“’Mad Qualia’ the latest [single from HYDE], will be a knockout on tour: black fuzz guitars and stuttering drums, HYDE racing out of that fury with rousing sing-along effect in a mixed rush of English and Japanese that suggests Metallica,…

With Takabashihonoka on vocals and guitar, Umi on bass, and Yukiyama on drums, Japanese girl band Regallily has made quite a few impressive appearances now in North America. As an indie pop band, Regallily goes above and beyond with a…

Japanese rapper, JP THE WAVY, may not be one of the most media-covered names at this year’s SXSW, but he certainly has a decent following among Japan’s young generation, especially after his song “Cho Wavy De Gomenne” made it viral on the…

2019 is a good year for SXSW, largely because the Japanese noise punk band, Otoboke Beaver, has appeared on the lineup again. Meeting with the band at their hotel cafeteria, we chatted about their lyrics, growth, and obnoxious guys. Unlike…

SXSW 2019 carries on its spirit of empowering Japanese female artists and we are stoked to see this many dazzling new faces. Fascinating. We know SXSW can be a bit overwhelming with hundreds of bands attending and you may have never heard…

– The music video for “Furari Ginza” brought you into 60s fashion. What did you personally like about the style and colors from that era? It must seem like a flashback for older members of your family to see you dressed…

On February 23, 2019, MIYAVI will celebrate the release of his new album, “SAMURAI SESSIONS vol.3 – World’s Collide”, with a special star-studded show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. “This project is all about chemistry; even in one…

Singer-songwriter Oh Shu has announced the release of 7 inch analog of his new double A-side single, “don’t hurt pride / Muzhhik”. Born in Shanghai and raised in Tokyo, Oh Shu has made his music works known as the…

Japanese rock band ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION recently released the artwork and tracklist of their upcoming new album “Hometown”, which is due December 5th this year. The album artwork is again done by famous art illustrator,…

One foot in the door of November while we might be busy putting away our carved pumpkins and planning on that big family dinner, let’s not forget to pick a soundtrack. October saw some very decent LPs and singles from our favorite bands and…

Tomoya Kanki, the drummer of Japanese rock band, One Ok Rock, better known as “Tomoya”, has been accused of having a repeated sexual relationship 7 years ago with a female high school student who was only 16 years old back then.…

We had an opportunity to interview an anisong legend, Hiroshi Kitadani! Hiroshi Kitadani was born in Yamaguchi, Japan. His first major debut was with the 3-piece band Stagger in 1994. After his other band, Lapis Lazuli, broke up, he started…

People just love the notation of calling the trend brought back from an earlier era “Neo-something”, I guess. “Shibuya-kei”, popular in the 90s represented by musicians like Cornelius, Pizzicato Five, now has been…

TOKYO (September 24, 2018) – PIKOTARO, famous for PPAP, never slows his momentum and he appears in the flash mob music video of V.I’s of BIGBANG new single “WHERE R U FROM”. This single is from V.I’s new album “THE GREAT SEUNGRI.”…

A Japanese rock band, ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D will kick off U.S. leg of world tour with SPYAIR starting this Saturday. They will make stops in the USA, Latin America and Europe with SPYAIR which is another popular Japanese rock band behind…