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November 25, 2024
 

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Mike Sunda

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Mike Sunda
Mike Sunda is a music writer focusing primarily on electronic music and the Tokyo club scene. He graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, England with a degree in Japanese and has been contributing to The Japan Times since 2010.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 4, 2014
Tim Deluxe makes 'Radicle' move to get healthy
We've all been there before. Sometimes it's a New Year's resolution, sometimes it's the realization that you're out of breath just running up the stairs to catch your last train — but at one point or another, we've all decided to try and get in shape.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 25, 2014
After25 seeks music ties for Tokyo, Berlin
From Vincent Van Gogh's ukiyo-e inspired paintings to novelist Natsume Soseki's period of studies in the United Kingdom, Tokyo has long cultivated intercity relations with the likes of Paris and London through the mediums of art and literature. However, when it comes to linking Japan and Germany's respective...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 4, 2014
Eadonmm's beats prove black is back
"Black is the new black" always seems like a safe motto when it comes to picking clothes, but in an electronic-music world that is constantly churning out micro-genre ephemera, some would argue that black has gone out of fashion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2013
Tokyo prepares to get schooled in the art of beats
Although the major spectacle looming on Tokyo's horizon is undoubtedly the 2020 Olympics, there is one event this year that will be eagerly anticipated by anyone who spends longer on their gym playlist than their workout: The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is set to take place here in October.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2013
Red Bull Music Academy grad Mr. Beatnick has tips for the Class of '14
Londoner Nick Wilson took part in one of the early editions of the Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) in Cape Town in 2003. The ensuing years have seen him heavily involved in the city's underground scene, whether it is producing genre-hopping electronic music as Mr Beatnick or writing for publications such...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 17, 2013
The best Japanese albums of 2013: Sapphire Slows, 'Allegoria'
If there's one thing I've taken out of 2013, it's that the kids are alright. Perhaps as a result of growing up Internet savvy, with easy access to decades of music and countless genres at their fingertips, Japan's young artists have spent the year pasting together aural collages that gleefully defy categorization....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2013
Sapphire Slows comes away from North American tour with new confidence
No matter how busy you think you were last month, it would take a lot to top the exploits of Hiroshima-born, Tokyo-based musician Kinuko Hiramatsu.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUJI ROCK 2013
Jul 31, 2013
A year of tough choices at Fuji
Wandering around on the opening day of this year's Fuji Rock, I got the impression that numbers were down on previous years. Of course, anyone who has ever been stuck in the event's seemingly never-ending lines for the portable toilets — or who's been shut out from seeing their favorite band as the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUJI ROCK 2013
Jul 31, 2013
Steruss
You're performing on the Red Marquee this year as a result of winning the Rookie A Go-Go competition at last year's festival, how does that feel?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUJI ROCK 2013
Jul 31, 2013
Jamie xx
This is your third time at Fuji Rock, you must like it?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 10, 2013
Jesse Ruins take cinematic inspiration for debut full-length
Although many Japanese indie bands find it a struggle breaking into overseas markets, Tokyo's Jesse Ruins have always seemed to strike a chord among both international and domestic listeners alike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 7, 2013
From Björk to Kyary, festival season has arrived
Summer means a lot of things in Japan: stifling heat and humidity, fireworks and the Bon holidays, nagashi-sōmen noodles and chilled barley tea. For music fans though, the season brings a different kind of to-do list: booking cheap train tickets in advance, stocking up on essential supplies — and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 21, 2013
X Japan waxes lyrical at Madame Tussauds debut
This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48's Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2013
Thaemlitz's mix tackles antidancing law
It's fitting that I should be meeting Terre Thaemlitz on May 1, International Workers' Day — she wryly refers to herself as a "feminist Marxist" before we begin our interview in proper.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2013
Back to school for two Tokyo DJs
Whether it's an annual soapbox derby or sending a man to the edge of space just because they can, energy-drink manufacturers Red Bull have never been afraid to throw their cash at projects that range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) — the brand's foray into the world...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 22, 2012
We've got TNGHT: Young producers Hudson Mohawke and Lunice join forces to bring a new spin on hip-hop
The Red Bull Music Academy studios in South London are the venue for my interview with Ross Birchard (26) and Lunice Fermin Pierre II (24) — better known as Hudson Mohawke and Lunice — about their new project TNGHT. As graduates of the classes of 2007 and 2010 respectively, both have benefited from...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Nov 22, 2012
Ken-ske
DJ Ken-ske (real name Kensuke Sato) is a DJ's DJ — he eschews celebrity club culture in favor of a purists' approach to the medium, which allows him to play more than 100 gigs a year. Although primarily mixing hip-hop in a B-boy style, he's hugely knowledgeable in a variety of styles, as proven by...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Oct 18, 2012
XLII
A mainstay of the Tokyo underground electronic scene and cofounder of the Raid System label/collective,
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 11, 2012
Lapalux, Taquwami tap into a West Coast sound
It's early on a Saturday evening at the 1-2-3-4 Shoreditch festival in London and Lapalux is taking the stage. He's only armed with a laptop, a MIDI controller and some select software, but the hundreds in the audience haven't shown up expecting a flashy light show; the music is more than enough to hold...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 19, 2012
Rustie to bring hyperactive set to SonarSound Tokyo
When Rustie (Russell Whyte, 29) makes his Japan debut at SonarSound Tokyo this weekend, it will mark the culmination of a remarkable few years that has seen the Scottish producer swap house parties in his hometown of Glasgow for headline spots at some of the biggest clubs in the world.
Taiwan stuns Samurai Japan to capture Premier12 title
Japan starter Shosei Togo reacts after allowing a three-run home run against Taiwan in the fifth inning of the Premier12 final on Sunday.
Woman dies after train collides with car in Tochigi
A Moka Railway train car
Japan beats Taiwan ahead of rematch in Premier12 final
Keita Sano celebrates with his teammates after scoring on Kotaro Kiyomiya's two-run triple against Taiwan during their Premier12 game at Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
'Kohaku' still matters for J-pop bragging rights
Emerging Gen Z J-pop group ME:I will perform on this year's "Kohaku Uta Gassen," national broadcaster NHK’s New Year's Eve spectacle.
Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”

Podcast

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

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
By Greg Dvorak

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