Japanese music

Japanese female rock band Scandal earns a Guinness World Record for staying together for 17 years

17 years and counting!

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Rising Japan MusicFest coming to LA this weekend, may have best yakitori in the world

New day in music festivals is rising.

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Lineup for end of year Kohaku Song Battle 2021 revealed

The New Years’ television special announced the cast for this year’s battle.
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Beautiful shamisen featuring original illustration by Final Fantasy designer now on sale

With its original design of a red-clad female ninja, this shamisen is set to become the collector’s item of the year.

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Wagakki Band releases new teaser video, third album on sale soon!【Video】

 

The popular group has played sold-out shows overseas and now they’re ready to release their third album!

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Well-endowed star Ai Shinozaki celebrates her major record debut in a majorly cool way.

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Japanese music and vocaloid content disappears as YouTube rolls out new paid service

Japanese and overseas communities react to YouTube disabling U.S. access to content, as Google pressures Japanese labels and rights-holders to sign up for paid service YouTube Red.

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It’s a hard rock life: NINGEN ISU’s Shinji Wajima talks about songwriting, working with friends

After the awesome NINGEN ISU show we saw with Mr. Sato recently, we were exhausted but exhilarated. The band’s hard rock/heavy metal sound is great for getting the blood pumping and the performance felt like it ended as soon as it began—despite lasting well over an hour! It’s safe to say, these guys are the real deal.

So, when Mr. Sato asked if we wanted to come along for an interview with vocalist and guitarist Shinji Wajima, we didn’t hesitate in saying yes! Check out our fun (and fascinating) conversation with Wajima where we cover everything from camping and songwriting to being in a band with someone you’ve known nearly your entire life.

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Legendary DJ Krush performs with traditional Japanese musicians to create music for your dreams

If you’ve ever visited a Shinto shrine, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the ethereal sound of gagaku, or traditional Japanese court music. It’s not exactly something that you’d throw in a club mix after “Turn Down For What,” though at one point it was used to accompany dances at the imperial palace. While Lil Jon may get your body shaking, with gagaku, which literally means “elegant music,” shaking isn’t really the goal.

Still, that didn’t stop DJ Krush, one of Japan’s most famous and respected turntablists, from getting together with a few gagaku musicians to play one of the most beautiful sets you’re ever likely to hear–and at a Tokyo Red Bull Music Academy event, no less!

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