Moon Music: moonbell generates sounds based on lunar topography. (via) [more inside]
posted by Korou on Sep 3, 2009 - 13 comments

Hibi no Neiro by Sour [more inside]
posted by Dr-Baa on Jul 3, 2009 - 16 comments

Honyanko bushi, Tsurumanzoku, Butamatsuri, and Nevaneva Land are music videos produced by Obakejaa. [NSS (Not Seizure Safe), MLYT]
posted by geos on Jun 24, 2009 - 7 comments

Lullatone are a half-Japanese, half-American duo based in Japan who make music that can probably best be described as twee folktronica; a recent EP of theirs is titled "Little Songs About Raindrops". And now, you can make your own with their Raindrop Melody Maker Flash web toy, which looks a bit like a pastel-coloured Tenori-On:
posted by acb on Jun 4, 2009 - 9 comments

Jero, or Jerome Wright, Jr. is the first black singer of traditional Japanese enka music. Here he performs a duet - him wearing hip-hop garb, his partner in a kimono. He won the Best New Artist Award in Japan, and appeared today at the Cherry Blossom festival in Washington DC.
posted by desjardins on Mar 28, 2009 - 37 comments

Vocalist Sayuri Anpo is far from well known, even in her native Japan, despite an extensive discography, the ability to cross multiple genres and an amazing voice. But you can listen to a number of her works online: she does rock both here and here, something gentler here, and something closer to dance here (video image slightly NSFW). She recently teamed up with other musicians to form a light jazz group, with demos available for free download here (alternate link to demo files here for those who can't open .lzh files).
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing on Feb 23, 2009 - 5 comments

Fellow Mefites: I see your 13 year-old Japanese girl drumming to Rush's seminal prog. class "YYZ" and raise you an 11 year-old Japanese girl playing the whole damn thing on a synth (SLYT). [more inside]
posted by bardic on Jan 20, 2009 - 39 comments

RIP Nagi Noda (1973-2008) Amazingly talented art director/music video director. Sentimental Journey. Hearts on Fire. She's My Man. Her website of collected works, Uchu Country. Antville thread with a beautiful story from Aaron Stewart-Ahn is here.
posted by setanor on Sep 11, 2008 - 9 comments

Enka is popular Japanese music which started to become popular in the Showa era after World War II. Until very recently, it's pretty much been popular only with the older crowd or in karaoke. Recently, though, a popular young star from Philadelphia has brought about a resurgence with the younger crowd. Look at his videos and be amazed. Presenting Jero. [more inside]
posted by greasepig on Jun 2, 2008 - 18 comments

There is a small but very dedicated and enthusiastic group of people around the world making music with Nintendo Game Boys and other cheap electronic gadgetry. While many of them are consciously fitting their low-bit sonics into relatively straightforward and predictable dance-oriented forms, some others are taking a rather more whimsical and less predictable approach. One such favorite of mine is the utterly charming, Tokyo-based henna dress. Then there's her alter ego, beta dress. Then there's her 3rd alter ego, CAMEBOY (of GGG) . [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Feb 4, 2008 - 21 comments

Shoukichi Kina, peace activist, club owner, environmentalist, sailor, critic of the US presence in Okinawa, proponent of Okinawan independence, and, since 2004, member of the Japanese House of Councillors has been playing his highly influential hybrid of traditional Okinawan min'yo, reggae, and other island music styles since he formed the band Champloose in 1968. [more inside]
posted by billtron on Feb 2, 2008 - 8 comments

...Japanese hip hop has become a significant national, cultural, and business genre since the late twentieth century, and this phenomenon has been applied and has succeeded by using almost the same ideology that was historically used by other Japanese industries like automobile manufacturing. The pioneers in the Japanese hip hop industry like Buddha Brand learned their skills in the U.S. and have successfully been influencing the contemporary Japanese music scene. As a result, the imported hip hop has become a ''Japanized'' products. Many hip hop industries in Japan have modified the American hip hop into Japanese ways, and their businesses, like the hip hop dance schools, have succeeded.

