Kpop-Jpop Asian News, Gossip, and Reviews |
- Kobukuro
- Kazutoki Umezu
- DJ Kentaro
- Ryukyudisko
- Toshi Kankawa
- Mu
- Ketsumeishi
- Tama
- Osamu Kitajima
- Ken Ishii
- The King Brothers
- Michiyo Yagi
- Taeko Onuki
- Kodo
- Yoshida Brothers
- Shang Shang Typhoon
- Chihei Hatakeyama
- Lisa Ono
- Nobukazu Takemura
- Maki Nomiya
- Kenji Ozawa
- Ami Suzuki
- Towa Tei
- Love Tambourines
- Namie Amuro
- Kaela Kimura
- Dorlis
- Zoobombs
- Emi Necozawa
- hitomi
- Ken Hirai
- Yo Hitoto
- Shinichi Osawa
- Maywa Denki
- Mai Kuraki
- Mika Nakashima
- The Surf Coasters
- Blankey Jet City
- Kumi Koda
- Minmi
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 08:15 PM PDT Combining strong vocals, tuneful arrangements, and a unique visual presence, folk duo Kobukuro, comprising Kentaro Kobuchi (guitar/vocals) and Shunsuke Kuroda (vocals) has grown into one of the biggst selling acts in music. With their name made up of the first two syllables of each of the members' last...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 08:15 PM PDT Kazutoki Umezu is generally considered a jazz musician, but the scope of his playing goes far beyond this characterization, and in many directions. He has played sax and clarinet, often inventively improvising, in a wide range of situations and in more than 35 different countries. Two of his stated influences...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 08:15 PM PDT DJ Kentaro, born Kentaro Okamoto in 1982, is the thoroughly modern musician; a multi-faceted DJ who works all over the world. Kentaro began DJing at age 13, practiced diligently, and was soon in possession of serious skills. By the age of sixteen he was entering and placing in DJ competitions. In 2000,...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 08:14 PM PDT Ryukyudisko have created their signature sound by combining traditional music from their native Okinawa with techno. While the two types of music might seem quite dissimilar, the blend creates an engaging, fresh sound. Okinawan music based largely on simple stringed instruments played in a syncopated...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 08:14 PM PDT Toshi Kankawa was born in Osaka in 1954, and seems to have crawled to a B-3 organ not long after. Officially he started taking piano lessons at age three, and by the time he was a teenager he was already playing professionally. Although he plays various keyboards, Kankawa early on became a devotee of...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 08:14 PM PDT Internationally recognized Japanese electro-punk singer Mu, born Mutsumi Kanamori, lives in Sheffield, England with her famed DJ/ musician/ remixer husband Maurice Fulton. The two hooked up at a club in Manchester, and were soon musically and romantically involved. Fulton grew up in Baltimore, and was...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 08:14 PM PDT Ketsumeishi is one of those groups whose music automatically makes you think of hot summer days lounging on the beach and sipping a few tall cool ones. The band got started back in 1993, and settled on the current lineup - four members are Ryo (rapper/MC), Ryoji (vocals), Ookura (rapper/MC) and DJ Kohno...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:14 PM PDT With their mix of silly and serious, happy and sad, acoustic and electric, and a highly distinctive sound all their own, Tama was one of the most idiosynchratic and original major label bands of the 90s. Comprising Toshiaki Chiku (vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, recorder), Koji Ishikawa (vocals,...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:14 PM PDT While not gaining the recognition of pop idols or distinctive alternative rockers, Osamu Kitajima has quietly become one of Japan's biggest selling artists internationally with his traditionally tinged new age music. Kitajima was born and raised in the beach town of Chigasaki, not far from Tokyo....
