
Label: Virgin Babylon Records Purchase: CD from Virgin Babylon (2000Yen) For a while now I have noticed a lot of interaction between the netlabel Bunkai-Kei (run by Go-qualia) and Virgin Babylon Records run by World's End Girlfriend. This is pretty much destined to happen, with the brilliant japanese electronica of Go-qualia and the frenetic and beautiful sounds of World's End Girlfriend the match is perfect. Here is a promotional youtube clip featuring excerpts of tracks from the 15 track, 79 minute epic concept album Puella Magi being [...]
A live multitrack recording from 2009 of the collaboration of Acid Mothers Temple SWR - Kawabata Makoto, Tsuyama Atushi, and Yoshida Tatsuya - with saxophonist Umezu Kazutoki. The live recordings were reassembled in the studio to create this magnificent album, an epic release that is both intricate and driving, with unusual twists and turns and a sense of humor that all 4 bring to their many
The most popular act of all-time (in a certain country) does not really coincide with what this site usually features, but Southern All Stars remains overlooked by western audiences regardless. The exposure here seems useful in that sense. After listening to their top songs, any fan of quality pop music would agree. The group's frontman [...]
"Do they know it's December? Do they care?" I awoke this morning asking myself this question. There are four Fridays in December, and each one has to be dedicated to a Year-End list. Why? Because that's what every publication on the face of the planet does starting the moment Thanksgiving dinner ends. Across all forms of media, the next few weeks will be filled with cloying fits of nostalgia, hindsight-enriched wistfulness, and even some good-old-fashioned navel-gazing. On each Friday in December, Swan Fungus will present a new Year-End list. If you are an old-timer, you know how this works. If [...]

Coco Hearts Records is releasing Florida in Japan Japanese record company Coco Hearts is releasing my album "Florida" December 22nd. "The album will be designed as a Christmas present from Cocoheart to Japanese music lovers. The best gift, isn't it!" says Coco Hearts . The album will be released as a special Japan release with additional bonus tracks. I'm really looking forward to our new collaboration. I want to celebrate this especially by reminding all of you to download [...]
An experimental music summit recorded live in Japan last year. Japan - Asia - Music - Arts - Expatriate Life

Info Song : Come Back to Me Artist : 宇多田光 / Come Back to Me Release Date : February 9, 2009 Blurb Yeah, this is another one of those English songs by an Asian singer, but there's so many of these that we're going to cover it anyways. Utada Hikaru's new English single Come Back to Me is a great song - it tells a [...]
Info Album : I Loved Yesterday ( Buy Album ) Artist : Yui Release Date : April 14, 2008 Blurb Sorry everyone for our unexpected extended hiatus - you know, what with it being finals week and all, everyone's busy as heck. Well, in any case, we're back, and over the next week we'll be finishing up this belated series, as well as sprucing up the site [...]

Info EP : Days/GREEN ( Buy Album ) Artist : 濱崎あゆみ / Ayumi Hamasaki Release Date : December 17, 2008 Blurb Ayumi Hamasaki has sure been busy. Even with her deaf ear, she continues to churn out music on a large scale. After her previous album Guilty, she has recently released this single titled Days. This single brings hopes to her numerous fans all over the world, because many thought that [...]
Info Album : Guilty ( Buy Album ) Artist : 濱崎步 / Ayumi Hamasaki Release Date : January 11, 2008 Review By : sky Review Ayumi Hamasaki has shown versatility in music, and continues to shine despite being completely deaf in her right ear. This great feat is crowned by yet another album, Guilty , the ninth for the thirty-year old Japanese pop icon. [...]

Info Album : w/z Friendz Artist : Shion Release Date : October 2008 Review By : blummer Review I first heard of Shion when I was browsing a CD store last summer in Japan. Her first album, Candy Girl , had come out around that time and there were a bunch of copies of it available. The thing that caught my eye was the ridiculous cover (Google it) which [...]

Info Single : 24 Xmas Time ( Buy Album ) Artist : 倉木麻衣 / Mai Kuraki Release Date : November 26, 2008 Blurb In the spirit of the Christmas season, may we present Mai Kurakai's latest single, 24 Xmas time . (I don't know why it was released so early, considering that even now, Christmas is still 9 days away). I suggest listening to it after getting sick [...]

Info Song : 赤い糸 ( Buy Single ) Artist : 新垣結衣 / Yui Aragaki Release Date : October 15, 2008 Blurb Japanese idol/phenom has a great single out - 赤い糸 , or Red Thread . Combining elements of typical Japanese ballads and bright accompanying instruments, typically drums and pianos. I still can't believe she's only a few years older than me. I feel so inadequate. [...]

Info Album : The Anthology ( Buy Album ) Artist : ジブラ / Zeebra Release Date : September 17, 2008 Review By : blummer . . . . . . Review The Japanese hip-hop scene is technically one of the [...]