JapanFiles will release Dazzle Vision’s 4th full-length CD “to the next” at Sakura-Con 2010. Dazzle Vision will perform their first USA live concert at the 3-day event April 2-4.
The all-new 8-song CD will be on sale at the JapanFiles booth and at the band’s concert and autograph sessions. Please check the Sakura-Con website for schedule and details:
The USA CD release of “to the next” contains the complete Japanese-language booklet. Dazzle Vision fans will be able to purchase the CD and digital versions one month before the official release in Japan.
DAZZLE VISION PROFILE
Members:
Vocals – Maiko
7-String Guitar – Yu
5-String Bass – Takuro
Drums – Haru
Popular in the Japanese indies scene for their hard rock sound and Maiko’s alternating melodic/death-voice vocals, Dazzle Vision was formed in June 2003, and has held their current lineup since May 2008.
Dazzle Vision released their first album “Origin of Dazzle” in November of 2006. Their second album “Camellia Japonica” was released in April 2007, followed by an 11-city tour of Japan. After selling out of the first presses of “Origin of Dazzle” and “Camelia Japonica,” their 3rd album “Crystal Children” hit #1 on HMV’s pre-sale chart and #2 on Tower Records pre-sale chart prior to its official release in November 2008. Their latest album “to the next” is currently in the Top 10 of HMV’s pre-order chart.
LINKS!
Dazzle Vision music at JapanFiles Digital Music Store
Dazzle Vision official website
VIDEO:
“HERE” PV
Dazzle Vision comment video for Sakura-Con
ABOUT JAPANFILES:
Supporting Japanese artists since 2004, JapanFiles specializes in digital sales and media promotion for indie and major Japanese music artists. Music downloads at the JapanFiles Digital Music Store are DRM-free and only 99 cents each.
JapanFiles has sponsored Japanese artist appearances at Sakura-Con, Anime Boston, A-Kon, FanimeCon, Anime Mid-Atlantic, Pacific Media Expo, Anime Vegas, Animex (Mexico), SXSW, Slim’s (San Francisco), and Knitting Factory (New York City).
JapanFiles has produced over 20 USA CD releases for Japanese artists, including HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, girugamesh, Onmyo-za, LM.C, Morning Musume, Hangry & Angry, ketchup mania, Swinging Popsicle, LiN CLOVER, Budo Grape, BESPA KUMAMERO, and three volumes of the “Fresh Cuts from Japan” compilation series.
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JapanFiles is a division of Japanese education website YesJapan.com.
S/mileage is part of the next generation of H!P groups and my hero (and yours) Tsunku is challenging them to get 10,000 smile pictures from around the world. If they accomplish this feat they will be given a major label debut in May. If they fail? Well, as the video above states, their major label future will be “uncertain”.
The deadline for their task is the 25th of March and as of this writing they have collected just under 3000 pictures. If you would like to help them out you can head to the official campaign page. Instructions on how to navigate the submission form are located at Hello! Online.
If you are a fan of S/mileage or H!P in general I would suggest submitting a picture (only one per person according to the rules) to assist them in accomplishing their goal. If successful all the pictures will be put into a collage or mosaic that is 2 x 4 meters large. So this is a good chance to at least have your mug seen by the group and be a little part of H!P history. =)
Oh & if you’re wondering if I sent a picture. Why yes I did. If I can get off my lazy ass & do it so can you. =P
This month’s mix is starts with some peak time House and mellows out into Soulful House in the second half. Enjoy!
今月のミックスはアップテンポハウスを始めます。そして、後にソウルハウスがあります。
みんなさん、聞いて下さい。
どうぞ。
G’s House Sessions March 2010 (192k MP3, 98.8 MB)
Running Time: 01:11:58
Track Listing
- Groove Junkies feat. Indeya – Music’s Gotcha Jumpin 2007 (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Mix)
- Afropeans feat. Inaya Day – Better Things (Syke N’ Sugarstarr Remix)
- Clazziquai – Kiss Kiss Kiss (Capsule Remix)
- Bob Marley vs. Funkstar DeLuxe – Sun Is Shining
- Benji Candelario feat. Leslie Carter – Gotta Have Love (Main Mix)
- Chic – Good Times
- Call On Me feat. Sara Divine & Sterling Ensemble – This Thing Of Ours
- 4 Ears & Lady Bird – Can’t Be Without You (Original Mix)
- Morten Trust feat. Teebee – Everything (Original)
- Soul Source Production – The Real Thing
- Lena Fujii – Let It Rain
There are a plethora of girl groups out in the K-Pop world and my absolute favorite of them all is 2NE1. I dig their sound and their look so I was extremely happy when I found out the vocal track of Kiss was available on the single.
