I’m back from a most excellent trip to Taiwan so have had not too much time to blog. But! I did find some pretty cool music on my travels which I shall regale you with now…
PARIS x Keepa – Only You
A class production here and as a struggling electronic producer myself I greatly appreciate the talent. This is progressive house with a twist of the deep house. It’s the chordal modulations around the 2:50 mark that raise this track to a darned high level.
湯ノ山かがり – 自意識過剰撤廃委員会のテーマ
Theme of the Committee to Eliminate Excessive Self-Consciousness is what the Google translate tells me the song means; a maxim for us all! This is pure Jrock silliness but still catchy nonetheless.
Tuudi – Just Like Before
I’m not a big fan of the song per se but the reason I’m including it is for Tuudi’s voice which is magnificent – think a slightly innocent Lana Del Rey. I have my eye on Tuudi for some good things in the future.
Subway Rat – Corner Cafe
This is a very acquired taste this one but I do write a food blog where I ate cat food so there is that. David Polanco AKA Subway Rat is an autistic rocker from Queens, New York City and judging by the 11 submissions they sent, quite prolific!
Furami – Villian
To round off our list it’s Furami who says on Submithub “Hi, it’s FURAMI here! I make J-Core music!”. You go girl! This song makes the list not least because of solid production but a neat key change in the chorus which keeps things ticking along nicely.
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If you have any music you’d like me to hear send your tracks here.
Nattan Utan Drommer translates to ‘nights without dreams’ and I can’t really segue neatly into anything logical at this point apart from the fact this track is relentlessly 80’s and mixes together The Damned, The Scorpions and some uber obscure Polish banned called Kombi which I shall post here because I fricking love this song:
Jake Huffman – Highs and Lows
Highs and Lows is the first single of an upcoming EP and has very British sensibilities: The Verve and Razorlight spring to mind immediately. A really solid track that bodes well for what I’m sure will be a good EP next year.
darkDARK – Ghost Complex
This one does take a while to get going but by the time the vocals kick in at 30 seconds you’ll be hooked. A lovely pared back production really lets the track breath and flow as every good production should and I am reminded very much of Feist or Imogen Heap – surely a good thing.
Guggenheim Bilbao / Koki Nakano – MONUMENTAL: Ep. 2
A real adventure this one. Starting off as slightly circular piano piece and then evolving into performance art courtesy of Tess Voelker’s intimate dancing, this is a highly unusual and involving body of work.
Tiger Del Flor – Living In The 90s
All I can remember from the 90s is being miserable and hating pop music and listening to nothing but heavy metal. Pop music in the 90s was terrible. Change my mind. However, Tiger Del Flor makes good pop music and this is like a very laid back Lana Del Rey or – oft quoted in these blog pages – Miranda Lee Richards. This is some great Americana.
Christian Loffler – Roused (Ft Malou)
When reviewing songs for the blog often times you’re struck by the occasional production that is utterly flawless and our Christian delivers a huge but very understated track. If M83 were a bit more grown up it might sound a bit like this.
Dual Aeon – Tokimeki Christmas
And what better to round of this selection with a very silly Xmas song by Dual Aeon. Don’t know what else to say – it’s gloriously happy and Santa San will be sure to add this band onto the Nice List this year!
It’s nice to get some more Jrock through to the blog as a lot of folks seem to think I like listening to RnB and hip hop, which is fine n all, but that kind of music isn’t why I started Najinsan. ウィアグリーバーcomments “how luxurious is the freedom we have taken for granted? I wrote this song while thinking about that.” It’s a fairly predictable pop song but a really nice listen, nonetheless.
Turbo Knight x Sonic Shades Of Blue x Castles Made Of Sky x Waves_On_Waves – Healing Hands
Wave on Wave are collaborators from Finland, Sweden, and the US and this is a track from their up-and-coming album Miami Arcade Vice Parade. This is a great slice of Synthwave with rolling basslines and big drums but the excellent vocals are what really stood out for me.
Salad – Too Good To Be True
I like a good salad, given my other blog is a food one. What’s your favourite salad? This song could be a salad with leaves by Neil Young, Dressing by Miranda Lee Richards, sprouts and beans by Joanna Newsome (did you see what I did there?). The last time I’ll use salad references to review tracks. Maybe.
Femke – Love Somebody Else
This reminds me a lot of Shawn Colvin and has it’s roots firmly in late 1990s Americana. Femke has a lovely voice and has used her musical talents to win a Latin Grammy with her contribution on the Transformacion album of Beto Cuevas. I expect to hear more from her in the coming months on the back of her new EP.
