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November 22, 2024
 

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Ian Martin
Ian Martin is a freelance writer covering music and pop culture. He has been active in the Tokyo music scene as an indie event organiser, DJ and label owner since 2004 and has been contributing to The Japan Times music page for almost as long.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Feb 25, 2011
Nationally themed gigs make no sense in a post-Web world
March is almost here, and on the music calendar that means eyes are on the South by Southwest (SXSW) music showcase in Austin, Texas. For many Japanese bands and for much of the local press, SXSW means the festival's Japan Nite event.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 11, 2011
Miila and the Geeks take Tokyo 'riot grrrl' sound international
A small girl, stylishly dressed in a short, black-and-white dress crouches hunched over a microphone, spitting out vocals that might be English or might be Martian for all the audience can tell beneath the thick overlay of distortion; a sax player with crazy hair is engaged in some kind of intense, seemingly...
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jan 28, 2011
Japan's indie acts need to break domestic scene's 'glass ceiling'
There's a feeling in the air these days, not least on these pages, that Japan is becoming more culturally insular. Japanese video games are losing out to South Korea and the West in the race to explore the online frontier; animation, once the standard-bearer of "cool Japan," has retreated into a self-congratulatory...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 21, 2011
The Mornings reveal new depths on debut
"I was in a mosh pit at (Tokyo concert venue) Koiwa Bushbash when Shingo landed on top of me and dislocated my shoulder."
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2010
2010's many charts tell a confusing tale
As seems to be becoming commonplace with these end-of-year roundups, the big music story was once again the rise (and rise) of AKB48 and their rapidly multiplying sister groups, SKE48 (named after their home at Nagoya's Sunshine Sakae building), NMB48 (after Namba in Osaka) and "mature" proto-porn, postgraduation...
CULTURE / Music
Dec 10, 2010
Fukuoka harbors hotbed of new talent
Despite its far westerly location (being closer to Seoul than it is to Tokyo), the Kyushu city of Fukuoka has for a long time been one of the musical powerhouses of Japan.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 10, 2010
Bands to watch
In addition to groups such as Garorinz, Folk Enough, Nontroppo and MacManaman, Fukuoka's indie scene is still a hotbed of musical creativity. Here are some other bands worth paying attention to.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2010
Japan Music Week sets lofty goals for the live scene
With plans for a weeklong series of shows featuring 500 artists from 40 countries performing in 50 venues — and a target of 20,000 attendees — it's clear from the get-go that Jon Lynch has ambitious plans for Japan Music Week. But there are still moments when he catches you out.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 17, 2010
Tokyo Boredom
Tokyo Boredom was originally a massive thank-you to indie music fans. Dedicated punters who paid at least ¥2,000 every week to get into shows were treated to a free gig when all the acts at the event pitched in to pay for it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 23, 2010
Hikashu to take 'pataphysics to Fuji Rock
On the face of it, the lineup for this year's Fuji Rock Festival has not been kind to Japanese artists, with representation on the higher profile stages confined to such stalwarts as melodic punk rocker Ken Yokoyama and dance duo Boom Boom Satellites. The lack of any real challenge to these oldies' dominance...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2010
Former band members unite to help cancer-stricken Karn
It was a piece of news that passed unnoticed by much of the music world, but for fans of 1980s music, and in particular for a small group of Japanese musicians, the news that former Japan bass player Mick Karn was suffering from cancer came as a terrible shock.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 18, 2010
Back in Japan, Hotel Mexico rides the wave
Much is often made of the differences between popular music in the East and in the West, either praising the former for its inventive takes on Western styles, or deriding it for making cheap imitations. The truth, however, is that music travels so easily between nations and continents these days, and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 11, 2010
Halcali "Tokyo Groove"
When teen stars grow up, their careers always face a difficult journey into adulthood (just ask Macaulay Culkin). So, with playground hip-hop unit Halcali now well into their 20s, "Tokyo Groove" presents us with one disc featuring original songs and another of covers and collaborations, in the hope of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 2, 2010
Shoko Nakagawa "Shoko-tan Cover 3: Anison wa Jinrui o Tsunagu"
Given her image as the ultimate otaku idol — not only a singer, but also a manga artist and occasional anime voice actress — it's tempting to suggest that "Anison wa Jinrui wo Tsunagu," Shoko Nakagawa's third volume of anime song covers, is a better representation of the pop star she is than her...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 26, 2010
Yuki "Ureshikutte Dakiau-yo"
One of the most striking features of former Judy and Mary singer Yuki Isoya's career is the way that she has maintained a unique sense of her own identity throughout the body of her solo work. Pick almost any song from any of her five studio albums and, with its squeaky-yet-powerful vocals and vaguely...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2010
Umibachi skirts industry suits for newest release
"Basically women are body conscious and men play with their joysticks. The woman is in the more powerful position. The idea is about woman and man, sexual and urban."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 25, 2009
The decade's most influential
Last week, The Japan Times picked Hikaru Utada as the most influential artist of the past decade. This week, our writers ask various figures in Japan's music scene who they thought were the most influential artists of the noughties. We asked them to choose one Japanese artist and one non-Japanese artist,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 11, 2009
Hazel Nuts Chocolate "Cult"
Coming four years after its predecessor, 2005's "Cute," this new album by Hazel Nuts Chocolate, the solo project of singer and former capsule collaborator Yuppa, marks the end of a long wait by fans. However, the familiarity of the early tracks on "Cult," like the lo-fi tropicalia of "Moon Song" and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 4, 2009
2009: Cracks in the facade
A year of tragic deaths, amusing scandals and a series of increasingly senile looking attempts by the music industry to cling onto its outdated business model — that was 2009.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2009
Haimidori "Umuhito Umareruhito
In this debut album, Tokyo experimental five-piece Haimidori show obvious echoes of 1980s Bristol post-punks The Pop Group in the discordant sax farts, as well as the mixture of funk, punk and strangled vocals; but, they are by no means limited by those influences. "Umuhito Umareruhito" is less a roller...
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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