I’m primarily known for remixing a lot of J-Pop, R&B and House and I haven’t done any K-Pop songs until now. I figure why not start with this one? The original is Pop/R&B club track. For my mix I kept the same tempo but went funkier and added a deeper bass line along with some House influenced synths.
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Release Date: March 3, 2010
Track Listing
- Neo Ttaemune Michyeo
- Naega Neomu Apa
- One & One
- Cheoeum Cheoreom
- Bo Peep Bo Peep
- Tic Tic Toc
- Bye Bye
- Apple is A
- Falling U
- Neoneoneo
- Geojitmal (Dance Ver.)
- T.T.L (Time To Love)
- Geojitmal (Slow Ver.)
- T.T.L Listen.2
- Joheun Saram
- Norabollae?
Review
T-ara (pronounced Tiara, like the crown beauty pageant contestants wear) is a South Korean pop group formed by and signed to the Mnet label. Breaking Heart is the repackaged version of their debut album Absolute First. Breaking heart includes all the tracks from that album and two extra songs, Neo Ttaemune Michyeo and Naega Neomu Apa.
If any of you follow Korean pop you know that girl groups seem to pop out every day like they’re manufactured in some sort of factory or something. Which is kind of true in a way… Anyway, T-ara is one of those groups.
The thing that one has to wonder about this group is do they have something that makes them stand out? Their first few singles (Lies, TTL and TTL Listen 2) showed that they had some potential to not get lost in the shuffle of similar groups. For me Lies was a great example of what they’re capable of vocally and the two versions of TTL gave me an idea of what kind of productions they would be getting.
This album does prove that they do have something that will allow them to be around for a while. How long? Beats me. The shelf life of any pop group is pretty limited these days. With quality songs like Neo Ttaemune Michyeo, Tic Tic Toc, Bye Bye and Neoneoneo I think they’ll be around to make a 2nd album.
It’s not surprising that I picked the more up tempo and dance like tracks. The group tends to excel a bit more at those kind of songs instead of ballads. (with the exception of the slow version of Lies) Overall this was much better than I expected it to be. I’d say it’s a fairly solid debut and is worth investing some time in.
CD Only Version
CD + DVD Version
Release Date: February 10, 2010
Track Listing
- This Is Who I Am
- Easy
- Bump Bump! feat. VERBAL (m-flo)
- Lazer
- Interlude #1
- Is This Love
- Mamoritai ~White Wishes~
- Interlude #2
- Nekorabu
- The End Soshite and… (album version)
- Possibility duet with 三浦大知
- Fallin
- My All
Review
After a brief and somewhat successful detour in North America BoA returns to the Japanese market with her seventh studio album Identity which includes the previously released singles Bump Bump! and Mamoritai ~White Wishes~. This is the first of BoA’s Japanese albums to not chart in the #1 spot on the Oricon charts. After listening to the entire thing it’s not hard to understand why.
I was expecting a bit of the electro pop influence from her North American debut to creep into this album, but instead it was business as usual. Well that’s cool, but the result of this rather safe approach is that there really aren’t any standout songs that are truly awe inspiring or attention grabbing. As I stated before, I think a bit of that edge from her North American productions would have been a nice touch & would probably have resulted in some sweet tracks.
If you’re thinking that my opinion that this album is crap well you’re wrong. Actually I think it’s pretty decent but just rather bland as a whole. There are a few tracks that managed to stick with me like the previously mentioned Bump Bump! which sounds similar to Namie Amuro’s Can’t Eat, Can’t Sleep I’m Sick with the horn stabs and up tempo R&B styled beat.
Lazer is probably the closest song that would be an example of the kind of songs I was expecting to hear on this album. It at least has a bit of a fresher sound. Although I could have done without the cheesed up spoken word break about wanting a red light. Dropping to the beat during that section is my preference but perhaps that’s just the DJ in me talking. I mean it would be a nice spot to mix out of.
