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Music: Respect Record to release Seijin Noborikawa original album in January 2008
Respect Record has been the record label most associated with original album releases (as opposed to compilations or reissues of an artist’s earlier recordings) of artists from Okinawa that’s readily available outside of Okinawa on say iTunes or from my personal favorite online stores like CDJapan. The label’s release of Seijin Noborikawa’s fantastic “Spiritual Unity”…
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Music: FUZZY Quartet Row, J-rock
Always on the lookout for new music from Okinawa, bounce.com has a write-up on an upcoming band called FUZZY Quartet Row (or ‘FQR’) who are signed to the HIGHWAVE — the same label of popular rock band MONGOL800. A single of FQR’s, “Mahiru no Hoshizora”, is being streamed on the band’s MySpace page. FQR have…
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YouTube: U-DOU & PLATY
I first heard about U-DOU & PLATY a while ago but never really gave them a look until they were featured on NHK’s wonderful English-language music program J-MELO (its current VJ is J-pop singer melody.). Their music is a champloo (mix) of Okinawan folk music and J-reggae (dancehall) and I if may add, quite infectious.…
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Music: Toru Yonaha’s 3rd album ‘Utage’ 12/19 release!
Still waiting to see the album cover but that’s beside the point as we finally have a release date for Toru Yonaha’s much-anticipated 3rd solo album: 12/19/07. Titled ‘Utage’ (Party), the album will feature collaborations with artists like Masamune Kusano (from the J-rock band Spitz), Kyogo Kawaguchi (J-pop), Naomi Tamura (J-pop), Kiyosaku (of the punk…
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H&MC announces singles collection – Tokyograph
H&MC announces singles collection – Tokyograph: Rock sextet HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR has announced the release of their first best album, which goes on sale December 26. Titled ’10 COLOR SINGLES,’ the album is a collection of their ten singles released so far, from their debut hit ‘PRIDE’ to their latest song ‘Dreams.’ The album…
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Music: Teresa Bright’s ‘Hawaiinawa’ a fusion of island music from Hawaii and Okinawa
With yours truly being from Hawaii with ties to Okinawa (Japan and China too), it’s really great to see an album that brings both cultures together and Teresa Bright’s latest album “Hawaiinawa” does just that. From a Honolulu Advertiser interview with the singer (by Derek Paiva): At the beginning of the project, Bright chose to…
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Music: Claudia Oshiro’s debut album ‘Claudia’
Argentina-born folk singer Claudia Oshiro’s debut album “Claudia” (FVCD-1004) will be released in Japan on September 8, 2007. The ¥1,600 CD album contains eight songs (see below) and was produced by THE BOOM’s Kazufumi Miyazawa. Track List: 片思い (Kataumui) 美しい島 (Utsukushii Kuni) 二見情話 (Futami Jouwa) — a duet with Kazufumi Miyazawa 我した琉球 (Washita Uchinaa) てぃんさぐぬ花…
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Music: Toru Yonaha’s 3rd album near completion
Most of you who know me IRL know that I’m a fan of Toru Yonaha’s music so it’s no surprise that I’m going to hype his upcoming 3rd album to death until its release. The recording part is finished and they’re adding the finishing touches for the CD’s booklet. All that’s left is the mix…
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Yui Aragaki to debut at Budokan – Tokyograph
Details of Yui Aragaki’s new music career were announced on Monday. On December 5, she will release her first album, titled ‘Sora.’ Then on December 21, she will give her first live performance in front of 10,000 fans at the Nippon Budokan. Aragaki is only the third artist (and first female idol) to debut at…
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Music: ‘Sanshin punk rock band’ Yamato
Yamato is a three-piece band from mainland Japan who are labeling themselves as a “sanshin punk rock band.” Lead vocalist, Hitoshi Tawaratsumida from Kagoshima Prefecture, plays sanshin and guitar (albeit not at the same time 😛 ) for the trio. The band’s second album, “Tabi no waraji no tsume wo kiru” (11/7/07 release), will feature…
Karakui 