Jean Snow [.net]

Category: Music

  • Pizzicato Five Discography: 1991-1993

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    David‘s second Pizzicato Five review post is now up, covering the years 1991 to 1993, which is an important period, since it’s when Maki Nomiya enters the picture. Arguably the best P5 album was released during this period, at least according to David (Bossa Nova 2001).

  • Pizzicato Five Discography: 1985-1991

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    Following yesterday’s intro post, the first proper part of David‘s review of the entire Pizzicato Five discography is up on Neojaponisme, covering the “pre-canon” era that runs from 1985 to 1991. I’m with David here (as you’ll see through his scores), this is definitely my least favorite period of P5’s output, and I never spent much time…

  • The Pizzicato Five Discography Review

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    I’ve mentioned in a few posts already that David was working on an exhaustive review of the complete Pizzicato Five discography, and it’s now ready. Head over to Neojaponisme for an intro post, and then check in throughout the week as he shares his reviews over 4 posts, each covering a particular era. The intro also…

  • Chiptune Primer

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    Bandcamp’s blog has a really nice post up that acts as a primer on the current state of chiptune music in Japan, also highlighting a bunch of artists. Pictured, Toriena, who also runs the Madmilky Records label.

  • Lyrical School

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    I have a thing for female rapping in Japanese — it’s a sound I really love, starting with Halcali, and followed by a few artists since. I’m not in love with all of their songs, but there’s something neat about the hip-hop idol group Lyrical School, who are about to release their first major label album,…

  • Japanese Sounds

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    Oh man, I really want to get my hands on these two compilation mixes, called Japanese Sounds, especially the Tatsuo Sunaga one — I was a big fan of Sunaga back in the Shibuya-kei days, and also quite enjoyed his live mixes from Tokyo’s Organ Bar. You’ll find lots more details in this Tokyo’s Coolest…

  • Record Day 2016

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    The West has Record Store Day, but for Japan, November 3 is “Record Day,” and for this year’s edition, Patrick shares some of his picks of special vinyl releases — you’ll find the full list of releases here.

  • Metahalf

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    Metafive — the supergroup that includes Cornelius and Towa Tei — has just released a new mini album called Metahalf. You’ll find more details in this Tokyo’s Coolest Sound post, and here’s a video for the first single, “Musical Chairs.”