Tag - music

 
 

MUSIC

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Feb 28, 2013
MBV inspires Japan to keep staring at its feet
In February 2013, there were three events that shook the world: the resignation of the pope, North Korea's successful test of a nuclear bomb, and the release of Irish/British rock band My Bloody Valentine's first new album in 22 years. Dispatched with less frequency than popes and comparable volume to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2013
The nations that make it easier for bands to leap overseas
At the end of last November, a flock of Canadians descended on concert venue Duo Music Exchange in Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district. It wasn't an attack of any sort; the Canuck invasion was only peppered with spirited calls to "Clap with us!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2013
Creative-content agency helps Korean music abroad
Regardless of whether you are a bigger-name draw or a smaller, emerging band, planning — and more importantly financing — international gigs is no easy task. But since last year, things have gotten a bit easier for Korean acts touring abroad.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 14, 2013
Colo brings tribes together in Osaka
It's December and small flocks of young, creative-looking types are making their way to a shipyard in Osaka's Namura district. Tucked among an expanse of otherwise drab warehouses there is Creative Center Osaka, and tonight is "Hot Docks 2," an art and music spectacle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 14, 2013
Pianist Yazawa looks to the past to find security in the future
Pianist Tomoko Yazawa always thinks about her music with the future in mind. However, for her latest album, "Playing in the Dark," she made a rare diversion into the past — specifically, France at the end of the 19th century.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 14, 2013
My Bloody Valentine hit the decks in Shibuya
My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe manned the decks for a rare DJ set at a Tokyo Indie event in Tokyo on Friday.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Feb 14, 2013
Jazz acts must embrace some new standards
Drop by your local jazz club and on an average night there's a fair chance the band will at some point play a rendition of "Autumn Leaves," "My Favorite Things" or " 'Round Midnight" — or maybe all three. You might hear an inspired rendition of a time-honored classic, but more likely you'll have to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2013
Hotel Mexico's pop aims at the heart
It's tough to figure out where to take your band when you get some buzz in the media right out the gate. After getting noticed for its fuzzed-out pop jams from highly regarded online music outlets such as Pitchfork, Noisey and Gorilla vs. Bear, Kyoto's Hotel Mexico knew early on that it would need to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2013
ZZZ's hone skills abroad and have some chance encounters
The highlight of 2012 for experimental postpunk trio ZZZ's was meeting Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore in Miami. It turns out the feeling was mutual. American record label Matador Records posted their artists' and employees' favorite things from the past 12 months online recently and Hyogo Prefecture's...
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2013
Dirty Beaches draws from Serbian film on new album
Alex Zhang Hungtai is constantly in motion. The Taiwanese-born artist, who performs under the name Dirty Beaches, has said in interviews the idea of "home" doesn't mean much to him. He's lived in Taipei, Honolulu, Shanghai and Montreal, and is an avid traveler on top of that. This feeling of always being...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jan 31, 2013
Diamond cries 'murder' on the dancefloor
In its Jan. 12 edition, the Japanese business magazine Diamond Weekly decided to ring in the new year with a 10-page feature titled, "Who's Killing Music?" It was the topic of much discussion and reaction in the music business, and the article even made the agenda during a meeting of the Japanese music...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 31, 2013
February: My Bloody Valentine returns
January featured a ton of great concerts across Japan, but February might be even better — hope your wallet isn't too thin this month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2013
Miho Hazama starts a journey
It's believed that time spent living abroad can be a journey of self-discovery, and for Miho Hazama that has certainly been the case. Moving to New York to study for a master's degree in jazz composition at the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) was an experience that led to the recording of her debut,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2013
Alabama Shakes tap the roots of Southern blues-rock
Here's a question: what do Russell Crowe, Robert Plant, Jack White and David Byrne all have in common?
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 22, 2013
Tokyo: What do you think of AKB48's no-love-life clause?
I can understand their handlers want to keep the girls potentially available, just as I'm sure they want their stable to concentrate on their performances, not boys. It works to prevent any scandals too, while maintaining a pure image in a very Japanese way, where the puppet masters keep a very tight rein.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 17, 2013
'Furasshubakku Memorizu 3D (Flashback Memories 3D)'
Music documentaries nearly all feature nonmusical moments, such as Bob Dylan sardonically jousting with journalists in 'Dont Look Back.' 'Furasshubakku Memorizu 3D (Flashback Memories 3D),' a documentary of didgeridoo player Goma offers no such moments.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jan 17, 2013
Tango orchestra to tour country
A renowned Argentine tango orchestra and dancers will bring their passion for the art to audiences in more than 30 cities across Japan through March.
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jan 17, 2013
'Driftwood' duet to be the first of its kind
The first duets on two "driftwood" violins are being performed in Japan by leading Mexican violinist Adrian Justus and his teacher, Yuriko Kuronuma, a Mexico-based Japanese violinist.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 17, 2013
Patti Smith hopes 2013 is about rebuilding
By the time you read this, Patti Smith will have been in Japan for nearly a week. The iconic poet, author, painter and "Godmother of Punk" hasn't yet played a gig with her band; that will come later. First, Smith is reconnecting with a country with which her affinity runs deep.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan