Dear God. This week was brutal in terms of amount of releases… and I’m still missing some of them, which is why this post is late. I had hoped to find everything before Wednesday, but looks like stuff will still be trickling in for awhile. It was, however, a very good week! Here are some of my favs Read the rest of this entry »
To make up for missing last week’s post, I included two weeks of recs… not that there are that many, despite the high amount of releases. March is going to be a BIG month in terms of release volume, but we’ll see how far on the awesome scale it got. February was pretty good. I think March will be better though! Anyway, click below to read:
Good week of releases this week! I’ve already mentioned Ito Yuna and Celine Dion’s amazing collaboration, so I’d like to mention a few other releases that I enjoyed:
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01. Yume no Kajitsu 02. Kokoro no Kagi 03. Okubyou na Lion 04. TELL ME THE TRUTH 05. Futashika na Mono 06. Moshimo Hitotsu dake Negai ga Kanau Kara 07. Uzu 08. Darling 09. Tenohira 10. Yasashii Uta 11. Hoshi ni Negai wo |
Yorico’s third album, Negau, is a mellow, relaxing album typical of her style and highlighting her beautiful vocals. Many of these songs, including Kokoro no Kagi, were released as digital singles earlier, so we have heard pieces of this album. But I have to say, I enjoyed these songs within the context of the album as a whole a lot more than I did as individual singles. The songs were a bit boring by themselves, but they don’t make a boring album; indeed, they all add into a mellowing, calming experience together.
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01. Fuyu no Maboroshi 02. Koi Ichiya |
Acid Black Chery, vocalist of which is from Janne Da Arc, has released their awesome 4th single as a prelude to their album coming on in February (whose exited for that? I am! Yes!) Fuyu no Maboroshi… I can’t really pinpoint what I like about it. The sound effects are cool, instruments solid, lyrics really good, and the PV trippy. What’s not the like? XD;
People may be expecting a review of UVERworld’s new album, but I’ll have to disappoint. I didn’t like it at first listen (I never seem to like their albums, only singles…), but I’m going to listen a few more times and give it a chance. It doesn’t hit the disappointment that was Timeless, but we’ll see if it is even at BUGRIGHT’s level.
Feel free to add your 2 cents. What releases did you particularly like this week?
New releases for this week were almost non-existant, and with the new year coming up, things are really slow. So I thought I’d do a sort of “year in review” for reference.
Bands/Artists that Debuted this year:
Acid Black Cherry - Janne da Arc’s taking a break, but we get Yasu’s awesome solo project. He has a new single and an album planned, and let me tell you, that album will be mine as soon as I can pre-order it!
alan - Chinese Opera singler extraordinaire! Her debut single was awesome, and her collab with Rin’ was too. Can’t wait for the next release!
ERIKA - Sawajiri Erika had a release for the drama Taiyou no Uta under the name Amane Kaoru in 2006, but officially debuted in 2007. Or something like that.
Ikegami Kei - Still hard to get her stuff, but she has a nice voice.
ONE OK ROCK - Had their major debut, though they’ve been indies since 2006.
Soulja - His awesome duet entitled “Koko ni Iru yo” with Aoiyama Thelma was really good, and his album did pretty well if I recall correctly.
Bands/Artists that Disbanded this year:
BeForU - I never really listened to them, so I can’t really comment on this.
bis - I can comment on this, though… bis is disbanding in Jan 2008 (can I even include them in this list?) and I’m really surprised about it. I felt like their latest releases have been pretty strong; but then I only started listening to them recently, so I guess I can’t really make that distinction well.
Def Tech - Micro now does seperate collabs, but always seems to still be introduced/credited as “Micro of Def Tech”. Hmm…
LOVE - Otsuka Ai’s sugary sweet bunny-thing. Grows on you.
Mi - Cute girl group that I actually sorta liked. They weren’t really bubblegum which was nice.
W - Hello!Pro group that was on hiatus due to Kago Ai’s smoking scandal. Then she was caught “socializing” with older men. This being an especially sore point for H!P fans, I think I’ll stop with the comments here. They wouldn’t have been very nice anyway. *grin*
Other odd happenings in that respect
AAA - the loss of one of the girls hasn’t changed the singing of AAA much. I wonder how it feels to be 2 girls surrounded with 5 guys all the time? *grin*
Antique Cafe - lost their bassist Bou, but gained 2 new members and came out with strong singles in my opinion. I really liked Ryuusei Rocket, and though I’ve always liked Bou, I also like the changes in An Cafe that came about this year as well.
the brilliant green - Came back! YES! 2 new singles this year, and a single collection planned for early next year.
speena - They left avex and had a name change to something I can’t quite remember and don’t feel like looking up.
