Tempalay pledges to put on a show at Fuji Rock
The recording of Tempalay's third full-length album, "With Love from the 21 Century," should have been a high point for lead vocalist and guitarist Ryoto Ohara. The group he fronts had climbed up the ranks of Japan's music community since forming in 2014, and ...
Miyavi is on a mission to change Japan's tune on refugees
In his lesser-known role as a refugee advocate, Miyavi, aka the samurai guitarist, asks that people look beyond the headline numbers before declaring Japan unwelcoming to asylum-seekers. Despite Japan taking in only 42 refugees in 2018 — accepting less than 1 percent of applicants — ...
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 ...
Review: Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo
You know when you go to a gig, and it just exceeds all expectations? Well, my night with Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra did just that and landed in my all-time top three. What I thought would be a typical concert at which Ska Para (as ...
Chai, Otoboke Beaver and Yahyel: The Japanese musicians representing at SXSW 2019
Every year, more than 2,000 bands flock to Austin, Texas, for the South By Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW). The internationally recognized event has recently leaned heavy on tech, but music still plays a big part. During this year's mid-March music showcase, Japan ...
Passionate fandom has become the domain of pop music. Or, at least, that's the image that has developed globally over the past decade, as intense groups of diverse people throw their support behind a wide range of mainstream acts, from Beyonce to BTS. Rock, ...
Twenty years after frontman Shinji Sato's death, Fishmans is still walking in the rhythm
In the eternal present of modern listening, when the entire history of recorded sound is just a few clicks away, some music reverberates for longer. That's been the case with Fishmans, a cult Japanese act from the 1990s whose blend of dub rhythms and ...
Rock act Chai has no time for your definition of 'cute'
The members of Chai aren't content with "kawaii." That word — meaning "cute," but in a kind of pitiable way — gets tossed around a lot in Japan and by people overseas, who use it to refer to almost anything Japanese. "The media defines it ...
Review: WagakkiBand at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
The only way WagakkiBand could be more Japanese is if Scarlett Johansson was playing the part of the singer. The eight-piece hit the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium for a pair of concerts that were its biggest yet, according to organizers. The Feb. 17 show, which I ...
Guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei calls on his pals for 'Strangers'
Recalling his first encounter with rocker Iggy Pop, a huge grin flashes across the face of Tomoyasu Hotei. It occurred at Berlin airport around 30 years ago when he was recording in Germany with former band Boøwy. Despite being one of the most famous ...
