A update…

Just a update on what is new and coming up. The radio is coming back soon and I am planning to buy a shoutcast server. Also Corrupted Data #12 will be up soon as well as the first episode of The Originals. I will also be writing band profiles again after not doing any for such a long time.

muzie

I started watching Anime about 6 or 7 years ago, about the same time I began listening to Japanese music. As time went by I began listening to many other artists and genres. Recently I stumbled upon muzie, a Japanese independent music site where users can download free music and musicians can upload their recordings. The artists’ page include songs, links, and a BBS message board.

One group that I found out about on muzie was D-ray, a electronic group. It’s members are K’s-traX and asakawa. The song “Landslide” by asakawa is well composed.

Signing up is not difficult besides the language barrier, but it isn’t necessary if you want to just download songs. Check out muzie under music links.

Quruli

Once and a while I’ll pick up a CD having little knowledge of the band or artist. Quruli’s 2002 album “The World Is Mine” is a example of this. The blend of Alternative Rock, Techno and House elements helps in providing the mellow yet upbeat sound.

It started in September 1996 at Ritsumeikan University’s music club, where Shigeru Kishida (vocals, guitar), Masashi Satō (bass), and Nobuyuki Mori (drums) formed the band. The name “Quruli,” a onomatopoeic word expressing rotation, was taken from a sign in the Kyoto subway. After two EP’s on the indie label Bad News Records, the band’s first major released was the single “Tokyo” in October 1998. Tasshin Omura (guitar) joined them in 2001 and Nobuyuki Mori left the band in 2002. On March of the year, they played on the stage of SXSW (South by Southwest Festival) in Austin, Texas for the first time and went on a Japan tour where they played in 45 halls (incl. Nippon Budokan) from April to July. On October 2004, American drummer Christopher McGuire left the band. Shigeru and Masashi formed an outside project called “SINGER SONGER” with a female vocalist Cocco in 2005.

In July 2006, they released “Tower of Music Lover” marking the band’s 10-year anniversary. The album reached 3rd on the Oricon charts. In the end of 2006 Tasshin Omura left the band. A new drummer Yuya Kikuchi joined Quruli as a support player in the beginning of 2007 and they moved to Vienna, Austria for the recording of their 18th EP (JUBILEE) and 7th album (Tanz Walzer). It is the first time a Japanese band has recorded in Austria.

Here is the video for “World’s End Supernova”

Special Others

For the last 6 years I have been interested in Japanese culture, especially the various styles of music. Japanese Rock in itself has sub genres within it (Visual Kei, Metal, Indie). Recently I started listening to Special Others, a post-rock band which is quickly making a name for themselves.

The blend of jazz and rock elements is upbeat and also relaxing. The song “AIMS” off the band’s first full album “Good Morning” is a good example of this. The members first meet in 1995 in high school but didn’t start preforming until 2000. Their debut CD “Indy-Ann” remained on the CRJ-Tokyo charts for 7 weeks.

With a Full album and a number of mini-albums and singles, in addition to a strong and rising fan base; Special Others is group that will create a lasting impression in the ever changing Japanese music scene.

Here is the video for “AIMS”