14th March 2010
Our favourite Vocaloid Hatsune Miku has recently taken live performances a step forward.
Although Hatsune Miku had already chalked up live performances last year (notably at last summer's Animelo Summer Live), those performances were nothing compared to the Thanks Giving Day show earlier this month held at Zepp Tokyo music hall. The concert, seen as a thank you to Vocaloid fans, not only had performances by Hatsune Miku, but also fellow Vocaloids Megurine Luka and Kagamine Rin.
The technology employed is certainly a step beyond what was being used for the 2009 shows and delivers an almost holographic-esque performance.
Hatsune Miku performing Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru at Animelo Summer Live 2009
10th March 2010
J-Pop Go guest slot this Friday.
Another WOTA gig takes place this Friday 12th March at Lati Ri, Rivington Place, Shoreditch EC2A 3BA. Expect lots of anime tunes as well as some Vocaloid goodness and lashings of J-Pop. Tunes by DJs Piloru, Snap and J-Pop Go's very own genkiboi. Visuals by the ever-wonderful Namimo.
Entry is £4 in advance, £5 on the door for WL members and £6 for everyone else. The club runs from 8pm-2am. More info: www.wotalondon.co.uk
5th March 2010
Shonen Knife are returning to the UK for more live shows later this year.
Formed in 1981, the pop-punk outfit have achieved a particular cult status (and included Kurt Cobain as a fan) and, despite line-up changes, have been recording and performing ever since. A new album Free Time was released earlier this year.
Shonen Knife have 3 dates already confirmed:
- Milton Keynes The Craufurd Arms - Monday 10th May
- Leicester The Musician - Tuesday 11th May
- Brighton The Freebutt - Sunday 23rd May
In other gig news, Japanese rock outfit Boredoms will be performing at the All Tomorrow's Parties event (Curated by Matt Groening) Friday 7th to Sunday 9th May, with an additional date scheduled for London HMV Forum on Tuesday 11th May.
Thanks to Matt of Departure Lounge for the info. More details flagged up on the J-Pop Go forum here: www.jpopgo.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=404
Website: www.shonenknife.com
5th March 2010
Chiaki Kuriyama has released her single featuring the theme for Gundam Unicorn.
Under the name of CHiAKi KURiYAMA, the popular film star has released the CD single Ryusei no Namida, featuring the theme tune to the OVA of Gundam Unicorn. Chiaki Kuriyama is, of course, better known for her roles in Battle Royale and Quentin Taratino's Kill Bill.
5th March 2010
Rebecca Flint, a 14-year-old girl from the Isle Of Man, has managed to make the leap from YouTube video appearances to an actual career as a performer in Japan under the guise of Beckii Cruel.
She originally started out under the name xBextahx on YouTube dancing to popular anime and J-Pop songs, including Danjo and Hare Hare Yukai. This led to her videos attracting interest from Japan and then to actually performing in Akihabara where she adopted the new name of Beckii Cruel.
She's since formed a 3-piece outfit called Cruel Angels and they released their debut single Tsubasa wo Kudasai last month.
Links:
Beckii Cruel
Beckii Cruel YouTube Channel
12th February 2010
Enjoy some J-Pop this Valentine's Day courtesy of the Grand Cosplay Ball!
A reminder that there is a special Valentine's Day Prom being organised by the Grand Cosplay Ball team. This event takes place on February 14th at Peter Parker's Rock 'n' Roll Club, Denmark Street, London WC2. There's lots of Valentine's Day themed events and the music will be provided by chococat and genkiboi. More info here: Valentine's Day Prom
3rd February 2010
Utada has just announced that she will be adding a show to her In The Flesh 2010 Tour
Already booked in for a live show at the O2 in Islington on February 12th, Utada Hikaru has announced at additional London date has been added for February 11th.
3rd February 2010
Sputniko! will be doing a week long exhibition at the Royal College of Art Interim Show, starting February 3rd, showing her new project 'Crowbot Jenny'.
Sputniko! describes Crowbot Jenny as "a socially-awkward girl who prefers to spend time surrounded by technology and animals rather than with humans. One day Jenny creates the Crowbot a robot which can vocalize a variety of crow calls to control and converse with her newly formed bird army but just what exactly will she do with her new powers?"
The show is on at Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU and will be on from February 3rd to February 10th. If you visit the show you’ll find Sputniko! walking around as Crowbot Jenny on Saturday and Sunday from 3pm to 6pm.
3rd February 2010
Two J-Pop Go guest slots for forthcoming events are on schedule.
Firstly, there is a special Valentine's Day Prom being organised by the Grand Cosplay Ball team. This event takes place on February 14th at Peter Parker's Rock 'n' Roll Club, Denmark Street, London WC2. There's lots of Valentine's Day themed events and the music will be provided by chococat and genkiboi. More info here: Valentine's Day Prom
Following this, in March there's another WOTA gig taking place on Friday 12th March at Lati Ri,Rivington Place, Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London EC2A 3BE. Entertainment is provided by DJs Snap, Piloru and genkiboi with visuals by Namimo. More details: www.wotalondon.co.uk
26th January 2010
Unfortunately our plans for the forthcoming Japanese Art Festival have been undermined due to circumstances beyond our control.
While the planning and organisation for the J-Pop party had proceeded without a hitch - and was also all wrapped up by November of last year - we reckoned without the error of booking with a venue with a less than professional attitude to bookings. The venue have since decided that due to a big rugby game taking place that same weekend, that they would rather keep all their events that day to be rugby-themed.
We have been trying to relocate to an alternative venue, but have been unsuccessful so far. We've no choice but to remove the J-Pop party from the schedule as a result.
Sorry again to all those who had hoped to see the J-Pop Party return to the Japanese Art Festival, but it appears that despite all our hard work and planning, something always manages to trip it up.
14th January 2010
Along with a few changes to the website, J-Pop Go is gearing up for a busy 2010 of activities.
We've added some new features to the site, including an RSS feed and ease of use for posting news stories via your own social networking links:
- RSS Feed: You can now access Festival news updates via your news reader or browser.
- Social Networking Links: Share news articles with other people via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, your Blog or hundreds of other social networking sites.
The first J-Pop Go event of 2010 will take place on Saturday 27th February as part of the Japanese Art Festival. Although the Festival will take place at Richmond College, the J-Pop event will take place around the corner from the college at The Orange Tree venue.
J-Pop Go will be presenting an evening of J-Pop Goodness with our DJs playing a selection of J-Pop tunes, plus special guest Sputniko! playing live (time TBC).
