Salyu New Single, 'Halfway', Due February

Scanty info yet, but I definitely prefer this wintery cover to the recent weirder-than-usual thing that is the Merkmal covers. And this is what's on her official site :

Release date:　2009.2.11
Ｔｒａｃｋｓ：
01. コルテオ 〜行列〜　「シルク・ドゥ・ソレイユ」第8弾公演“ダイハツ コルテオ”イメージソング
02. HALFWAY　2009年2月公開予定 映画「ハルフウェイ」主題歌

UPDATED: Due to languishing Japanese study plans, I can't really tell you what's going on in the first link except it has something to do with Cirque du Soleil, which is cool (alert: loud background music), but the second one leads to the promotion site of 'Halfway', the movie which Salyu's namesake track is the theme song for. The 'theme song' tab is still tagged 'coming soon', but the refrain portion of the song can be heard as the background music. This is another of her higher-pitched poppish ones--nothing against that--just that my personal wish of a (however fleeting) return to Lily Chou Chou era ethereal awesomeness is left unanswered again. #heaves a wistful sigh#

(P.S. For more Salyu news and stuff please visit http://salyu.aiamu.net/. Still under construction but better than none, and I'm definitely not turning Uku into a second Salyu news blog.. =p)

Can't wait for Feb! :)

Salyu's New Album, Merkmal, Due in November

According to the official website and translation from Salyu community on livejournal:

Salyu will be releasing a best album titled "Merkmal" on November 26th. There'll be two limited edition versions: one featuring a live DVD recording of her concert at Motion Blue Yokohama on September 17th, and the other featuring a second CD with her collab work (Valon, to U, & Mirror). The limited editions also come with a ticket reserve for her 2009 Merkmal tour.

CD Only: 3,000yen (TFCC-86281)
w/ Live DVD: 3,800yen (TFCC-86282)
2CD: 3,800yen (TFCC-86283)

Setlist of Motion Blue Yokohama show:
01. ARABESQUE
02. 光りの束 (hikari no taba)
03. name
04. 双曲線 (soukyokusen)
05. 体温 (taion)
06. 夜の海 遠い出会いに (yoru no umi tooi deai ni)
07. Landmark
08. be there
09. 砂 (suna)
10. VALON-1
11. to U
12. WHEREABOUTS ~for Anthony~

 It is a little odd that she's already releasing a 'Best of' after a mere two albums (or 3, if we count Lily Chou-Chou.) This is probably more appropriately called 'The B-sides'... And what's up with the sudden fascination with foreign--and GERMAN, not in the least--words? Merkmal is simply German for 'feature'. *scratches head*

Still very excited about this though, this being the first official live recording of anything from her...? and I totally look forward to some brand new material, too. It's been some time since the last album now, Missy Salyu! ;)

Mika

Thanks for G's recommendation. Quoting her
'he's a little like the lively side of Rufus...you think?'

That pretty much nails it.

Mika

Lollipop


Grace Kelly

Do As Infinity is BAAAAACK!!!!

I WANNA SCREAM MY LUNGS OUT! DAI IS BACK!!!!!
YES THEY HAVE REFORMED!!
There'll be a free live performance on Sep 30.

DAI fans, check out this forum thread for more details
http://www.daiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=16473

Watching their comeback performance nearly sent me crying for joy. It's just, bloody fun! I've never seen a happier Ban-chan!


DAI Reformed (It's been 4 years guys!!)


NOW! Shall we get up and dance?!

Aoi Teshima - Niji no Kashuu

The angelic Teshima's back with a new album 'Niji no Kashuu'(Songs of Rainbow), another line-up along her therapeutic soothing style.I'm yet to go through the whole album. The first couple of tracks have lovely folksy elements and you can tell she's adding new vocal techniques which break the mundane flow of story telling (I do love it! But obviously a little change is a nice surprise.)

Title track 'Niji' (Rainbow)




Download here (77mb,expires 7days or 100 downloads)

Niji no Kashuu (Songs of Rainbow)
Release: 2008.7.23
Normal Edition | First Press Edition (CD+DVD)

Romaji and suggested translation in bracket. Click here for more info.
01. 虹(Niji, Rainbow)
02. 恋唄 (Koi uta, Love song)
03. 空へ(Sora e, To the sky)
04. 恋するしっぽ。(Koisuru shippo, Tail of love)
05. CHINESE SOUP
06. 元気を出して(Genki o dashite, Cheer up)
07. 奇跡の星(Album Version) (Kiseki no Hoshi, Star of wonder)
08. 家族の風景 (Kazoku no fuukei, Family scenery)

100s (Hyaku shiki)

First one on the right is leading songwriter/guitarist Kazuyoshi Nakamura (staring up profoundly).