Lastly there’s Possibility and Fallin. On Possibility I liked Daichi Miura’s voice. I don’t listen to many male R&B artists or groups these days but I think this dude is pretty good. I’ll check out his discography after hearing him on this track. Fallin just reminded me of a Big Bang type of song for some reason. I dunno why, but a bit of 4 on the floor action is always good stuff.
Overall this was a decent album that could have been better if a few riskier or edgier productions were chosen. Still, it’s a worth adding to your BoA collection and for you non-BoA fans. Well this won’t change your mind about her.
Identity CD Only (Japan Version)
Identity CD + DVD (Japan Version)
Contrary to what their last album is titled (Melon’s Not Dead), Melon Kinenbi is dead. I guess 10 years of being unappreciated and underutilized was enough huh? And really, it’s a shame that this group is disbanding. They were the only stable unit in H!P never having any lineup changes during their tenure. An accomplishment that no group will probably be able to lay claim to.
Let’s be honest here, they never really had a large fan base. Perhaps because they were older and not loli jail bait like many of their more popular peers in H!P. Hey! Don’t get upset, I’m just calling it as I see it. Loli jailbait > Melon Kinenbi is one of the observations I have made during my time as an H!P fan.
Anyway, individually none of them were really solo artist material but as a group they were solid. They had established their own sound that set them apart from the rest of H!P. They have their fair share of pop songs but for the most part they were the rock chicks. Well I guess as rock as you could get without infringing on Buono! territory or losing what little audience they had, but they were still the alternative to the pop sound that dominates UFA acts.
Hearing about them calling it quits sucks because Melon Kinenbi has a special place in my H!P fandom. They were one of the first groups I got into outside of Morning Musume and it was mainly because of that fine ass Megumi Murata. Her appearances on Hello! Morning’s Hello! Pro News pretty much got me hooked. With or without glasses that woman is gorgeous.
Um.. Where was I? Oh… Yeah. Sadness that I won’t be getting my Murata eye candy fix or any more new Melon Kinenbi songs. It’s nice to know that a collection of their b-sides (Ura Melon) will be released before the group officially rides off into the sunset. We few Melon Kinenbi fans can at least be comforted in the fact they went out on their own terms instead of some lame duck reason like “foot problems” or “modeling”.
Best of luck in your future endeavors ladies, thanks for the 10 years of awesomeness.
Apologies for posting this a little late but it’s been a crazy month. This set is a return to the familiar Soulful vocal tracks that many are accustomed to hearing in my sets. Enjoy!
このミックスはちょっと遅いですね。じゃあ、2月が忙しいでした。ごめん。とにかく、今月のセットにソールハウスに戻ります。
みんなさん、聞いて下さい。
どうぞ。
G’s House Sessions February 2010 (192k MP3, 102 MB)
Running Time: 1:14:45
Track Listing
- Fantastic Plastic Machine feat. Incognito – Reaching For The Stars
- A Lil Louis Painting – Give It Up (Frankie Feliciano Ricanstruction Vocal Mix)
- Angie Stone – Wish I Didn’t Miss You (Pound Boys Stoneface Bootleg Mix)
- Chieko Kinabara – 7 Days
- Hardsoul feat. Amma – Don’t Let Love Weigh You Down (Main Mix)
- GTS feat. Melodie Sexton – Through The Fire (Uplifting Mix)
- Big Muff – My Funny Valentine (Body & Soul Mix)
- Studio Apartment feat. AK – Beautiful Sunrise (Quentin Harris Reconstruction)
- Yuna Ito – Koi wa Groovy x 2 (DJ Passion More Passion Remix)
- Clazziquai – Futuristic (House Remix)
- Jamiroquai – Too Young 2 Die (Grant Nelson Remix)
- Robin Thicke – Sex Therapy (Moto Blanco Club Mix)
Last year was a great year to be an H!P fan in the west. Hangry & Angry took H!P’s first steps on to mainland North American soil in Seattle. A few short months later the flagship group Morning Musume landed in Los Angeles. Then Hangry & Angry appeared in Europe. Yes, it was a glorious time where H!P fans from all over the world joined together. Many who have been online friends, finally meeting for the first time. Relationships were formed, bonds were made and everyone celebrated for the common good.
