Category: jpop

Following on From Doll$Box

I asked my contact in gun-toting USA if he’d ever heard of Doll$box and he sent me the following advisory:

“Doll$Boxx was a one-time-only unit with members of Gacharic Spin + the lead singer of LIGHTBRINGER.

This was result of Gacharic Spin touring with different lead singers after their own singer suddenly quit the band before a scheduled tour. They liked [F]uki best and created an album & videos to capitalize on the momentary popularity. No plans for reunion or tour so far. Lot of different labels/management involved”

Bugger. I really liked the singer; she’s got one hell of a voice.

Mr Contact continues:

“Fuki is great — recommend checking out the LIGHT BRINGER videos for her best work (epic keyboards too)”

 

He’s not wrong. The keyboards really are epic!

 

Yeah yeah I know the formatting is totally screwed on this post. Sometimes WordPress likes to be a douche bag.

Doll$ Box Are My New BiS

Doll$ Box have been around for ages and ages (2012) but I’ve never paid them much attention until researching interview questions for Broken Doll. And I hate to admit it: this band is fucking awesome.

Merrily High Go Round (above) is a case in point; a super well crafted song with solid instrumentals (yes, that guitar solo modulates all over the place) and world class vocals courtesy of classically trained Fuki.

Maybe not as heavy as BandMaid, but with -I think – better song writing, I wish I’d listened to more of Doll$ Box a bit sooner.

Album Doll$ Apartment is on my playlist ‘natch along with BiS, BABYMETAL, BandMaid and er, Cliff Richard.

Hook me up on Twitter, bitches.

Amatsuki – I Love Anime

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Rising international star Amatsuki rocked MCM London Comic Con recently, as the three-day pop culture event experienced record numbers of more than 133,000 people attending, making it Europe’s biggest comic con and the third biggest event of its kind globally.

Amatsuki, who originally became popular through recording cover songs online, has since topped Japan’s national charts with his original work and I was lucky enough to catch up with him back stage at the convention for a quick chat!

Continue reading →

BABYMETAL Have A New Music Video

Well about time. Hasn’t it been like two years since they’ve made something? I’m not counting Road Of Resistance. Just cos.

Anyway here it is. My very brief thoughts after the vid.

It starts off promisingly enough with the three girls facing off against 3 ghosts or something. And then it goes very badly tits up: the choreography lacks fluidity and stutters and it’s all very serious. Videos like Megitsune and Gimme Choco were great fun and showcased the daftness of the band, but this all feels very dry and soulless and … forced.

On the plus side Karate is a killer metal song; and it is a metal song through and through. BABYMETAL seem to be transitioning towards something quite formidable and it will be interesting to see what the new album brings to the table. Will it be ‘the best album ever made’ as some hyperbolic reviewers claim? Time will tell.

 

EDIT:

Actually, I’ve watched it again and it, erm, kinda gets much better from the point I clicked off. Still not sure about the dancing though 😉

But what do YOU think? You think I’m a bitter and twisted knob jockey? Yes, probs, but I’m also honest. Comments wait below.

So Uhhhh There’s a New Album By A Certain Band Coming Out

There are loads of really cool albums due for release shortly; one for a certain Japanese band I’ve followed for a while. All I will say is that if you’re a fan of this group, you’re in for a treat. That’s all I’m saying. And this is my blog so I can say what the fuck I like.

Is it better than the first? No. It’s just very very different.

 

6 Random Music Acts To Watch In 2016

I wrote this blog post last year about 7 Japanese acts to watch in 2015 and was all super happy when the likes of BABYMETAL went onto become global superstars so I thought it would be appropriate to do a similar piece this year, except this time I’m even going to include some Western music! So why don’t you join me for a cup of coffee and a run-down of six acts I think are set for bigger things this year. Continue reading →

BAND-MAID On J-Melo!

BAND-MAID will appear on the international Japanese music television program J-Melo as one of the finalists in J-Melo’s Breakthrough Artist Showcase.

The all-girl rock band placed second in the recent viewer poll, and they’ll sit down for an interview with host May-J when the program airs in mid-March, just weeks before BAND-MAID’s debut American performance at Sakura-Con in Seattle.

Check the J-Melo website for more information.

Air Date:
March 14 (Japan Time)
0:10, 6:10, 12:30, 18:30

BAND-MAID recently announced their upcoming concert at Sakura-Con 2016 at the Washington State Convention Center. BAND-MAID will perform a live concert, participate in a Q&A session, and sign autographs for fans during the three-day event, March 25-27. Event and registration information can be found at Sakura-Con’s website.

BAND-MAID Official Facebook
BAND-MAID Website