Official website: http://www.100s.jp
Last FM profile: http://www.last.fm/music/100s

100s(pronounced 'Hyaku shiki' in Japanese) is a 6 piece rock band led by frontman Kazuyoshi Nakamura (kanji:中村一義) who started as a popular solo artist and later started the band. '100s' is in fact the title of Nakamura's solo album. He was once acclaimed a songwriting prodigy that comes along once every 10 years. Although I haven't listened much to his solo pieces, what he wrote for 100s is infused with vibrant energy, abstract imagery and set apart from others by a distinctive vocal boasting beautiful falsetto and unique pronounciations somewhere between Japanese and English. It's very intriguing and expressive. I tried to 'appreciate' the lyrics of Honeycom.ware (from their '05 album OZ) which, even to native Japanese, is rather gibberish. It's one of their best songs that has the pop-ish,shoegazing post-rock timbre, and is both romantic and philosophical. It's interesting to note Nakamura's influenced by impressionist Van Gogh, and Brit-pop group Primal Scream, both of which can possibly feed his inspirations and help to define the playful elements in his songwritings.

They've released two studio albums so far,OZ in 2005, and ALL!!!!!! in 2007. (By the way, if you care to notice there're 6 exclamation marks!!!!!!Just remember they have 6 members in all). There're 21 tracks on OZ, a rather weighty album to hold.

Here comes a string of youtube videos. I wanna recommend them all!!!!!! even if it irritates you. Scroll down down to download the albums.

Manmaru
- Hilarious! The members hang out to enjoy pizza and poker games. The loser is forced to wear a bumble bee outfit and flaunt it on the street.


Honeycom.ware
- dazzling neon lights and speedy travels, a modern city life


Mata ashita (see you tomorrow) live
- They invited a fan on stage to sing, wonderful! It's a sentimental piece definitely.


Naa, mirai (Ah, future)
- bombastic, high energy rock


Moshi kono mama (If it remains as it is)
- a soft ballad I find extremely touching. Maybe I'm just being maudlin lately.


K-ing
- You can lose yourself in melodies like this.


キャノンボール (Cannonball)
- Nakamura's solo work, from album '100s'.


Album Discography and Downloads
2005. OZ: Download here


1. OZ I
2. A
3. B.O.K (looking at the lyrics, it possibly stands for 'Bands are gonna be O.K.)
4. BASUTOREIN
5. Koko ga harete nara (If this is the end)
6. Nano motoni
7. OZ II
8. (For) Anthem
9. Sonata
10. Yasashi raion (gentle lion)
11~12. Leek Rag's Leek ~ Santa's Helper
13. Honeycom.ware
14. Tobira no mukou ni (beyond the door)
15. OZ III
16. Hikari wa hikari (light is light)
17. Ikiru mono (things that are alive)
18. K-ing
19. Mata ashita (see you tomorrow)
20. Bahahai
21. Haru to Fuyu (spring and winter)

2007.ALL!!!!!!: Download here


1. Sousa Sekai wa (Right, that's the world)
2. Kibou (Hope)
3. Manmaru
4. Naa, mirai (Ah, future)
5. Q&A
6. Shingarongu
7. Ano Kouya ni hanataba o (the bouquet in the wasteland)
8. Tsuta eru yo
9. Soshuu Yakyoku (Suzhou Nocturne)
10. Momotose
11. Moshi kono mama (if this remains as it is)

Tomiko Van - Tokyo Biyori

After doing 2 cover albums, Tomiko's finally releasing something original. New single 'Tokyo Biyori'(東京日和) is out June 18! It's a lovely ballad that reminds you of warm sunlight on an ordinary day. What a happy voice. Great job, ban-chan!



After watching the PV, I can't help drawing a parallel between this and 'Baby don't cry' by Namie Amuro.

柴田淳 - ふたり

Languid web-wandering on gloomy Sunday afternoon leads me to this...Futari ('Two People') by Jun Shibata. Love the calm piano and the clear, rich flow of her voice in it!

Cao Fang - Live in Spring EP

Frankly I'm not a fan myself, but since we seem to get quite some responses to the previous posts, here's another one for all the Cao Fang (曹方) fans out there--a new EP called 住在春天, or Live in Spring, and you may download it here.