Louie Rubio – Find Your Light
Louie is a multi instrumentalist and when I asked him what the song was about he told me “Thematically the song follows a disenchanted protagonist escaping the Escher-like labyrinth of workaholic careerism and the status quo” then he went to great pains to lovingly describe the various instruments and musical themes running through the track, which I won’t go into here, but which tell me he’s really passionate about what he does. Great song.
Seeing as I’m now a curator on Submithub I get sent loads of cool things. This week I’m distilling down five of the best. Enjoy!
NAMESAKE – In Different Cities ft Jewel Owusu
A fairly harmless slice of feel good bubblegum pop to play as you drive down to your local cinema to watch Barbie, which like the film, “explore[s] the delicate balance of seizing opportunities and embracing the transient nature of relationships”. I’ve not seen Barbie yet but I’m 100% sure this is what it’s about.
Sumer Nights – John Fox
When John sent this over I was probably going to pass because of the somewhat abrasive rhythm guitar during the introduction, but the more I listened the more I began to like it. John’s voice seems to have been transported – hot tub style – from 1986. Loads of Journey, Boston, Rainbow in this one folks (yes, I know they’re from the late 70s but I don’t really care).
Autodidactic Studios x pftq x Waterflame x Diana Garnet – Genshindou
Always great to get some Jrock submissions through to the blog and this features some very solid vocals from Diana Garnet. It kinda reminds me of a darker version of Doll$box although Tom over at JPU Records may have better comparisons.
Hoax – Into The Blackhole
Although the verse is slightly prosaic and plodding – a slow dance jam – the chorus soars into space (obvious reference). Lovely use of major and minor 7 chords throughout and some neat falsetto vocals. Not to be confused with the music to the 1978 film The Blackhole, which was by John Barry and erm, I am rambling at this point.
ZUSO – Aurora
I’m not sure what the story behind this is; I did reach out to the singer, but like the Aurora Borealis, they were somewhat elusive. It reminds me of something you may hear on the Sunshine soundtrack by Underworld: transient, ephemeral, atmospheric, yet more uptempo. A nice deep house song for cocktails under the, er, sunshine.
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So there we are folks, a diverse selection of songs for you to enjoy. And if you have a song, why not send it over and I’ll have a listen? Pro tip: if you do, include a short bio about the track so I have some background; you wouldn’t believe how many folks just don’t bother.
If you don’t know FEMM, they had a catchy wee song a few years ago called FXXX Boys Get Money which was loads of fun and featured the band in full-on mannequin mode. New Single ‘Level Up’ sees them ditch this ridiculous shtick (yo!) in favour of something much more normal. Thank god.
Level Up is from FEMM’s EP 404 Not Found, which you can order from our old friends at JPU Records.
Ps when you get to that page ^^^ it’s not a really a 404. Ahahahaha.
YOSHIKI feat. Hyde won two awards at the 30th International Pop Poll in Hong Kong on May 10th, 2019.
YOSHIKI feat. Hyde’s single “Red Swan” – the first Season 3 theme song from the hit anime Attack on Titan – was voted “Top Japanese Gold Song” at the event hosted by the major Hong Kong radio station RTHK Radio 2.
The awards were sponsored by RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong), the public broadcasting network founded in 1928, and the Top Gold Songs Awards are the oldest major music awards in Hong Kong. This year, YOSHIKI feat. Hyde was also named the “Top Artist from Japan”, ranking above fellow superstars Namie Amuro and Hikaru Utada. YOSHIKI is the leader, drummer, and pianist of the band X JAPAN, and Hyde is the lead singer of the band L’Arc-en-Ciel.
Released in October 2018, “Red Swan” debuted at #1 on iTunes Rock Charts in 10 countries. The single also reached the Top 10 on mainstream iTunes Charts in 16 countries and climbed the iTunes Rock Charts in the U.S. (#6) and the UK (#8), becoming the first Japanese anime song in history to rank this high on iTunes Rock charts.
JPU Records is proud to introduce brand new Japanese rock band ELFRIEDE! The quartet will release their debut album “real-Ize” in April, with full details about the band, the album and their music videos are available on the brand new JPU Records website.