The Japanese Hip Hop Movement: Its Cultural and Economic Impact [more inside]
posted by y2karl on Jan 19, 2008 - 39 comments

Tokyo-Ga: this excerpt from a Wim Wenders film offers an interesting little glimpse into the world of pachinko, a gambling obsession for so many in Japan. But while most are gazing hypnotically into the noisy little machines in order to win prizes or money, others are circuit bending them to make them even noisier. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Oct 21, 2007 - 31 comments

DJ Sara and DJ Ryusei. Sara is 8 years old. Ryusei is 5 years old. I reckon maybe those are papa's hands working the platter and fader in this clip? Also on the vinyl tip, and coming at ya outta Japan, the SOUNDWAGON.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Sep 20, 2007 - 12 comments

It's hard to think of any music that's any more fun than The Ventures, and here they are, live in Japan, 1965, at the top of their game. This footage is really good: Walk Don't Run. Wipe Out. Apache. House of the Rising Sun. Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. Flight of the Bumblebee. The Cruel Sea . . . But WAIT! Opening for the Ventures on that steamy summer night was homegrown Ventures cover band The M-Ventures! Straight outta Tokyo! Check out their versions of The Pink Panther Theme, Surf Rider and Yellowjacket. And in case you were wondering if the Ventures' influence is still being felt in Japan, well, check out 9-year-old guitarist Chicchi's versions of The Cruel Sea, Penetration, Walk Don't Run and Pipeline.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Sep 19, 2007 - 36 comments

Time once again to pay a little visit to Japan's ever-engaging electro-mechanical music overachievers, Maywa Denki. Here's some of their latest and greatest efforts.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Aug 1, 2007 - 26 comments

Interpreted: JamesBrown meets Kraftwerk.
posted by Burhanistan on Jul 28, 2007 - 16 comments

On the cusp of DEVO's first tour of Europe since 1990 , it's become clear that, though largely cast aside after their 1980 hit "Whip It", DEVO's influence is finally being felt on modern audiences, around the world. DEVO has inspired tribute bands, some traditional, some not. They've also spawned new bands, domestic [MySpace link], and Foreign like Japan's POLYSICS [YouTube], and Germany's Mutate Now [YouTube]. With musical inspiration like this, can't we forgive such missteps as Devo 2.0?
posted by SansPoint on Jun 15, 2007 - 55 comments

Anime Music Videos. Yet another remixing web subculture, they're usually a source of amateurishly produced angst. From the competitive perfectionists, though, come well lipsynched, action packed, meta-mashuped, and occasionally just filthy stuff for cartoon nerds. Besides the usual metal, ballads, and pop rock, there's some Daft Punk, club, and downtempo accompaniment. Or you can just go to hell. Wear headphones and no-one will know.
posted by anthill on May 28, 2007 - 22 comments

Nihongo Bongo! - Latin music by Japanese artists from the 40s, 50s and 60s. "Mambo, rumba, cha cha cha, bossa nova, calypso, you name it... it was big in Japan. The exodus of Japanese migrants to Brazil ensured a lasting connection with South American culture as many Japanese artists toured Brazil."
posted by carter on Oct 9, 2006 - 14 comments

Japanese Surf Versions of Classical Themes
posted by BuddhaInABucket on Sep 11, 2006 - 14 comments

Awesome J-Pop Videos. For a genre few in the U.S. are familiar with, it certainly garners some very heated opinions (likely because of Morning Musume and the like.) Still, there are some who go above and beyond the fold. (largely youtube filter.)
posted by Navelgazer on Aug 1, 2006 - 30 comments

The J Marimba Ponies have performed at Carnegie Hall, as well as in concert halls from Vienna to Japan. Even more impressive, the oldest member of the group is 12, and the youngest is 4 years old. Musical prodigies or novelty act? See them play Khachaturian's Sabre Dance (Coral link to Quicktime video) and judge for yourself. Via Music for Maniacs. Previously mentioned on MeFi but worth its own thread.
posted by yankeefog on Mar 18, 2006 - 16 comments