@Shrota: if you visit here again, please leave your email so that you can get notified when the previous album is uploaded.

Kings Of Convenience - I'D Rather Dance With You

Song of the Day! Get up and shake your booty~~ ;)

I'll leave it to zhu to do a KOC rave/post, just thought I'd post this cute (and gayest I've seen in a while xD) video here first, and also the soon-to-expire link to download the full size MV for any of you who collect...Enjoy~

Cao Fang - "Farther Than The Sky" EP

Popular Chinese indie popper Cao Fang (曹方) just released a new EP after two years, called ’Farther Than The Sky' (比天空还远).

Tracks:
01. 夜晚 | Night
02. 比天空还远 | Farther than the sky
03. 最小的海 | The smallest ocean
04. 忽略 | Ignore
05. 夏末的萨克斯手 | The sax player at the end of summer

Download the EP here.

Salyu- iris ～しあわせの箱～ & DVD release

I'm outdated again, not surprisingly.


Note: Left is limited press. Right is regular edition.

Salyu's new single 'iris ~ Shiawase no Hako'was released on Nov 28th. It's another touchy ballad reminiscent of 'Platform'. Salyu established herself as a stand-alone operatic pop singer in 'Salyu period' (as opposed to 'Lily chou-chou' period). The ambient ether is replaced by a crowded, glamorous cosmo. That's my feeling of her transition. Both are undoubtedly unique but somehow I miss Lily chou-chou very, very much.

Here's a look at the PV, a sweet short film about circus performers and how a pretty little girl aspires to be one of them. Her PVs are never a disappointment.By the way, there's a 'Salyu clips 2004-2007' DVD release on the same date as this single. I'm gonna grab it!



DVD Purchase guide,


cdjapan | YesAsia

Release: 2007.11.28
3,600yen(tax-in) TFBQ-18076
DVD (Region 2)

1. VALON-1
2. Dialogue
3. Peaty
4. Suisei
5. Kaze ni Noru Fune
6. Tower
7. name
8. Platform
9. Tobira
10. I BELIEVE

Bonus Tracks
VALON (Ilmari×Salyu)
Making Clips (Music from TERMINAL Tour 2007)

Rie Fu

Per request(winks,Jady,bin bin), I'm throwing in a quick post on Rie Fu's latest album 'Tobira Album' released on 21st of Nov. You might think the word 'album' redundant(we appreciate its clarity) but it's in fact part of the official title. Refer to her previous album 'Rose Album'. Following this trend, we expect her next album to be 'X(a noun) album'.

I'm so lame. Forgive me.

Here's the download link about to expire. Grab it now or never!



part 1 (~60mb)
part 2 (~50mb)
Tobira Album (translation: Door Album)

A little introduction on Rie Fu - A Japan-based Maryland-London educated pop and folk artist who has her shot of fame with 'Life is like a boat',the ED of Anime 'Bleach'. Although anime/drama brings tremendous airplay, but please, don't define artists by anime tags. If you're not aware whether you belong to the 'anime tagging' group, think if these scenarios ring a bell:

'Oh she's the new Bleach ending.'

'They are the 4th Naruto opening.'

You get what I mean.

Thanks to Bleach, Rie Fu starts to get instant recognition. 'Life is like a boat' is an extremely melodious song, a little sad, a little melancholic, a crystal clear voice that's trademark Rie Fu. She's inspired by artists such as Sheryl Crow and the Carpenters. The oldie taste lingers in her folkish singing. One remarkable thing I find about her is how she manages to make music easy,clean and sweet. Voice is the single most powerful weapon she wields to penetrate your defense. She's a truly talented songwriter with a quality guarantee stamp on her credit. If you think 'Life is like a boat' is her limit, you'll be surprised how she stretches and goes way beyond her typical self. 'I wanna go to a place' and 'Tiny tiny melody' prove she can write as many 'Boat' classics easy breezy but she can also be humorously romantic in '5 mintues', 'Funny dream', or a bit edgy in 'Decay' and 'Conversation'.

I'd like to think there's a style-defining focus in each album. The debut eponymous album 'Rie Fu' shows her strength in writing sweet melodies. Beautiful voice, beautiful songs, but kind of two dimensional. As she promised to show more of the third dimension to the world, the 2nd album 'Rose Album' is incredibly romantic and smart. You get nostalgia fading in and out. Simply put, smart is the word. The latest release 'Tobira Album' is a lovey dovey heavily pop-oriented piece of work. It sounds bright and cheerful, with songs '5000 miles','Until I say'and 'Come to my door' paving the popish undertone. You also get a peek at the unavoidable graduation crisis in 'London' where she's currently schooling. 'What to do afterwards?' We wish you continue with song writing!

Seriously I have nothing more to write... I've exhausted all adjectives, verbs, nouns,adverbs,punctuations(not really)... So now I make way for tubie time!

Why not have a listen and decide whether you like her?

Life is like a boat


Decay


Until I say


あなたがここにいる理由 (The reason why you're here)


Live gig in London - 'The air was dry in London'
I have to say she's a natural performer with great integrity. Even when the set-up is damn noisy and people are chit chatting like crazy, she still manages to pull it off great. This song 'The air was dry in London' is include on 'Tobira Album' but the title is simply 'London'.

Sleepy.ab

Jady's been diligently updating this blog and looking at the string of posts,let me just say I'm both moved and guilty. So here's my return-to-the-team post on a Japanese shoegazing band called sleepy.ab.

(Murmur to self: Did I recommend sleepy.ab before? O_O)

If you search for 'sleepy.ab' on wikipedia (Eng), the first hit that comes up is 'advanced sleep phase syndrome'. I'll mark it joke of the day. The name stands for 'sleepy.abstract' which aptly captures their soporific and ambient electrical sounds inspired by dream pop and alternative rock. They're the modern shoegazers (follow the link and read more), a rather short-lived movement active from the late 1980s to early 90s. Shoegazers use various pedal effects to create sophisticated layers of noise and atmospheric reverberations. Sleepy.ab however is much sweeter than 'noise' and you can hardly associate them with the word 'heavy'. Even in Japan this band is only active in the indie scene and remains obscure to the major consumers. It would be a great joy to share the magic of their music with more fans.

The line-up (retrieved from wikipedia japan):


Official Site (has audio and video clips)

Top left - 成山剛 (Tsuyoshi Nariyama),Vocal, Guitar
Top right - 山内憲介 (Kensuke Yamauchi),Guitar
Bottom left: 田中秀幸 (Hideyuki Tanaka),Base
Bottom right: 津波秀樹 (Hideki Tsuha),drums


Tsuyoshi has been compared to Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke.The similarity is certain. Personally I think Tsuyoshi's voice is more tarry and resonates with more power and dimension. It's hard to imagine one man equivalent of a surround stereo and you simply soar in their magic forest of sound. Their compositions divide among the saccharine melodious (such as Yume no Hana, merodi), the introspective darker wave (fluid, aufheben), and the weightier and noisier timbre (mass gymnastic display, Must it be?).They produce truly great, psychedelic melodies that infiltrate and saturate your senses. Just don't fall asleep! (warnings by Jady)

They have released 4 albums so far. It's hard to lay hands on their previous albums but you can try your luck with the latest 'Fantasia' which features a beautiful artsy cover (all their albums feature the same oil artist). My overall impression of 'Fantasia' is, compared to their previous, this album leans more towards dream pop and is more restricted stylistically. My favourite pick would be the 3rd album 'Palette'. The first track '四季ウタカタ' (Song of four seasons) gives you a fantastic shock of Tsuyoshi's vocal capability and it's also the track that gets me hooked to the band.

Albums:
face the music (2002.12.11)
traveling fair (2004.5.26)
palette (2006.3.8)
fantasia (2007.3.7)

DOWNLOAD, megaupload(8 tracks selected from the above albums, for sampling purpose only. Please support the artist by purchasing the original albums.)

Here're 2 precious live clips. A million thanks to the uploader, love ye!

(What kind of name is that, Kraps Hall...)

Live at Kraps Hall 2007.06.29, performing 'Yume no Hana'(Dream flower)


Melody (from 3rd album 'Palette')


Merry go round (from 4th album 'Fantasia')


Scene + Pain (from 1st album 'Face the music')


***
Now playing: Mojave 3 - Bringin' Me Home
via FoxyTunes

Emmy Rossum - Slow Me Down

Random tubie of the day~

I didn't even know to how to tag this besides pop, she sort of channels a little Imogen Heap--which is of course a much welcome thing--but not trip-hop or indie or new-age or anything of attitude enough...HAD to be pop then, #tags# (Blimey, jady can't even tell pop and non-pop apart now. Wasn't those cute dresses and fab hair and rolling-in-bedsheet shots clue enough?? *rolls eyes*)

I had no idea who she was when I watched it embedded elsewhere, and then turns out she's the 'Phantom of the Opera' star and this is her debut single, hmmm, might be interesting to see that movie..

