japan
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Sometimes, it feels like all it takes is a blink to miss something important. I say this because just weeks ago, on Dec. 30, in between major holidays, news trickled out of the untimely death of a Japanese enka giant. It was Aki Yashiro – that mainstay of all sake-loving drinkers – who succumbed to…
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Tue, May 10, 2022, 10:46 AM – so many things seem improbable, but looking at this time stamp, this is one of those that will sit with me for a while. You see, it was over two years ago that I mustered up some courage to seek out Noriko Sekiguchi and see if she was interested…
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We all make decisions on what we share with others. Sometimes what we hide might run the gamut of what we feel comfortable expressing. However, in the case of virtuoso violinist Ikuko Kawai’s #2, I can’t understand why this album or the particular moment it was created in, appears as a mere footnote (which it…
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It seems one of the ongoing mantras for this blog is: “Spring where your seeds grow roots.” A perfect example of this mantra in action is the early career of Indonesian R&B and diva, Mellyana Manuhutu. And the perfect entry into a unique slice of dangdut can be found in her kaleidoscopic album, Beatify.
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Vibe with me for just a bit longer. As you can surmise, lately, I’ve been touching on a more universal kind of music. It’s this shift that’s letting me to revisit and share some of what I think has flown under the radar. And in today’s case, it’s Yoshimi Iwasaki’s daring and quite forward-thinking reemergence…
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When I wrote about Rie Miyazawa, I knew I’d have to come back to share another interesting side trip she’d take. In this case, it’s Rie’s work with Tadashi Namba and Takeshi Itoh on Tokyo Elevator Girl (東京エレベーターガール), a fascinating coda to her inspiring early ‘90s period, a soundtrack to Japanese TV drama of the…
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Do you know who I don’t envy? Pop stars. Out of all the careers or aspirations one can hold in the music business, none holds a candle to the sheer amount of stress, anxiety, work, and all-encompassing human problems that one will endure to simply make it as a pop artist. Rockers, jazz artists, and…
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Out of all the things I remember about my time in Japan, funny enough, one thing I can’t seem to forget is this: just how “French” so many things are. Walking down the street, shopping around, looking for a bite to eat (or just a place to relax), more often than not, you’re bound to…
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Sometimes the hardest thing isn’t putting words on screen. Sometimes the hardest part is finding space to write about a certain piece of music you’re not completely certain others will understand (or have the patience for). Unfortunately, you know me, and you know I have patience to spare and more than enough time to choose…
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Is it wrong to feel nostalgia for a past you never lived through? With the rise of City Pop and other genres or media evoking some sort of hauntology, I keep trying to purposefully separate myself from being too backwards-looking, for fear of running the risk of falling through a kitsch trap many fall in.…
ambient art pop art rock balearic brazilian electro-acoustic england environmental music experimental fourth world Funk fusion japan jazz minimalist mpb neo-folk neoclassical new age walearic