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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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2008
South Korean punk band Gumx regroups after military service
"Gumx is back!!" proclaimed the T-shirt for Seoul punk band Gumx's short Japan jaunt in late February. The band's first foreign gigs in more than three years, it had good reason to be excited about returning to the live circuit in its biggest market.
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2008
Tokyo Police Club "Elephant Shell"
Sticking with the "short and sweet" approach of their well-received 2006 seven-song, 16-minute EP "A Lesson in Crime," Toronto's Tokyo Police Club crank out 11 tracks in 28 minutes on debut long player "Elephant Shell." While lacking the frantic immediacy of the EP, its polished poppy postpunk hooks...
CULTURE / Music
Mar 28, 2008
Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend"
Blogs and underground music rags began raving about Vampire Weekend's supposedly innovative fusion of African pop, chamber pop and postrock last fall. Although their use of congas, organ and shakers does add a slight ethnic edge, their Paul Simon-influenced eponymous debut is unsurprisingly not as...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2008
Zu
Italian trio Zu pride themselves on their work ethic and ability to battle adversity. Since forming in Rome in 1997, they have successfully performed their innovative mix of baritone saxophone, bass and drums at 1,000-plus gigs throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2008
Wintersleep "Welcome to the Night Sky"
Wintersleep is the latest buzz band to emerge from Canada's fertile underground scene. This third studio effort, "Welcome to the Night Sky," recently netted the Halifax-based quintet Juno Award (Canada's Grammy Awards) nods for Best New Group and Best Alternative Album.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 1, 2008
Praise be for belly dancers
It's often said that good things (and bad ones) come in threes. But anyone who has seen Tokyo-based belly dancers The Afet Collective in action is likely to insist that great things come in sevens.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2008
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs "Mass of the Fermenting Dregs"
Formed in 2002, Hyogo Prefecture-based female trio Mass of the Fermenting Dregs first attracted wider attention after stealing the show on the Rookie A Go-Go stage at last year's Fuji Rock Festival. And while their self-titled debut is released by newly formed indie label Avocado Records, that the band...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 11, 2008
Damon & Naomi
Nearly two decades of playing in intimate clubs as part of seminal American indie act Galaxie 500 and now as pop-folk duo Damon & Naomi has allowed Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang to unearth many talented, like-minded musicians unknown to your average English-speaking music fan. They shared their favorite...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 9, 2007
Land of Talk — "Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss"
Stars — "In Our Bedroom After the War"
The hype around Montreal's music scene may have faded, but the debut from Land of Talk, "Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss," shows that the city's well of talent is far from dry. Formed in 2005, the trio delivers 10 delectable tracks (originally issued in Canada as a seven-song EP in 2006 and now released in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2007
Mono find fan in Steve Albini
While big-name music acts look to foreign markets to continue fattening their already oversize bank accounts, for Tokyo quartet Mono, it's a simple matter of survival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 27, 2007
Akon
"Trouble" is about right.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 13, 2007
Asobi Seksu
In a country with no shortage of sexual fetishes, any group whose name translates into "playful sex" in English is bound to go over well in Japan. While Asobi Seksu's vocalist/ keyboardist Yuki Chikudate and her male cohorts are likely no strangers to praise from lustful showgoers longing to gain carnal...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 29, 2007
Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love "Ends Of June"
Based on their long-winded name, some may dismiss Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love as pretentious indie rockers or a mere novelty act. The British sextet are neither. Influenced by the fragile pop of Elliott Smith and alt-folk of Iron & Wine, their sophomore effort, "Ends Of June," is full of well-written...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 29, 2007
Patrick Wolf and Earl Greyhound
To retire at the ripe age of 23 is something most have dreamt of, but few have actually accomplished.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 15, 2007
Caede "The Queen Of"
Having spent more than a decade flashing toothy grins across Japanese magazine covers and TV ads, Japanese model Kaede is looking to diversify her portfolio with the release of her first long player on the hip Harajuku label/record shop/cafe Escalator.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 11, 2007
An ear-rattling unholy alliance
Although virtually unknown at home, in 2005 the international release of "Pink" turned Tokyo's Boris into one of Japan's biggest underground exports in the new millennium.
CULTURE / Music
May 4, 2007
Battles "Mirrored"
Featuring former members of acclaimed underground rock acts Don Caballero and Helmet, Battles' highly anticipated debut album, "Mirrored," should have little trouble finding a spot on numerous "Best Of" lists come year-end. Operating under the guise of post-rock, the New York quartet's mix of electronica,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 20, 2007
Don Caballero
If a singer can completely reform a band, yet keep the same name (see: Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses), then a drummer can, too. Considered among the best drummers of the 1990s American indie rock scene, Damon Che's frenetic, innovative style played a large role in the underground success of Don Caballero,...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 13, 2007
World's End Girlfriend "Hurtbreak Wonderland"
The sounds of chimes, a creaking door and a match being struck invite listeners into the eccentric mind of Tokyo-based electronic composer Katsuhiko Maeda on "Hurtbreak Wonderland," his fifth release as World's End Girlfriend. It's an album that boasts a dizzying array of post-rock, avant-jazz, classical...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2007
Guns N' Roses
In their prime, Guns N' Roses were all about excess: Substance abuse, controversial lyrics and inciting riots earned them the title "world's most dangerous band" in the late 1980s. However cliched, GNR's gloriously over-the-top sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll antics endeared them to millions.
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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