ZARD - Izumi Sakai, the single and face of ZARD, died in the hospital this year. I really liked her, and I was sad at this news… but really. Do we really need 6 tribute/best of/rememberence/whatever albums? Seems wrong to use her death to sell stuff.
…and both mai and Van Tomoko seem to have dropped off the face of the earth, music wise.
Interesting collabs:
ayaka and KOBUKURO - WOW. The sheer awesomeness of voices for this single still never fails to blow me away.
Ito Yuna and Celine Dion - including this because even though the single isn’t out till January, the PV is out. What an interesting duo… I’d have thought Yuna’d be outclassed by Celine, but she really proved she deserves “diva” status. She held her own, and then some!
The Gospellers and Howie D - Definitely Backstreet Boys-esqe, but I’m really enjoying this theme of Asian + Western artists. I think it is awesome that Western artists are at least attempting to sing in Japanese! XD
Koda Kumi and Tohoshinki (DBSK) - reaffirmed I really don’t like Tohoshinki, but that Koda can make anyone look good. Did those guys sound goofy in the talking part, or what! *dodges rotten fruit thrown by fangirls*
KOH+ (Shibasaki Kou and Fukuyama Masaharu) - Liiiiiked it!
MONKEY MAJIK - did a lot of collabs this year, everyone of them good. Except maybe that last with CHEMISTRY… I honestly couldn’t tell it was a collab.
I’m sure I’ve missed some, but those were the main things for me. Feel free to add on in comments, and any other news you remember being big from the year!
Angela Aki is half Japanese and half Italian-American from Hawaii (though she was born in Japan), hence her awesome English skillz. She originally debuted in America, but soon switched to Japan and was able to catch the attention of Uematsu Nobuo after the release of her ONE minialbum. She landed the theme to Final Fantasy XII, and the rest is history!
Angela’s signature style is as a singer-songwriter who mostly features her piano. If you don’t like the piano, then you probably wont like her no matter how good her voice is. If you’re like me, though, and love the piano, this is definitely an artist you don’t want to miss!
Anyway, the usual sampleness! Her music doesn’t really have much of a range. I hesitate to say it is limited, since that is normally a negative trait, but in terms of instruments used and typical style, hers is always identifiable. She also likes to remake songs and feature them on several releases. Still, she has some amazing songs, so give her a try if you haven’t before!
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POWER of MUSIC: SD’s Angela BEST! 01. Kiss Me Good-Bye 02. MUSIC 03. This Love 04. Rain (Re-Arrangement) 05. サクラ色 (Sakurairo) 06. TODAY 07. たしかに (Tashika ni) 08. 孤独のカケラ (Kodoku no KAKERA) 09. On & On 10. Kiss From a Rose (Seal Cover) 11. Again 12. Louisiana 1927 (LIVE Randy Newman Cover) |
Song reviews, youtube links, etc. under the cut! Read the rest of this entry »
I said last week I’d stop putting this off, so even if it isn’t quite the end of the year yet, I’d like to go ahead and do a big Yearly Recommendation Post! I left a lot of stuff out, so these were just the top releases for me. I had a lot more favorites overall, but I couldn’t stick everything on here! It is also a bit heavy on the JPop as that is what I normally listen to, but a few JRock releases are thrown in there as well.
It’s getting close to the end of the year, and I don’t want to put the grand recommendation post off much longer. So I’ll do it next week. Hah! Anyway, I’d like to feature an artist this week!
Hata Motohiro is currently my #1 favorite male artists in the JPop world. Besides having an amazing amount of raw vocal talent, I can hear him improving with every release, which to me means a lot. His voice for those who have not tried him is a mixture of Suga Shikao in vocal tone and quality, with the power of K or Ryohei behind it. He has consistently impressed me with each new release, and writes the majority of songs himself.
He was signed onto Augusta after the release of his Indies album (which has proved elusive to find, to my disappointment), the label which also boasts musicians like Suga Shikao, Yamazaki Masayoshi, Hajime Chitose, and Sukima Switch. His most recent release was his first major full-length album.