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Ken Ishii is among the most innovative and respected artists in the modern techno genre. While loosely categorizable as Detroit style due to its dancefloor orientation, Ishii's music draws on a wide range of influences including Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Derrick May, Nitzer Ebb, and others,...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT The King Brothers are brothers in the Ramones tradition, and began life as such near Kobe with members possessing the real names Keizo Matsuo- guitars and vox, Masafumi "Maya" Koyama- guitars and screaming, and Jun Fujimoto- drums. Like the Ramones the band deals in high intensity rock'n'roll, although...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Michiyo Yagi is a pioneering koto player who is highly regarded in both traditional and avant-garde circles. She was born in Tokoname, in Aichi prefecture, and began studying koto at the age of six under Satomi Kurauchi. She later was admitted to the main branch of the Sawai Koto School. She also enrolled...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Paralleling musical trends in North America and Europe, the early '70s saw several talented singer/songwriters emerge in Japan, such as Miyuki Nakajima, Tatsuro Yamashita and Yumi Matsutoya. Somewhat less well-known but equally deserving of attention is Taeko Onuki, who was one of the members of a band...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Drumming group Kodo has taken the art of playing Japanese taiko drums to new heights both musically and as spectacle, achieving international fame in the process. Kodo traces its origins to Ondekoza, which was formed in 1969 on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan by people from various parts of the country...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Rock 'n' roll is as much about attitude as about music. Take, for instance, the Yoshida Brothers, whose instrument of choice is not the electric guitar but the shamisen. That traditional three-stringed instrument has a twangy, high-pitched sound, which instantly conjures up picture-postcard images of...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Shang Shang Typhoon burst onto the Japanese music scene in the early '90s when anything "ethnic" was considered cool. Amid the renewed global interest in world music, many Japanese were finding that they had their own version(s) of world music right in their own backyard. Okinawan music was especially...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Simultaneously icy and lush, desolate and comforting, the music of Chihei Hatakeyama is a transcendent combination of acoustic instruments and computer processing. Based out of Tokyo, Hatakeyama performs under his given name, and also as one half of the electro-acoustic duo Opitope along with Tomoyoshi...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Japan maintains a strong love for bossa nova music, which nicely complements its thousands of stylish cafes and retail stores, and singer/songwriter/guitaritst Lisa Ono is the undisputed queen of this thriving scene. Born in São Paulo and raised in Japan from age 10,Ono was musically influenced by...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Spanning several genres in as many decades, Kyoto-based DJ and producer Nobukazu Takemura has carved out a niche as one of Japan's most respected soundsmiths. Starting out as a hip-hop DJ in the mid 80s, Takemura migrated to the mixing desk later in the decade, soon releasing tracks on several labels...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Maki Nomiya is best known as vocalist for Pizzicato Five in the 90s, but her career as a vocalist stretches considerably further back. Nomiya released her first album, Pink no Kokoro, in 1981. The album saw limited success, and luckily for future fans, Nomiya's career as cookie-cutter Japanese idol...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Kenji Ozawa began his professional music career along with Keigo Oyamada, aka Cornelius, in cult favorite Flipper's Guitar. After a two year gap following the band's breakup, Ozawa resurfaced to high expectations with his first solo album, Inu wa hoeru ga kyaraban wa susumu in 1993 (released in 1997...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:13 PM PDT Ami Suzuki's disappearing act is one of the Japanese music scene's more depressing stories. Until 2001, girl-next-door Suzuki was one of the J-pop scene's most visible faces, with a plethora of TV appearances and product endorsements, and several top-selling singles and albums for Sony Music that sold...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:12 PM PDT One of the most highly visible and sought-after DJ/producers in the world, Towa Tei has consistently remained in the public eye since his debut. Born Doug Wa-Chung in Tokyo, Tei attended Musashino Art School, where he majored in Visual Art. In 1987, he relocated from Tokyo to New York, where he soon...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:12 PM PDT Formed in 1991 and active at the peak of Shibuya-kei's popularity, Love Tambourines mixed the sexed up appeal of vocalist Ellie with smooth R&B grooves during a short but exhilarating ride. After gigging for several years, primarily in the fertile Shimokitazawa scene, the five member group signed...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:12 PM PDT Namie Amuro, born September 20, 1977, (real name Namie Maruyama, said to be one quarter Italian), was a huge sensation in the 90's and has gone on to be one of the most successful Japanese pop artists of all time. While she is generally considered an idol, her staying power suggests that she is at least...