Cosmicolor Set To Impress

April 28, 2007
by Andrew Martinez

M-Flo is a group which has quickly become a major force in guiding today’s Japanese pop. Once consisting of Verbal (rap), Lisa (vocals), and Taku (DJ), the group’s fresh mix of pop and hip-hop met with incredible success right from their debut with the Tripod E.P. After two successful albums (and their remix albums), Lisa left the group in pursuit of a solo career...

April 9, 2007

by Joseph Ward

Shanadoo is a dance pop group quite similar in style to Smile.dk. Like Smile.dk, Shanadoo uses a Eurodance style primarily, with Oriental-sounding instruments of secondary importance. One of Shanadoo’s great strengths is that its English lyrics are written by a English speaker, and their Japanese lyrics are written by a Japanese.  As a result, the English lyrics and Japanese lyrics are both great and work well together...

updated March 22, 2007

Reviewed side-by-side by our two top reviewers! - Andrew Martinez and Brad Hall

Grid, Move's first, and only, release of 2006 starts off slow but ends up as one of their most rocking albums to date.  Several songs will be familiar to Move fans as they were featured in single form months before this album's release. The single songs are Angel Eyes, Freaky Planet, Disco Time, and Raimei (Out of Kontrol). They appear here as they did in their respective releases...

Dive into Shibuya-Kei with FPM’s Luxury

February 4, 2007

by Andrew Martinez

For those not quite sure what that title’s about, don’t feel like you’re too left out. Shibuya-kei isn’t exactly the most popular movement to hit the Japanese music industry, but it has been gaining lots of interest lately and a lot of fans...

by Andrew Martinez

In the fall of 2006, fans of Ayumi Hamasaki were given news that the pop diva would be releasing a new mini-album before the year was out. Presumably a collection of her post- (miss)understood

singles released throughout 2006, those fans who held out on buying the singles waited eagerly for their chance to own the songs in a more concise package...

January 26, 2007

by Brad Hall & Joseph Ward

Some time ago I'd heard rumor that Apple started listing J-Pop on its infamous iTunes Music Store. Naturally, I felt compelled to research this phenomena. A few days ago I acquired a $15 iTMS card and dove headfirst into the world of J-Pop, iTunes style...

Review of Akira Yamaoka "iFUTURELIST"

January 21, 2007

by Brad Hall

When most people hear the name “Akira Yamaoka” they think of the somber melodic pieces that accompany Konami's Silent Hill series as Mr. Yamaoka is the key musician (as well as producer) of the prolific series...

Globe’s Return to Form in ’05-’06

Includes THREE album reviews: "Globe 2 Pop Rock," "Maniac," and "New Deal"

January 9, 2007

by Andrew Martinez (AudioAsia)

There can be no doubt that Tetsuya Komuro, and his most prevalent project, Globe, have had significant impacts on the Japanese music industry. After all, one does not become known as the “godfather” for an entire industry without a good reason...

Review of Lin Hai & Friends "Pipa Images"

January 11, 2007

by Brad Hall (AudioAsia)

Published in 2003 by Wind Records [a Korean ver. was released in 2005 --Ed.], “Pipa Images” is an album unlike any other. As its name implies, every track utilizes the pipa, a stringed instrument, commonly referred to as the Chinese lute...

Lee Jung Hyun Closes 2006 with a New Beginning

Review of Lee Jung Hyun "Fantastic Girl"

January 11, 2007

by Andrew Martinez (AudioAsia)

Lee Jung Hyun, Korea’s former queen of dance, who has recently been concentrating on expanding her artistic talents not only through music but also through film, has come back to her familiar dance beats in 2006. Although she has returned to her roots in the club scene...