ELFRIEDE consists of Ryo Yamabuki (guitar), Rina Hoshino (bass), Yu-yan (drum) and Mikuru (vocal). Ryo has been featured in several of Japan’s top guitar publications, including YOUNG GUITAR and Player magazine and is also a popular cosplay icon with over 100 thousand followers on Twitter. Bass player Rina also has a solo career in jazz fusion and both members have supported bands on stages across Japan. It was from doing this that Ryo and Rina could meet drummer Yu-yan and vocalist Mikuru and complete ELFRIEDE’s electric line-up.
Despite ELFRIEDE’s short history, the band has formed a solid and eager fanbase amongst Japan’s indie rock scene. The initial pressing of their self-released EP –LOVE &- sold out despite only being available at gigs and via their website, and more recently when the group set up a crowdfunding campaign to hijack the streets of Shibuya for a video advertising campaign, they succeed their goal by 229 per cent! The campaign will see their promotional video blast across seven giant screens in Shibuya, from the famous scramble crossing up towards Tower Records (one of the biggest CD shops in the world) as well as on trucks with video screens and speakers on the back.
JPU Records’ edition of real-Ize will feature an extended booklet containing the album’s lyrics and English translations and transliterations and will be released on CD from 3 May 2019. Its digital release will be simultaneous with its Japanese release on 24 April.
Japan’s power metal heroines LOVEBITES have announced that their debut European headline tour will take place this November. The all-female five-piece, who recently won the Best New Band Award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, have joined British agency X-Ray Touring and will return to the UK and Germany for the tour, and perform in the Netherlands and France for the first time. Continue reading →
Japan’s heavy metal heroines LOVEBITES have won the title “Best New Band” at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards 2018. The finalists were nominated by the staff of Metal Hammer and the winner voted for by its readers. LOVEBITES were crowned Best New Band during the ceremony tonight at Indigo at the London O2 and saw the band’s by bass player miho and guitarist miyako flew in from Tokyo to accept the award. Continue reading →
Japan’s heavy metal crusaders LOVEBITES follow up their blistering debut album Awakening From Abyss with new mini-album Battle Against Damnation, revealing its track listing, cover art and video to lead track “The Crusade” today – watch it HERE.
The band have partnered with JPU Records for the mini-album’s release on 08 June 2018in North America and Europe, and in Japan on 06 June 2018 via Victor Entertainment. The release is also available for digital pre-order now via iTunes with “The Crusade” as an instant gratification download – get it HERE.
Lead track “The Crusade” sees LOVEBITES – who are nominated “Best New Band” in Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Awards 2018 – pay their respects to British heavy metal. Their admiration for it deepened further following the band’s appearance at a UK event and their headline performance at The Underworld in Camden in November 2017.
“Break The Wall” is the first song joint-written by miho (bass) and miyako (guitar, keyboard) and is propelled forwards at breakneck speeds through thrash metal riffs and grandiose solos, and features a change of atmosphere midway through before hurtling towards its dramatic finale.
The final two tracks “Above The Black Sea” and “Under The Red Sky” share similar names and themes. The former written by miyako, the latter by LIGHT BRINGER keyboard player Mao, both tracks see the classically trained pianists pen a metal-themed love letter to the works of Sergei Rachmaninoff, a composer from the Russian empire of the late Romantic period and inspirer of metal today.
Bass-player miho and vocalist asami comment on the themes and title of the mini-album;
“Humanity is faced with battles on a daily basis. Each person has their own fight, whether it’s illness, time, solitude, war or something else they have to face.” (miho)
“However, we consider that humanity’s most serious adversary is its own destiny. Sometimes it’s essential to defy the fate bestowed from the heavens. Battle Against Damnation depicts such a fight.” (asami).
Skilful engineers Mikko Karmila and Mika Jussila of Finland’s legendary Finnvox Studiosonce again return for mixing and mastering duties on all tracks. Similarly, the cover illustration is handled once again by David Lopez Gómez and Carlos Vicente León, the Spanish team behind LOVEBITE’s debut album cover art and German heavy metal band HELLOWEEN’s best album SWEET SEDUCTIONS.
LOVEBITES will appear at two of Europe’s biggest metal festivals this summer, appearing at Wacken Open Air on 04 August, the same day as HELLOWEEN, ARCH ENEMY and DIMMU BORGIR; and Bloodstock Open Air on 10 August alongside JUDAS PRIEST, EMPEROR and KAMELOT. The band will also tour Japan with ANTHEM as part of the Headstrong Festival 2018 and performed at the Vans Warped Tour Japan last month.
LOVEBITES (L-R: haruna (dr), midori (g), miyako (g, key), asami (vo), miho (b))
Najinsan!!!!!!!!! 