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July 17, 2024
 

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Arni Kristjansson

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Arni Kristjansson
Arni Kristjansson is an Icelandic music writer, DJ and photographer based in Tokyo. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Tokyo University of the Arts, researching the history of club music in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2013
Japan's juke scene gears up to go foot to foot with Chicago
I am at Battle Train Tokyo, the first official footwork dance tournament in Japan. It's being held at Kata, a gallery in the capital's Ebisu district. Sixteen dancers have signed up in the hope of becoming Japan's footwork champion, which comes with a ¥50,000 cash prize and a small championship belt...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 19, 2012
Greeen Linez debut revisits Japan's City Pop summer jams of the past
Nostalgia is nothing new in popular music. A disco revival during the 1990s (think Deee-Lite), led to a renewed fascination with the 1980s during the 2000s (think Chromeo and a synth-pop boom) and that decade even started seeing a '90s revival toward the end of it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2012
Goth-Trad hatches postdisaster pop
Talking with Takeaki Maruyama in a Tokyo cafe, I'm caught off guard when the dubstep artist better known as Goth-Trad suggests that his fourth and latest album is pop. When I let it sink in, though, I realize that "New Epoch" could in fact be the perfect postdisaster-pop album.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 19, 2012
"Diskotopia Various Artists Volume One" Various Artists
Bass advocates Diskotopia are a small group of producers and DJs who have been holding events since 2005. Their main focus is the ever-expanding area of dance music that uses heavy bass sounds, including dubstep and bassline-house. Originally based in Osaka, they moved operations to Tokyo in 2009 and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 22, 2011
Best of 2011: Soil & "Pimp" Sessions "Magnetic Soil"
My favorite Japanese album of 2011 sounds even better live. "Magnetic Soil," the eighth album from self-described death-jazz act Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, further proved that this Tokyo-based sextet belongs in a class all its own.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 6, 2011
James Blake
The British media quickly championed James Blake as the poster boy of dubstep's entry into mainstream outlets. Along with artists Untold and Joy Orbison, Blake rode into the scene with a mishmash of melancholic chord sequences and manipulated vocal samples taken from 1990s R&B — characteristics...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2011
Azari & III to get Japan sweaty
Azari & III (pronounced "Azari and third") have snagged a lot of influential supporters in the short period they've been making music together.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 15, 2011
"Matthew Herbert"
Matthew Herbert can hardly be called a one-trick pony. Leaving his background in classical violin early on in his career, he has traversed many genres of dance music with his Doctor Rockit, Wishmountain and Herbert aliases. He has also conducted his own jazz big band and scored films and dance productions....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 25, 2011
Red Bull invests in tomorrow's dance-music stars
Thirty-two-year-old Yoshiyuki "Yosi" Horikawa from Ibaraki, Osaka, couldn't believe his eyes when he went online the morning of July 16.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 30, 2011
Getting Japan to think inside the juke box
It's juke night at Club Noon in Osaka on a Monday. The event, called Hobo, has drawn about 50 people — not many, but alright for a genre of dance music that is making its debut on the city's club scene. As with most debuts, the reaction is mixed. The men nod their heads and the women shift their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2010
The Backwoods: "The Backwoods"
The self-titled first album from The Backwoods is the solo outing of DJ Kent, otherwise known as one half of nu-disco outfit Force of Nature.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
Japan finds a 'stealth' cure for zombie businesses: Let them fail
A worker at Sakai Seisakusyo prepares to transport metal rods at its factory in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on July 8.
Trump makes his grand RNC entrance with a bandaged ear and a VP pick
Former U.S. President Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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