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:12 PM PDT Kaela Kimura emerged as the alternative "it girl" of 2005, but it remains to be seen if she will establish herself as a multi-faceted entertainer, or just a passing fad. Born in Tokyo on October 24, 1984, she first appeared on pop culture radar in 2002 as a model in the Japanese teen fashion...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:12 PM PDT The artist known as Dorlis swings with an ease and lack of pretense that bely her age - 23 years old at the time of this writing. Born and raised in Okayama, Dorlis began studying classical guitar as a child, later singing on the streets from age 17. After dropping out of high school she hit the road,...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:12 PM PDT Formed in 1994 by vocalist, guitarist, and Rolling Stones freak Don Matsuo, Zoobombs channel old-school rock and roll and update it with hip-hop, country, punk rock, dub, funk, and even kraut-rock, all topped off with an overdose-size shot of pure energy. The band hit the Japanese underground circuit...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:12 PM PDT Like Maki Nomiya, Karia Nomoto, Kahimi Karie, and other artists heavily influenced by the collision of French pop, fashion, and other continental touchstones, singer/songwriter Emi Necozawa has crafted a distinctive image based on these reference points that plays just as large a role in attracting fans...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:11 PM PDT hitomi (always in lower case) is a very cute and sexy girl. Oh, and she also happens to sing. Born Hitomi Furuya on January 26, 1976 in Tochigi prefecture, hitomi has been a popular idol singer now for over a decade. But overwhelmingly, it's her long, tall, curvy frame and flawless facial features...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:11 PM PDT Ken Hirai stands out from the rest of the J-pop pack - literally, since he's 183 cm tall. He stands out in a musical sense, too, since talented male vocalists like Hirai are almost an endangered species on the Japanese music scene. But what really makes Hirai special is his utterly unique falsetto, which...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:11 PM PDT Born in 1976 to a Taiwanese father and Japanese mother, popular singer Yo Hitoto spent most of her pre-kindergarten life in Taiwan. After the unfortunate death of her father to lung cancer, Hitoto moved back to Japan with her mother and older sister, where the family found solace in music. Tragedy...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:11 PM PDT Shinichi Osawa, operating under the name Mondo Grosso, has established himself as one of Japan's most innovative and stylish creators of acid jazz, R&B, and house music. A bassist, DJ, remixer, and producer, Osawa began recording music in 1989, releasing his first album, Mondo Grosso, in 1993 on...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:11 PM PDT Maywa Denki is a failed electronics maker and performance art masterpiece rolled into one. Today consisting solely of Nobumichi Tosa, Maywa Denki was originally founded by his father Sakaichi Tosa, who formed the company after a lengthy stretch drawing plans for seaplanes for a company called Kawanishi...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:11 PM PDT Ever since her debut in December 1999 with the million-selling single "Love, Day After Tomorrow", female vocalist Mai Kuraki has been one of J-pop's most popular artists. Inspired by singers such as Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, Kuraki began making demo tapes while still in middle school....
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:10 PM PDT Jazz-pop diva Mika Nakashima has been one the music industry's most successful artists since the turn of the century. Appealing as both a pop singer and a "serious artist", Nakashima's smoky, emotive voice and sophisticated style belie her youth. Born in 1983, Nakashima was committed to becoming...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:10 PM PDT Formed by guitar prodigy Shigeo Naka, The Surf Coasters play an updated style of surf music that draws from obvious sources including The Ventures, Dick Dale and Link Wray, as well as more varied, eclectic influences. Naka got his start in music when he released the single "Let's Go Tube"...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:10 PM PDT Back in the mid-'80s the J-pop scene experienced what was known as the "band boom." This trend was triggered by a late-night TV show called Ikaten, which featured live performances by amateur bands eager to make it big. Most of the bands that appeared on Ikaten have faded into obscurity, but...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:10 PM PDT A tried-and-true J-pop promotional tactic is to get some overseas exposure for an artist and then tell the often credulous Japanese media that he or she has really made a splash in the U.S., Britain, Botswana or wherever. That's what Avex did with Kumi Koda back in 2000. The label decided to license...
|
| Posted: 02 Jun 2010 07:09 PM PDT Minmi is a good example of how many Japanese musicians are confidently adapting and incorporating musical influences from all over the world into their music, which in her case is a blend of R&B and reggae. Another key influence in Minmi's music is hip-hop, which she says she's been listening since...
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Kpop-Jpop.com|Giving You the Best in Kpop & Jpop News! To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment