Tag - music

 
 

MUSIC

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2013
Tokyo prepares to get schooled in the art of beats
Although the major spectacle looming on Tokyo's horizon is undoubtedly the 2020 Olympics, there is one event this year that will be eagerly anticipated by anyone who spends longer on their gym playlist than their workout: The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is set to take place here in October.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2013
Red Bull Music Academy grad Mr. Beatnick has tips for the Class of '14
Londoner Nick Wilson took part in one of the early editions of the Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) in Cape Town in 2003. The ensuing years have seen him heavily involved in the city's underground scene, whether it is producing genre-hopping electronic music as Mr Beatnick or writing for publications such...
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Dec 24, 2013
Familiar obstacles stymie change in domestic music industry
While the Japanese music industry ended last year on a promise of change, 2013 has highlighted a few of the ingrained practices that are going to be a little bit more difficult to dislodge.
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Dec 3, 2013
Spotify, Rdio and what didn't happen in 2013
This was supposed to be the year that changed the Japanese music business.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 22, 2013
Putting down roots with Ryukyu Underground
Keith Gordon, the English half of the Okinawan fusion duo, has found his 'spiritual home' on the southern island.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 12, 2013
Washington, D.C., rappers punch ticket to North Korea
"Are you ready?" Ramsey Aburdene demands of the assembled buoyant audience. "Are you ready to go to North Korea?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2013
One Direction takes the J-pop path to success
By the group's standards, it was a low-key finale. When One Direction completed its eight-month Take Me Home Tour at the second of two Makuhari Messe shows last Sunday in Chiba, it was in front of a relatively compact audience of 12,000 Japanese fans, whose adoration seemed good-humored rather than hysterical....
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2013
Hostess exists rather happily on the edge
With international repertoire's share of the music market down to about 15 percent, it has never been harder to break foreign acts in Japan. And given the shrinking market for non-Japanese music, it seems quixotic to set up a company specializing in bringing foreign repertoire into the country — especially...
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 3, 2013
Babies know songs they hear in the womb: study
Babies who have a lullaby played to them regularly while still in the womb can recognize the song months after birth, a study has found.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 29, 2013
Damo Suzuki sees promise in young artists
"I don't like to make music, I like to make energy. Music is just a way to get energy, so why not just make energy?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 29, 2013
McCartney, One Direction and Atoms for Peace head to Japan in November
He's been knighted, named the richest rock star in the world, has an Oscar, has done a guest spot on "The Simpsons," has played to the largest stadium audience in history and has been imprisoned right here in Japan. That's right, rock god Sir Paul McCartney returns to Japan after an 11-year hiatus in...
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Oct 15, 2013
Download law yet to bite after a year
It has been a year since Japan introduced penalties for downloading pirated music and video files.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 4, 2013
Beatlemania: 'The screamers' and other tales of fandom
The first time Scottish concert promoter Andi Lothian booked the Beatles, in the frozen January of 1963, only 15 people showed up. The next time he brought them north of the border, to Glasgow Odeon on Oct. 5, they had scored a No. 1 album and three No. 1 singles, and it was as if a hurricane had blown...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2013
Seiji Ozawa ends summer on high note
Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe reportedly once said “God is in the details.” Conductor Seiji Ozawa would literally agree. He meets The Japan Times at a cafe he frequents in Tokyo's Seijo district.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 22, 2013
Pacman, Peso and Pyongyang
A few weeks ago, a Kickstarter project was posted on the Internet featuring two young men who went by the names of Pacman and Peso.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2013
Street concerts aim to connect community
This weekend, the residents of Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, will get the chance to hear music from every nook and cranny of the city.
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...
CULTURE / Music
Sep 18, 2013
Imany makes peace with her voice on debut album
As a model, Nadia Mladjao would have seen all there is in the world of luxury and excess. But the 27-year-old singer, better known as Imany, keeps it simple with her guitar on her debut album, "The Shape of a Broken Heart."
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Sep 11, 2013
Tower Japan boss says biggest challenge facing record stores is attracting young customers
A few weeks ago I was preparing to do a guest slot on InterFM’s “The Selector” program, which features music mavens sharing their favorite tracks.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’