Market forces… There’s always been a small but dedicated Japanese music scene active in London and the latest outfit to emerge from that scene is a collaboration between Shin Nishimura and Dobly titled The New Markets. Hide Uno has been … Read More
Raw rock energy Feisty 3-piece outfit TOQUIWA have their eponymous new album now out, which also marks their debut release on the Scopitones label. Scopitones is the home label of UK post-punk band The Wedding Present and TOQUIWA will be … Read More
Hailed as the ‘Godmother of Japanese Electronica’, Coppé has paved her own unique creative path over the years. Even from an early age, Coppé had a desire to pursue music. From the age of three she studied classical piano and … Read More
Energetic Japanese pop outfit BUDO GRAPE are about to embark on their first UK tour with 3 dates of live performances lined up later this month. BUDO GRAPE hail from Nagoya (or as the band like to describe it, ‘Neo-Nagoya’!) … Read More
Multi-talented Matsuri host talks about her music One of the highlights of the recent Japan Matsuri was a performance by the talented NAOMI SUZUKI who drew a sizeable group of enthusiastic J-Pop fans and curious bystanders (and which featured a … Read More
One of the exciting events as part of next month’s HYPER JAPAN is a special talk with Mr. Hisamitsu Ishikawa, of Production I.G. and acclaimed Japanese anime critic Ryusuke Hikawa. Production I.G. are best known as the company behind such … Read More
Pop rock go… It seems Japan always has plenty of guitar bands on hand to suit your fancy, but lately it feels there’s been a glut of bands that are falling beneath the mark. Either poor facsimiles of Western bands … Read More
Speaking with Mr Vocaloid… HIROYUKI ITOH is the CEO of Crypton Future Media, better known for their Vocaloid software and its most famous offspring Hatsune Miku. The phenomenal success of Hatsune Miku has reached beyond Japan and the fan-created content … Read More
It’s time for another J-Pop Go News Briefing bringing you some J-Pop news, gossip and stories from around the wonderful web. This segment features stories on AKB48’s latest release, the K-On! Movie, a Friday gig from Coppé, 4 Japanese bands … Read More
The secret life of vocaloids… It’s not often that you’re given the opportunity to attend a seminar whose topics include virtual superstar Hatsune Miku, but the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation in London were providing just that opportunity as part of their … Read More