Music May 27, 2022
by Patrick St. Michel
Happy End’s decision in 1970 to play American-inspired yet sing in Japanese proved to be a watershed moment for pop music here.
Music May 22, 2020
Daiki Tsuneta: From the top of the charts to the great unknown
by Patrick St. Michel
King Gnu frontman, Daiki Tsuneta, heads for further glory as he pushes forward with his side project, Millennium Parade.
Music May 7, 2020
Yonawo brings chilled sounds to a tense Japan
by Patrick St. Michel
The Fukuoka group has released its first major-label mini-album, and is firmly looking forward.
Music Sep 4, 2019
Ogre You Asshole's album 'New Kind of Man' proves the band is more than just a quirky name
by Jordan Allen
The new album from Ogre You Asshole draws on funk, beach rhythms and '90s video game soundtracks to deliver a chilled-out, laid-back long player
Music Jul 24, 2019
Tempalay pledges to put on a show at Fuji Rock
by Patrick St. Michel
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 ...
Culture Jul 23, 2019
Miyavi is on a mission to change Japan's tune on refugees
by Mai Yoshikawa
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 — ...
Music Jul 2, 2019
A musical pilgrimage to an adopted homeland with DYGL
by James Hadfield
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 ...
Music Jun 17, 2019
Review: Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo
by Jordan Allen
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 ...
Music Mar 28, 2019
Chai, Otoboke Beaver and Yahyel: The Japanese musicians representing at SXSW 2019
by William Archambeault
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 ...
Music Mar 18, 2019
by Patrick St. Michel
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, ...
Music Feb 13, 2019
Twenty years after frontman Shinji Sato's death, Fishmans is still walking in the rhythm
by James Hadfield
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 ...
Music Mar 9, 2018
Rock act Chai has no time for your definition of 'cute'
by Patrick St. Michel
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 ...