With regards to a sample, because of the relative low amount of releases to choose from, my pick is not really a full sized album; think of it as a Best MiniAlbum. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” bit to find this week’s release list and a short review of some of the newest as well.
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Voice of Glass and Steel: SD’s HATA MiniBest! 01. Synchro (Single Ver.) 02. Kisetsu ga Warau 03. Uroko 04. Milk Tea 05. Aoi Chou 06. Shikisai |
01. Synchro (Single Ver.) (Watch Synchro PV @ Youtube)
His first major release, the first song of his I’ve ever heard, and of course the song that got me hooked. I still remember the blown away feeling I had at listening to this. He’s still a bit rough in this song in that you can hear that he hasn’t gotten much vocal training yet, but it also makes the song a bit endearing.
02. Kisetsu ga Warau
My favorite song off the Bokura wo Tsunagu Mono minialbum. It is much slower than Synchro, but really a beautiful song. I love the soothing, mellow feel of it.
03. Uroko (Watch Uroko [Live] @ Youtube)
If I thought Synchro blew me away, this one actually made me sit down and cry. The song is absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. Yes, it translates to fish scales in English. No, I don’t care how ugly that name sounds. The PV is amazing as well, but I’m linking you to a live. With this song, Hata reached a whole new level. His voice is smoother and more polished, more powerful, and his singing more emotional than ever.
04. Milk Tea
A B-side off the Aoi Chou single, this is a pretty, smooth song in the same vein as Kisetsu ga Warau. I really enjoyed listening to it, and for all its slow pace, it makes me feel happy.
05. Aoi Chou (Watch Aoi Chou PV @ Youtube)
Aoi Chou is in a somewhat different vein from the rest of his songs, and took a few listens for me to get used to it and actually enjoy it. Now, it is one of my favorites, and I love how the change of background instruments and beat make for a slightly more rock-ish feel to the song.
06. Shikisai
Having this song at the beginning of his first major album, CONTRAST, was the best decision Hata or Augusta could have made. Or whomever devised the track order. Anyway, this song is an awesome and upbeat introduction to the album, with a great chorus and a catchy tune. It took me three or four listens to get past this song to hear the rest of the album, that is how good it was! (Okay, that isn’t really hard to do with me. Still.)
Links for the Interested:
Hata Motohiro Official Website
Hata Page at wiki.thePPN: Hata Community on LiveJournal made by yours truly!
Hata Motohiro Fanlisting for all its worth…
Hata at Last.fm
Lyrics:
–Fantasii-Lyrics Hata Page
–Cori-chan’s Hata Page
The Japan Record Awards is an award giving body linked to the Japan Composers’ Association. It’s an annual event held to honor and recognize the year’s most outstanding musical artists. Each year, a list of winners is given the Gold Prize. These Gold Prize recipients then vie for the Grand Prize. The 49th Japan Record Awards are going to be held on December 30, 2007, 6:30 pm (JST) at TBS.
The list of Gold Prize Winners and Grand Prize Nominees are as follows:
Here are this week’s new releases and recommendations, and boy was it a good one! I’m having trouble choosing what to pick!
AAA - Otoko Dake Dato,…Kounarimashita!” [Boys Only Single-Digital Release]
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01. Crash 02. Hasta la vista 03. Akireru Kurai Wagamama na Jiyuu 04. BET |
It seems like there has been a growing trend of digital releases lately. I remember two years ago when you would have hardly ever heard of one, and now I can count at least 10 artists who have done so! Anyway, AAA’s single is very, very good! My favorite song would probably be Crash, but they are all interesting. Akireru Kurai Wagamama na Jiyuu is the slow song of the bunch, and it is a little odd not to hear the girls in the background. I wonder if this means a Girls Only release will be coming soon?
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: iTunes Link // Mora.jp
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FLOW - Fuyu no Amaoto / NIGHT PARADE by FLOW & HOME MADE KAZOKU
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01. Fuyu no Amaoto (Watch PV@Youtube) 02. NIGHT PARADE by FLOW & HOME MADE KAZOKU (Watch PV@Youtube) 03. Image 04. Fuyu no Amaoto (Instrumental) 05. NIGHT PARADE by FLOW & HOME MADE KAZOKU (Instrumental) |
This is one collaboration that is definitely a hit with me. Fuyu no Amaoto is a great song, but the real gem of the single is NIGHT PARADE. I enjoy both FLOW and HOME MADE Kazoku, and their voices/styles blend really well in this!
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia
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01. i spy i spy (Watch PV@Youtube) 02. i spy i spy (Instrumental) |
Wow, what a cool sounding single. Not only is this the other awesome collab of the week, it sounds a bit like Blondie’s “Call Me”, same style of instrumental/guitar for example, and is overall a really catchy song. Definitely ordering this one with my next big CD purchase!
Info: Superfly Official // JET Official // no wiki, pity…
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia
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On top of that, I’d like to also recommend two great “best”/compilation albums as well. I think that these are an awesome way to sample an artist, and they are awesome to buy because you get so many great songs on one album!:
The Gospellers - The Gospellers Works [Album]
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01. Stand By Me 02. It Still Matters ~Ai wa Nemuranai w/Howie D. (Watch PV@Youtube) 03. Natsu no Collection 04. Guitarism 05. Utsubokazura 06. Omoikomi 07. The Longest Time 08. CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO 09. Rebirth 10. Shizumanu Yuuhi 11. Manten no Hoshi no Yoru 12. Ryuusei 13. TAXI to Yubiwa no RESTAURANT 14. Dance If You Want It 15. TSHIRT ni Kuchibeni 16. SLOW BALLAD 17. A HAPPY NEW YEAR |
I’ve always enjoyed The Gospellers voices. They have the perfect acapella sound, but my favorite song on this album happens to be the collab with Howie D. Awesome.
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia
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WaT - WaT Collection [Album]
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01. Ready Go! (Watch Live w/Morning Musume) 02. Natsubi 03. Boku no Kimochi 04. Jitensha 05. Bokura no Ibasho 06. reStart 07. 5Centi 08. I will get a dream 09. Hajimete Umi wo Mita Toki ni wa 10. Hadaka 11. Hava Rava 12. Sotsugyou TIME 13. Ano Hi 14. Bokura no Love Story (Watch PV@Youtube) 15. Awaking Emotion 8/5 16. Kimi ni Okuru Uta |
These two are so cute. *pinches cheeks* I like the way they blend their voices, and they have the sort of innocent, feel good pop sound to them. Bokura no Love Story and Jitensha are my favs from this album!
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia
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And per usual, the entire list of releases for this week is under the cut!
Read the rest of this entry »
Hey y’all! Back on schedule here with a few recommended releases from this past Wednesday!
ONE OK ROCK - Zetaikubyo
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01. Naihi Shinsho 02. Borderline 03. (you can do) everything 04. Yoru ni shika Sakanai Mangetsu 05. Yume Yume 06. Kagerou 07. Lujo 08. Kemuri 09. Yokubou ni Michi ta Seinendan 10. Etcetera 11. A New One For All, All For The New One |
Zetaikubyou is ONE OK ROCK’s first major album, and all I can say for it is, “wow!” ONE OK ROCK hooked me with their second mini-album’s title song “Keep it real” and I’ve loved every release since then, but I think this is the best so far! Etcetera is the definite hit on the album, with Naihi Shinsho not far behind. Borderline and Kagerou are noteworthy as well. If you’re a fan of ELLEGARDEN, LAST ALLIANCE, or Asian Kung-fu Generation, you’ll definitely be glad you checked these guys out!
Links:
Official Site
Wiki.thePPN Page
OOR Blog
Buy! Yesasia US // Yesasia Global // CD Japan
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alan - 明日への讃歌 (Ashita he no Sanka)
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01. 明日への讃歌 (Ashita he no Sanka) 02. 桜モダン (Sakura Modern) 03. 明日への讃歌 (Ashita he no Sanka) (Instrumental) 04. 桜モダン (Sakura Modern) (Instrumental) |
alan is Chinese-Tibetan and has been trained in the Chinese Opera style of singing. This is her debut Japanese single, and for me gave me mixed reactions at first. I heard Ashita he no Sanka on her official, and didn’t really like it. I don’t prefer the Opera style of singing no matter the language, and the quality on her official wasn’t good. Once I saw her PV however, my opinion took a 180 turn! WOW! Her voice is truly beautiful, and she manipulates it so skillfully. I still don’t much like the opera style, but I definitely love this single, and I’m looking forward to what she puts out next! And a word of warning, for this girl, her official doesn’t even begin to give you the full experience of her voice, so find it in high quality if you can!
Links:
Official Site: Japanese // Chinese
wiki.thePPN Page
Buy! HMV.co.jp // CD Japan
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Read the rest of this entry »
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