Musicians are linguists

…and probably have to be, if they are to be widely recognized? It is hardly surprising the whole world is eager to release pop music in English and, for certain romantic styles, French/Spanish too. Market rules. Not that I am complaining at all, though sometimes I do wish to hear a Swedish indie pop band sing in Swedish for once. ;-)

For the day I'm recommending three indie pop bands (I vow to take a break from twee soon) hailing from Japan, Brazil and China, who sings (exclusively?) in a language other than their own.

First up, mondialito. A two-piece Japanese band established in 2002, they are closer in style to their Swedish counterparts than their indie pop compatriots (ref. the more experimental and quirkier Spangle Call Lilli Line). Fueoka Toshiya's gentle guitar picking coupled with the airy vocals of Junko who sings in French with a lovely accent gives their sound an all too dreamy feel. A perfectly melodious and quiet companion to bedtime reading (or whatever you see fit!)

Download mondialito - cher mon amoureux. (Link valid for 14 days.) If YSI asks you to sign up I guess you'll have to, but it's fast really.

Summer time is almost over (though not much difference here in the tropics, *pity self*) a little late for an album named 'Summertime' perhaps? Well, only if you are the kind that fails to be moved by happy beats and jangly guitars--what kind of miserable are you then? ;-) Well I really like this band, its easy and bright-as-Brazilian-sunbeam sound and soft vocal...(the album was released two summers ago actually...I'm forever late.) wonder why they call themselves Pale Sunday?--a reference to Gloomy Sunday, I suppose not? Click on the album cover to read a better review.

Download Pale Sunday - Summertime. (Link valid for 14 days.)

Last but definitely not least, a strong 2002 debut album comprising of 10 English tracks, composed and performed by the very talented Tian Yuan (田原) with band Hopscotch（跳房子) released when she was still in high school. I still feel awed thinking that this girl is of my age, from my hometown (a frustrated megacity in central China) have soared up all like a strong, lone bird and already left such an awesome trail behind (and still much under-appreciated). But that's another story. This trip-hop and punk rock(? or so they claim) influenced album is unabashedly experimental, (sometimes I cringe a little at the monologues) sharp like a freshly cut lemon yet sports a sophistication and stuns even without considering the age and language and debut factors. A great shame I hunted it down only now!

Download Hopscotch - A wishful way. (Link valid for 14 days.)

----------------
Now playing: 彭靖惠 - 呆瓜
via FoxyTunes

Sarah Blasko - Explain

Sarah Blasko is a popular Australian artist. Wiki her.

I love her draggy nasal voice. 'Explain' is from her 2nd album 'What the sea wants, the sea will have'. There's a strong warning sign to the tempo, which I adore...

深い森 covers...

Naree (vocal+guitar), cute British girl with a crystal clear voice


HIMEKA(vocal) + Mike (guitar), originality is bonus =D


Pazu-Chan & Elias, more emotional interpretations but I think the vocal sounds a bit weak.

Kotaro Oshio - Hard Rain

Oshio Official Site

Awesome guitar picking XD I think it should be renamed 'romantic rain' rather than 'hard rain'. It's nowhere close to a torrent.

Fromwkik
Kotaro Oshio (押尾コータロー, Oshio Kōtarō) is an acoustic guitarist from Japan. Born in Osaka, on February 1, 1968, he is most well known for his work on the steel string guitar.Oshio's music is classified within various categories including pop, new age, and jazz. His style has drawn comparisons with other highly regarded musicians such as Michael Hedges. Oshio's musical technique includes fingerpicking, slap harmonics, and precise strumming.

While his albums include mostly original material, Oshio is also well known for his covers and movie soundtracks. His unique skill in interpretation and arrangement can be heard in tracks such as "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" from his album "Starting Point".

Ross Copperman - All She Ever Wrote

Ross Copperman is an american singer-songwriter, a newbie who just released his first album 'Welcome to reality' in May this year. The most popular track 'All she ever wrote' is very pop and catchy. Although it doesn't sound much different from other punk (would it offend if I say 'teenage punk'?), I like the piano arrangements. I prefer a more mature voice but this one isn't bad.

Official Site http://www.rosscopperman.com/