Hip japanese music

Akeboshi is fantastic... I'm mainly a fan due to Naruto!

 

My son watches Naruto, I never cared for it. But I found wind when I was watching an AMV someone made to Dir En Grey. Odd combo. After I found out who did it, I fell in love. for a long time, I used wind as my myspace song. Akeboshi's english is not very good, but the music more than makes up for it.

Anyway, I saw the end credits that wind goes to on naruto, and I wanted to cry. So sad! T_T

 

Yeah, his English is very standard Japanese-English. You can hear it in the songs L's turn into Rs

 

Disclose, Framtid, Gloom, Crocodile Skink, Effigy, abraham cross, Defector, Battle of Disarm, Life, Poikkeus, ZOE, GAI, SHiT FACED, Disclapties, Marten's, Tom and Bootboys, Extint Government, Final

 

Anyone a fan of Guitar Wolf here?

Or Art School?

 

I'm glad my first post on the hipforums could be here =) I've been a Japanese music listening outcast since I was 11...I'm 20 now, and have "years" of listening experience! hahah =D

But anyway, my top choices (besides a few that people have already said.) would be:

Hitomi Yaida - An awesome female singer/songwriter with a guitar that plays a huge rang of music mostly in the accoustic/folk/pop-rock genre. But a few of her songs have a lot of ethnic flair from Spanish to Polka sounding songs.

Kokia - Another female artist. I believe Kokia would be best known for the beauty in her music. She has a gorgeous voice, and it seems like everyone of her songs is uplifting or peaceful in some way.

Judy and Mary (JAM) - Is a bubblegum sounding pop/rock/ska-ish band. Something about their sound and image reminds me of No Doubt. But they are all very talented musicians that provide a multitude of catchy tunes.

I'm surprised no one mentioned Utada Hikaru, her and Ayumi Hamasaki are right up there as being the most successful musical artists in Japan. But Utada Hikaru is almost strightly pop/R&B although if you are ever in the mood for that sound, I highly reccomend her because she puts something into that genre that is completely her own and you will never hear anywhere else.

I hope that helped. Let me know if you end up liking any of this. Peace!

 

Miyavi
<333333333
I love Miyavi.
So much.

Vidoll, Aural Vampire, The Gazette
Also very good.
All j-rock
Well, Aural Vampire is pretty techno. haha.

 

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My two current favorites are Chara and UA...both eclectic, very talented women making some very interesting music. You can find a bunch of their videos on Youtube.

 

On topic I can't help.

Me too.

P.S- She has the right eye bigger than the left. hehe

 

merzbow

i don't listen to noise any more but he's pretty flat out

watazumi

i don't listen to shakuhachi any more but he's pretty flat out

 

When I lived in Japan thoughout the 80's and into the 90's I found very little that was not imitated from the West in an overly rationalized way and therefore overly mechanical and lifeless. But I think Japanese music has taken off perhaps starting in the late 90's or so. There were a few bands back then, but...

One thing I discovered was that the Japanese, way ahead of their time, had developed a rock style hundreds of years ago: tsugaru shamisen. I was amazed at this incredible heritage that they had to draw off of. In the 1980's it was only old men and a few artsy types that listened to tsugaru shamisen.

But over the past 10 years, Japanese rediscovered tsugaru shamisen and there is a lot of experimenting with it----I have even heard Johnny Be Good done with a rock band and a tsugaru shamisen player.

But even the traditional tsugaru shamisen is really good. It is a style of shamisen that is hard and fast and was created by wandering bohemian-like Japanese musicians in the 16th Century. There is one riff from a traditional song that I swear used by the Beatles in one version of Give Me Money---probably introduced to them by Yoko Ono.

Yoko Nagayama----an old J-pop star, has reshaped herself into an enka star----but she has done this with tsugaru shamisen---I am not big on enka, (though the lyrics are often very poetic)---but I do love the pieces she does with tsugaru shamisen.

 

Same as Yoshida Brothers right? I like that style.

 

Yes---exactly---I was trying to think of their names---that is Tsugaru shamisen.

By the way, you have to have thicker strings than a regular shamisen to play tsugaru. Tsugaru is the name of a port town, but it is also a slang term for opium---I always wondered if there was a connection between tsugaru shamisen and opium.

 

Wife says the tsugaru comes from the northern part of Honshu, a "rough" area. There very well may be a connection, culturally anyway. I like the music quite a bit. I am glad you brought it up. Its the only time I have felt a sense of "reckless abandon" in Japanese music.

 

Yes----that is where the port area of tsugaru is located---but I think there may also be a tsugaru in Kyushuu or somewhere south---and I believe the slang term is connected to the fact that plenty of poppies grew in the tsugaru region, but it has been years since I have read that. But historians say it started in the North.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBocE-y7TNQ"]Shinki Chen - Corpse (1972) - YouTube

 

Mountain Wolf...
You may be in Luck...
Tonight, wife and I went to see Abeya in downtown LA. They are visiting from Japan as part of the 100 year Anniversary Cherry Blossom Friendship Tour. They are doing a six city tour including Denver.

Check the Consulate General of Japan at Denver website for info. I believe it is free. Was free here. Playing on the 17th.

They are dong full blown Tsugaru Shamisen with some of the top talent from Japan. 2 Hours of BLISS. Audience participation, comedy, dance, humor, amazing performances, beautiful music, HOT female singer who is a real gunslinger on the shamisen...

Really worth the effort man. Check em out.
There is also this site which may have more info.
www.jfalc.org.

On the way out as the audience cheered the group as they came into the lobby, I thought, I gotta tell Mountain Wolf about this.

So, so, so so sosososososososo Happy right now. They really make you feel great!

 

Wow! Far out! Thank you very much Kumaji----I will check that out!!!!

Definitely do not want to miss that!

 

I know it was a good show when day after still basking in the warm vibe.

The MC, David Wheeler, a shakuhachi player is fairly funny. Funny, in Japan, shakuhachi, the national flute of sorts is also slang for blowjob. lol.

Great show, anyone in the towns they are touring to should go. I hope you make it MW and let us know what you think...