a bag not a bag? Give up? When it's a symbol for the shifting place of music in the pop cultural landscape. . . . I'm here all week, folks. Try the veal.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Sep 30, 2014
Live houses need to rethink their product if they want to attract customers
In these times of declining music sales it has become a truism that the live arena is where bands and artists can make their money. Certainly that seems to have factored into the decision by U2 and Apple to give the Irish band's new album to iTunes users for free — whether they wanted it or not.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 18, 2014
Indie games get a boost at Tokyo Game Show
Major gaming companies are likely to dominate the headlines at this weekend's Tokyo Game Show (TGS), along with the promise of future releases that have budgets reaching into the millions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2014
Manic Sheep, Wedance represent overseas indie at Fuji Rock Festival
Since 2001, Fuji Rock's Rookie a Go-Go stage has spotlighted indie talents not quite ready for the festival's larger areas. Acts apply to play — this year 1,300 bands vied for 15 slots — and with the exception of Taiwan's Go Chic in 2010, all the past performers have been locals. But this summer sees Rookie a Go-Go again adding a dash of international flavor, with Taiwan's Manic Sheep and South Korea's Wedance earning invitations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 13, 2014
Macmanaman step up to bat for the live show
"Instrumental post-rock" is probably the worst way to introduce a band, and by this point 90 percent of this article's readers will have probably fled to the sports section.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 29, 2014
Indie band The fin. is just getting started
"There's this idea (among Japanese bands) that you have to make something different from the Western music you listen to," says Yuto Uchino, singer for indie rock band The fin. "I was really trying hard to write in Japanese, but it was awkward. The words just didn't fit and I could never really say what I wanted to say. After I switched (to English), the melodies and words I had been looking for came together."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 11, 2014
Mothercoat sees tour as a step in cultivating a global fanbase
Most bands in Japan come to Tokyo to reach for stardom. Indie rock act Mothercoat did the opposite, however, when its members all relocated to Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture, two years ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 4, 2014
Crunch's debut mini-album aims for a 'sense of minority'
In a music scene where the border between underground and mainstream can be incredibly difficult to traverse, it's not surprising that many bands trapped in the indie-sphere bemoan their lot.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 25, 2014
Jesus Weekend will keep your family pet from a pit of despair
"Animals don't commit suicide, but this song is so sad that even animals would want to kill themselves."
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Feb 25, 2014
Keep the band, young graduates, but don't quit your day jobs
As the academic year draws to a close and a new cohort of young Japanese are dumped out the business end of the education system, so a new year's graduating class of young bands face a tough and forbidding new world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 11, 2014
Mitsume play the indie game, but are winning the mainstream
Mitsume subscribes to an easy-to-get-behind ethos regularly found in indie-rock communities: "Since our first album, we've been under nobody's control but our own," says lead vocalist Moto Kawabe. "We prefer to do whatever we can ourselves."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2013
Video game makers handed chance to ride indie wave
Independently made video games, a term that can be stretched to include titles made by midsize game developers, a group of enthusiasts or just a lone programming hobbyist, have become hugely popular in North America and Europe.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Oct 29, 2013
Tokyo Boredom is blazing its own trail — and the first stop is Taiwan
Of all the cliches about Japanese music being bandied around, the one I find most baffling is the idea that bands here are "just copying Western music." It's a rehash of the old jibe, originally born from fear of Japan's rapid postwar industrial growth, about the Japanese being dedicated imitators but lacking originality, so let's just call it out for what it is: obvious and utter nonsense.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 18, 2013
Rock God Dam's teen mastermind: Eighteen-year-old student pulls off two-day music festival for charity
With 90 minutes to go before the start of the Rock God Dam music festival, organizer Nakako Isoo is trying to find one of the headlining acts. She's supposed to pick up Virginia band Suburban Living, but comes back to Shibuya club Vuenos alone. "They are going shopping," she says. "I will try one more time." After catching her breath, she's out the door again.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2013
Rock group Zoobombs announce split, prepare for sudden farewell tour
This month marks the 20th anniversary of Tokyo rock 'n' roll act Zoobombs. It also marks their demise as the group has announced they will part ways at the end of September.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

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

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle
Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER