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November 22, 2024
 

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Shawn Despres

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Shawn Despres
Shawn Despres has been contributing to the Japan Times’ music page since 2005, and he has a passion for writing about the independent music scene in East Asia. He spent several years living in Yokohama and currently resides in Seoul.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2009
Asakusa Jinta "Setsuna"
"Setsuna" is the third album proper from Asakusa Jinta, the self-dubbed "Asianican Hard Marching Band." Having performed under the moniker since 2004, the Tokyo sextet first refined their mix of modern Western-inspired sounds and vintage Japanese pop and enka at tiny local live houses and makeshift concerts...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2009
Springroove 09
Spring has finally arrived. Birds are singing, cherry trees are blooming, the bass is pumping and anthemic chants of "oi" are echoing through the air.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2009
AA=
While most young acts tend to start off in smaller venues and work their way up, AA= opted to do the opposite. The new solo project from Takeshi Ueda, bassist with apparently now-defunct tech-metal heroes The Mad Capsule Markets, played their first-ever concerts to thousands at the massive Intex Osaka...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2009
Don Matsuo "New Stone Age"
"New Stone Age" is the second solo effort from Don Matsuo, the frontman for Tokyo rock 'n' roll stalwarts Zoobombs. His 2006 offering, "O-re-ha-si-na-i-yo?" and the bulk of Zoobombs' output have been praised for their experimentation with different styles. Inspired by sounds from the 1960s and '70s,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 6, 2009
Mono "Hymn to the Immortal Wind"
Celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, Mono have improved with age. While the Tokyo instrumental quartet's early work mimicked peers such as Mogwai, more recently they've forged their own sonic path toward top-tier status in the realm of postrock.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 27, 2009
F-cked Up
To promote the release of their sophomore album, last October's blistering "The Chemistry of Common Life," Toronto punks F-cked Up played a free gig in a New York boutique store. So what's the big deal you're wondering? The sextet's performance lasted a punishing 12 hours and saw them collaborating with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 27, 2009
F-cked Up
To promote the release of their sophomore album, last October's blistering "The Chemistry of Common Life," Toronto punks F-cked Up played a free gig in a New York boutique store. So what's the big deal you're wondering? The sextet's performance lasted a punishing 12 hours and saw them collaborating with...
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2009
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra "Paradise Blue"
Two decades after making their recording debut with an eponymous 12-inch EP, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra have released their 14th full-length studio effort, "Paradise Blue." One of Japan's better-known musical exports, the nine-piece have performed sold-out shows around the globe, including stages at...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 30, 2009
Q-Tip
Widely regarded as one of hip-hop's top MCs, Q-Tip finally released his long-awaited second solo effort, "The Renaissance," late last year as the followup to 1999's "Amplified." The nine-year gap is one the American rapper might rather forget.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2009
The 50 Kaitenz "50 Kaitenz no Bikkuri!!"
Since their inception in 2004, self-proclaimed "rock-o-medians" The 50 Kaitenz have toured extensively, showcasing their hybrid of vintage rock 'n' roll and slapstick comedy on stages throughout Japan, Australia and the United States. And while I'm not the biggest fan of most of the Osaka trio's "wacky"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 26, 2008
Ne-Yo
The last quarter of 2008 started off well for American R&B crooner Ne-Yo — and it's only got better.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 5, 2008
Envy
Formed in the early 1990s, Tokyo's Envy have seen their international fan base steadily expand since 2001's "All the Footprints You've Ever Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead." 2008 has proved to be no exception, with the quintet showcasing their intense hybrid of postrock and screamo to enthusiastic...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2008
Canadian music execs schmooze up to Tokyo
The relatively small 33 million population of Canada, the world's second-largest country in terms of land mass, makes it nearly impossible for its musicians to maintain careers based on domestic support alone.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 17, 2008
Dosh
When you are given the name Martin Luther King Chavez Dosh, it's a safe bet that you're in for a pretty atypical upbringing that likely won't result in punching the clock as a typical 9-to-5er.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 10, 2008
Girl Talk "Feed the Animals"
Unveiled digitally this summer using a Radiohead-style "pay-what-you-like" model, the CD release of mashup artist Gregg Gillis' fourth Girl Talk full-length, "Feed the Animals," has been issued just in time to be rightfully included on critics' end-of-year lists.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 7, 2008
Spicy food, sexy idols and now . . . fashion
SEOUL — In the late 1990s, the Korean Wave — "Hallyu" as it's referred to in its native tongue — began as South Korea's television, film and music industries gained greater international followings, especially among its Asian neighbors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2008
Death Set put Japan on the agenda
Nearly every teacher of English as a second language who has worked in Japan longer than a year has wondered at some point, "What the hell am I going to do when I go back home?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 4, 2008
Uncut
Recently selected as one of the best independent labels in North America by XLR8R Magazine, Canada's Paper Bag Records is responsible for exposing the world to underground rock faves Broken Social Scene, Stars and Tokyo Police Club. And Toronto's Uncut are the label's latest signee to attract international...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 27, 2008
Joan of Arc
American label Polyvinyl Records is promoting "Boo Human," the latest effort from the Chicago band Joan of Arc,as their "most accessible, cohesive" work since 1998's "How Memory Works."
CULTURE / Music
Jun 13, 2008
Free Kitten "Inherit"
Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, former-Pussy Galore guitarist Julie Cafritz, and Osaka's own Yoshimi P-We of Vooredoms and OOIOO fame comprise alt-rock "supergroup" Free Kitten. Absent on their third full-length, "Inherit," is ex-Pavement bassist Mark Ibold, but Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis adds some extra...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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