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Ayano Uema’s 2nd album will be released on 8/2/09!!!
We knew she was working on her 2nd album back in January 2009 and now we finally have a release date and a title for it, “Majun,” which will hit local store shelves on August 2, 2009. No other information on the number of tracks or its price but we’ll report it as soon as…
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Shimobuku Rekoodo: Masaru and Isamu
Just in time for the start of summer is a new musical unit comprised of Masaru Shimabukuro (BEGIN) and Isamu Shimoji who call themselves Shimobuku Rekoodo (Record). The duo just released their debut album, “Looking South West,” on the Teichiku label. Isamu’s previous release was last year’s collaboration with (Karakui.com favorite) Yukito Ara for the…
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Yui Aragaki’s 2nd album set for 6/17 release!
Titled “hug,” Yui Aragaki’s (or Gakky) follow-up album to her 2007 debut “Sora” will be released on June 17, 2009. Containing a total of 13 tracks, it will be released in a CD+DVD format with the DVD including four PVs, as well as two first release editions. From the release of her single “Make my…
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THE BOOM to release a special cover album commemorating the band’s 20th anniversary
On July 22, 2009, THE BOOM will commemorate their 20th anniversary with a special cover album that will feature several artists from Okinawa. Known for their song “Shimauta,” THE BOOM has released a number of singles with an Okinawan-sound to them. Titled “THE BOOM 20th SPECIAL COVER ALBUM,” it will feature Kariyushi58, MONGOL800 and BEGIN.…
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Stereopony’s 1st album to be released on 6/17
Popular 3-piece all-girl rock band, Stereopony, coming off from a gig in the US at SXSW ’09, will be releasing their debut album on June 17, 2009. Titled “Hydrangea ga Saiteru,” the album will have a total of 13 tracks with the limited edition CD+DVD version (cdjapan link) containing a documentary of the trio at…
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Veteran Amami utasha Ikue Asazaki
We often focus on the new singers from Amami-Oshima like Rikki Nakano, Chitose Hajime, Kosuke Atari, and Minami Kizuki, leaving out the traditional singers. So, better late than never, no? Ikue Asazaki is a veteran utasha (now in her 70s) who has been singing Amami shimauta since picking it up from her father and regarded…
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New album from Ryukyu Underground on April 15
It’s hard to believe that Ryukyu Underground’s last album was released three years ago so it’s great news to hear about their new release for 2009, “Umui,” which will be the duo’s 4th album. Ryukyu Underground features a mixture sounds of Dub, Hip Hop, Afro Beat, and Lounge, to create a club sound out of…
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Emi Tawata collaborates with apparel brand SOULSMANIA
Singer Emi Tawata’s latest mini album, “Sweet Soul Love,” was just released on the 18th and it features a collaboration with popular apparel brand SOULSMANIA. The combined effort produced a lineup of t-shirts that perfectly compliment both sides as the apparel from SOULSMANIA are influenced by black culture and Emi’s style of music is a…
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ういずあす – the trio formerly known as ‘wiz-us’
Waiting for me in my inbox this morning was an email from Mark about a group from Okinawa named ういずあす. At first I didn’t recognize the group but upon further research (ah, googling how I love thee) I found that the trio formerly went by the name “wiz-us” (which is how the current name is…
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Rinken Teruya’s latest solo album “Pause 2” now on iTunes (and more)
Rinken Teruya (leader of the O-pop band Rinken Band) has been one of the most tech-savvy of his peers—as evidenced by the rinken.gr.jp website which has been around for several years as well as his willingness to release his music digitally. Although he’s had numerous projects in the past (like Tink Tink, Mihanagumi, Tomoko Uehara’s…
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