John Coltrane. Thelonious Monk. Hank Mobley. Lennie Tristano. Blue Note. Impulse. Riverside... In other words: jazz. Now three fans in Japan -- a country that has always appreciated America's gift to music even more than the US itself -- have created The Jazz Discography Project, a bare-bones, open-source, astonishingly exhaustive database of the hippest sounds on the planet. For aficionados, just reading an ASCII entry for long out-of-print stuff like A Message from Garcia, featuring a young and then-unknown musician named Bill Evans who would later reinvent his instrument, is thrilling.
posted by digaman on Mar 1, 2006 - 28 comments

Darkseed is a Japanese hip hop crew (not the be confused with the other Darkseed) I accidentally stumbled upon while surfing the interweb. Aside from their unique songs (I'm partial to LOLIFUSE 13's IDM-esque "fly me to the morning" remix, though not so much their trance-flavored "WE ALL LOVE DARKSEED" sexual frontier remix), I found it fascinating that this collective whose ranks include the likes of MC/DJ/Producers bombtrack, LOL the EX, fujimotor, and HOUNDDOGGYDOGG have their own comics, haikus, and even spinoff projects!
posted by analogue on Sep 25, 2005 - 4 comments

MeroMero Radio If you are interested in Japanese culture and especially that jolly Japanese pop music, then you might enjoy this podcast radio program made in Sweden. Nine one-hour-sessions has been made so far and each one focuses on a special artist or theme, and includes (at times) interviews with the artists themselves. The show's in English. The podcasts (ep. 7-9) in MP3 are available here. The radio programs (ep. 1-7) are also available here for RealAudio Streaming.
posted by iwanttobuild on May 25, 2005 - 4 comments

With My Special Partner, I can drink my way back to the 7th Millenium BCE for ancient music, and the fish’ll tell me how to get home.
posted by dfowler on Apr 13, 2005 - 13 comments

Salon (with letters) on Gwen Stefani's clueless appropriation of Japan-ness.
posted by Tlogmer on Apr 13, 2005 - 71 comments

The Sukiyaki Song [mp3] Depending on your age, you may have heard your parents humming this, or even hummed it yourself. Sung by Kyu Sakamoto, the Sukiyaki Song was the only number 1 hit by a Japanese artist in the US, in 1963. It remains the biggest international hit by a Japanese popular singer. The song has nothing to do with the popular Japanese beef dish; the Japanese title was "Ue o Muite Aruko" (I Look Up When I Walk), but was changed because it was thought that western DJs would be unable to pronounce it. The song spawned many covers, and Maddmansrealm has collected over 60 of these, including French and German versions, bossa nova versions, a short accordion version by Styx, and a live instrumental version by Bob Dylan and Tom Petty [mp3s]. Kyu Sakamoto died in 1985 in the crash of JAL 123.
posted by carter on Mar 3, 2005 - 20 comments

Dokaka Insane Japanese a cappella that makes Jud Jud or Anton Maiden seem sober. Check out his 3 albums: One of heavy metal covers (including an incredible version of Metallica's Creeping Death), one that includes classics like Ramblin' Man, and another that's just a wonderful hodgepodge (Stevie Wonder Triple, oh my....). He's got a fairly useless homepage, but it's worth keeping an eye on because he posts new songs there.
posted by ubueditor on Jul 22, 2003 - 6 comments

The Japanese Tatu clones are here: Juemilia and Suitei Shoujo (Presumed Girls). Do Rino and Lissa have a message for their fans? (via Geisha asobi blog)
posted by son_of_minya on May 30, 2003 - 16 comments

More Elvis Goodness from Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi, who recently released a CD of his favorite Elvis tunes. What's next, a collection of Dubya's favorite Garth Brooks tracks?
posted by dogmatic on Aug 23, 2001 - 3 comments

Odd website of the day: Kween. Kween is a Queen tribute band, but not just any tribute band, they're "Japan's Best Queen Cover Band" (Best? You mean there are others?). They've certainly got the look and a pretty good sound. The photos of the band in action are amazing. You better catch them soon though, as they're breaking up on the 10 year anniversary of Freddy Mercury's passing.
posted by mathowie on Nov 19, 2000 - 4 comments