2012 YG Entertainment Auditions

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Amy

If you’ve been inspired by K-Pop or J-Pop to launch your own music career then you might want to make yourself available for an audition being conducted in London next month by YG Entertainment (home of 2NE1 and BIGBANG).

The auditions call for people aged between 11 and 19 to show their stuff at the Korean Cultural Centre in London on 19th June 2012. Similar auditions are being held in Germany and the USA. This could be your opportunity for stardom :)

An application form and all the info is available here: http://www.yg-audition.com/

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Introducing BiS

Posted on May 15, 2012 by PaulB

A phrase such as ‘idol group’ will conjure up particular images and ideas in your average J-Pop fan that are not going to be that dissimilar from the many acts dominating the contemporary Japanese charts.

So it’s a refreshing surprise when an outfit comes along that appears to be taking a very different approach to the idol group concept. Enter BiS (aka Brand-New Idol Society)… More Inside  »

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New SHONEN KNIFE video

Posted on May 14, 2012 by PaulB

With the forthcoming release of SHONEN KNIFE’s new album POP TUNE, here’s their new video of the title track.

POP TUNE is due for release on 6th June 2012.

http://www.shonenknife.net
http://www.damnably.com/

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SPUTNIKO! gets Honorary Award

Posted on May 9, 2012 by PaulB

Sputniko!Multi-talented electropop artist Sputniko! has won an Honorary Mention Award at Ars Electronica 2012 in Linz, Austria.

The Award was for Sputniko!’s Menstruation Machine video which was originally unveiled in 2010. “What does Menstruation mean, biologically, culturally and historically, to humans?” queries Hiromi Ozaki (aka Sputniko!), “Who might choose to have it, and how might they have it? “. More Inside  »

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K-ON! WEEK Winner!

Posted on May 8, 2012 by PaulB

During our K-ON! WEEK we ran a competition to win a copy of the K-ON! Complete Series DVD. The comp featured the following question:

What keyboard does Mugi usually play in the series?

The answer was, of course, that Mugi didn’t usually play any keyboards during the series as she was too busy eating cake with the rest of the band. Unfortunately, due to silly legal reasons, we’ve been told that we have to provide a proper answer, so for the sake of argument let’s just go with Korg Triton Extreme 76-key.

Congratulations to Thomas Weatherill who wins the DVD set and thanks to Manga Entertainment for sponsoring the competition.

The K-ON! WEEK was a very successful event (and also lots of fun) so this is also a good opportunity to extend thanks to those people who helped, contributed and supported which includes: Kat Kourbetti, Finny Attridge, Amy Bernheit, Lizzie Ooi, Lisa DeBell at Fetch Publicity and Jerome Mazandarani at Manga Entertainment.

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L’Arc~en~Ciel Live DVD and Tribute Album details

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Amy

As we previously reported, L’Arc~en~Ciel are due to release both a tribute album and also a special live DVD.

The details and track listings for both releases are now available which also reveals that the album (which is simply titled TRIBUTE) will also feature bonus tracks from artists such as POLYSICS, Hemenyway and TOTALFAT.

The LIVE TWENITY DVD will feature the best of L’Arc~en~Ciel’s recorded concert performances across their career up to their most recent 20th Anniversary tour. In fact the band recently played London to an enthusiastic response. More Inside  »

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May’n to release recent albums in US

Posted on May 6, 2012 by PaulB

HEAT, the new album from May’n, is due for release via iTunes in the US later this month alongside her 2011 release If you….

May’n is probably best known for her contribution to Macross Frontier when she became the singing voice for the character Sheryl Nome back in 2007. Her recent 2012 album HEAT reached the Oricon Top Ten on its release and includes the anime themes Brain Diver (Phi Brain) and Scarlet Ballet (Aria the Scarlet Ammo), plus Giant Step from her collaboration song for Kamen Rider Fourze. More Inside  »

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SCANDAL’s new single Taiyo Scandalous on the way

Posted on May 4, 2012 by PaulB

Pop rock outfit SCANDAL have a new single due for release this coming July.

Taiyo Scandalous will be the 13th single for the 4-piece band who have also enjoyed contributions to popular anime titles such as Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist (their last single Harukaze featured as the 15th opening theme to Bleach). Taiyo Scandalous is also being produced by NAOTO from Orange Range.

Taiyo Scandalous will be available in limited and regular editions and is due for release on 11th July.

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K-ON! Fans United

Posted on May 1, 2012 by PaulB

As our K-ON! WEEK reaches its end, we ask what is it about K-ON! that appeals to its many fans?

Lizzie Ooi went to this year’s Kitacon event to chat to the attendees about the Ho-kago girls to get their views on the characters, cosplay and the music. More Inside  »

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The Girl Power Revolution of K-ON!

Posted on April 30, 2012 by PaulB

Can K-On! simply be categorised as a moe series pandering to a male audience? Or is it lending inspiration to the female audience and encouraging their own musical ambitions? Kat Kourbetti looks at the issue…

The running joke amongst anime fans is that most series with young female heroines are predominantly created for male fans, so they can enjoy ogling pretty young things going about their everyday lives, albeit with an added element of cuteness, clumsiness, and innocence – the true Japanese signature. But the pertinent question here is this: is K-On! yet another moe title?

More Inside  »

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