Tag - j-rock

 
 

J ROCK

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 3, 2016
The British trip that helped inspire Fuji Rock Festival founder Masahiro Hidaka
If Fuji Rock Festival could be embodied in one person, Masahiro Hidaka is the perfect choice. When the man who founded the country's premier outdoor music gathering meets up with The Japan Times, he is wearing a Pogues T-shirt and taking drags off a cigarette in the rain — after all, what's Fuji Rock without rain?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2016
Man turns himself in over damage to rock monument in Gifu
A man turned himself in to the police Tuesday evening in Gifu Prefecture, saying he drove climbing accessories into a rock designated as a national treasure.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jun 26, 2016
Wrapping up a musical trip across Japan
When I first embarked on my attempt to visit every prefecture in Japan and learn about the local indie music scene in each one, the idea that I would be able to draw any meaningful generalizations from the adventure seemed ludicrous. The music scene of Tokyo alone is an incomprehensible mess, so how would I even begin to sort through an entire country's worth of information and find any sort of clear story?
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jun 23, 2016
In search of Japan's essential summer festivals
With July just around the corner, Japan is gearing up for another sultry summer. Since the sizzling-hot days only last until early September, people make the most of the season by getting outside — that includes going to film festivals, art and fashion events or outdoor musical gatherings.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2016
SEALDs leader's invite to Fuji Rock sparks online debate
A controversy has broken out on social media after the name of a high-profile youth activist appeared last week on the list of artists attending this year's Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2016
Mitsume's long days on the road pay off
Over the past decade, a go-to method for older rock bands to drum up excitement for a tour is the promise of playing a classic album in its entirety. It's a win-win proposition: Fans get to feel nostalgic while the artists themselves can coast by on material they've played countless times before.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 1, 2016
DYGL soaks in New York's garage rock and politics
The life Nobuki Akiyama has been living since moving to the greater New York City area in March sounds like a dream come true for any young musician.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2016
The fin. tries to break through borders with its 'Through the Deep' EP
For the members of The fin., being a Japanese rock band isn't easy. Ever since its inception, the four members say they have felt a sense of being on the outside of an industry that rarely embraces those who challenge established conventions. Even after garnering attention two years ago with debut EP "Glowing On the Red Shore," the situation remains the same.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Mar 27, 2016
Indie music finds a novel way to survive in Kyushu
We are living through the dying days of the CD format. It clings to life here and there, but its usefulness as a medium for transmitting music is pretty much over. What remains is a sort of meta-existence, where the value of a physical music format lies purely in the tactile physicality of the object at the moment of an exchange — before it gets ripped to your computer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2016
Rock act Boris and noise musician Merzbow attempt an interactive experiment on 'Gensho'
The Japanese word gō'on can be rendered in English as a "roaring sound." It's often used to describe the loud levels of volume at a concert, which typically hit around 120 decibels.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Feb 29, 2016
Chris Rock pulls no punches as host of one of the most socially conscious Academy Awards shows
Comedian Chris Rock launched his return stint as Oscar host on Sunday by immediately and unabashedly confronting the racially charged elephant in the room — the furor over the all-white field of performers nominated for Hollywood's highest honors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 12, 2016
Red Hot Chili Peppers return for 20th anniversary of Fuji Rock
Los Angeles alternative rock outfit Red Hot Chili Peppers and Icelandic post-rock trio Sigur Ros were among acts named Friday to perform at the 20th anniversary of Fuji Rock Festival in July.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 27, 2015
Miyakejima boasts rock-climbing charms in bid to rebuild from 2000 eruption
Farmer Naohiko Kikuchi tried his hand at bouldering on Miyakejima Island at the end of October and found that the facility has rewarding potential.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 8, 2015
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 musicians in Japan, the guitarist was too shy to approach the man known as the "Godfather of Punk."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Aug 29, 2015
Music festivals are better when the customer isn't always right
In an industry that devotes itself with ever more granular precision to the art of serving you what its research says you want, music and events that demand you meet them halfway are ever more precious.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 31, 2015
Never mind the lineup: Fuji Rock is more than music
It has only been three years since Fuji Rock Festival posted its highest-ever attendance figures, with a little help from Radiohead and The Stone Roses, but you wouldn't have known it from the steady drumbeat of glumness that heralded this year's edition. Following a lackluster showing in 2014, when Kanye West canceled, Jack Johnson fizzled and only 102,000 people bothered to show up (down from 140,000 in 2012), the festival badly needed a hit. Yet the signs weren't promising.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jul 26, 2015
Rock in Japan focuses on the experience of an eternal afternoon
If the lackluster response to Fuji Rock Festival's lineup announcements and the closure of at least one of its stages suggests looming trouble for Japan's festival scene, there is one rival that has gone from strength to strength: the domestically focused Rock in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jul 24, 2015
Fuji Rock bound? Make sure you survive in style
A few items that will help you stay dry and happy during Fuji Rock Festival's unpredictable weather.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 23, 2015
Noel Gallagher brings his High Flying Birds back to Fuji Rock and where the 'mania' began
It doesn't take much to set Noel Gallagher off. We are sat in a backstage portacabin at London's peculiarly ragbag Clapham Calling festival, and I've just mentioned to the former Oasis songwriter that "Chasing Yesterday," the second solo album under his High Flying Birds banner, is the U.K.'s fastest selling of the year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 23, 2015
Hocori to give Fuji Rock a groove to be proud of
Tagging their work as electronic "buddy" music, Takuji Sekine and Yosuke Momono say their group, Hocori, is a way for two instrumentalists to indulge in artificial beats.

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