Barely a year has passed and the Western based fans of H!P (and J-Pop in general) are still talking about those momentous occasions where the impossible happened and they finally came to us. I was fortunate enough to be part of the Seattle and Los Angeles experiences and cherish every moment (both good and bad) I had. Now our hopes are high that maybe we’ll be lucky enough to be blessed by another series of H!P appearances in the west. Many speculating on who they would like to see come over. Since last year I have been checking both the Sakura-con and Anime Expo sites to see who they have lined up for musical acts.
Sakura-con is building a solid line up with acts like Dazzle Vision and High and Mighty Color already booked. (I’m hoping for another H&A appearance) But what about Anime Expo? Can they pull off another coup and get another big name Japanese act to show? Well, based on this news and some rather disturbing insider information I wouldn’t be holding my breath. Somehow reading all of that explains a lot about some of my experiences at the con last year.
But wow were my eyes opened to the ineptness of the upper management. Let’s go through a few points here.
Refusal to honor contracts with Japanese industry
a) In addition to lying about supposed contacts in Japanese industry, Lattanzio had initially refused to sign a contract previously agreed upon that allowed Morning Musume (last year’s AX pop idol group) to releaes a DVD of their concert at AX in which 50% of the profits would go towards AX. After Morning Musume directly sent one of their people over, the contract was finally signed, but in the process, according to third party testimony by Chase, Lattanzio’s attitudes toward the Morning Musume representative was extremely impolite. (claiming that he showed up in jeans and t-shirt) As a result, that person has refused to work with Lattanzio and subsquently the Anime Expo convention in the near future.
b) Due to the offense by Lattanzio to Japanese representatives as well as the current conflict between the staff and Lattanzio, No Japanese industry is willing to work with Anime Expo as of right now. This is one of the reasons that there have been no industry or musical guests announced for AX 2010 at this time.
- Yes Michael Lattanzio was very rude to Morning Musume. Along with being rude he showed up to the meeting in flip flops, a t-shirt, and jeans. Though the rumors are wrong when they say he started cussing at them. They also got very pissed when he said he wanted money from the royalties from the show that they played at last AX.
Okay…. Well obviously someone had his head up his ass. Maybe you can get away with treating a no name, upstart group getting their big break at an Anime Convention like shit; but this was Morning Musume and in essence UFA/Sony Music Japan being disrespected here. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my short time with dealing with major labels it’s to treat them with respect. You’re dealing with a business and your attitude should reflect that.
The other labels must have heard about this experience and are wary of any requests coming from AX. If I were running a label I would just hang up the phone on them. If they don’t have respect for one labels artists and staff what would make me think that they would treat mine any better? And that ’s really a shame because now the fans who replied to AX’s requests for guests of honor are just going to get shafted as a result of this.
Chase Wang was the Publicity Director for Anime Expo since 2003, having many high level contacts. According to Chase Wang, during a meeting with people from Orange Range (proposed musical guest from Japan for AX 2010) Lattanzio refused to honor previously agreed contract, stating that he will only provide 2 plane tickets for a 5 person band.
Yes Orange Range was coming to AX this year, however Michael Lattanzio pissed off Sony to an extent to where they did not want to participate anymore. This was due to his rudeness and pushing them to pay for 3 out of the 5 tickets to fly here. Basically it turned into Sony and Orange Range saying “we didn’t ask to come, you asked us to come” not a direct quote. But thats the basics with that. And you can see there attempt to hide it in the AX forums by Brian R
This is just plain petty and just not right. You invite a five member band to play at your convention and you’re only willing to pay for 2 members to fly over? Does that make any sense at all? Good on Sony and Orange Range for backing out of the deal. Seriously, WTF?
From the looks of it the management of AX really dug themselves into a hole that they probably won’t get out of. Sad really, because last year was my first AX and despite all the little quirks (and one really big one) that irked me I had fun and was looking forward to doing it all over again. Now I fear that won’t happen since there’s nothing to really entice me to make another trip to L.A. in July.
So those of you who were begging for more H!P or any of your other favorite J-Pop acts can probably stop now. The best you’ll probably ever get this year is this guy.
My 2nd Berryz Koubou remix is of a song from their 21st single release Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama/Ryuusei Boy. The original version of Ryuusei Boy is an up tempo dance track with a strong disco influence. For my mix I decided to keep a little bit of that Disco touch while incorporating a more aggressive sounding rhythm section.
I kept this fairly simple and refrained from attempting any crazy type of keyboard/guitar solos during the break section. Opting instead to let the beat break down until the vocals of the final chorus kicked in.
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