Not long ago I had the chance to talk to the electro-pop band Freezepop for Destructoid.com. Thay played a show near me, and there was no way I was going to miss it. I manged to bend their ears for over an hour. We talked about PAX, the Duke leaving the band and a lot about their bold new future.
You can check out the huge (we're talking 3400 words so go to the bathroom now and get something nice to drink on your way back) interview right here on Destructoid.
In case you've been wondering where all the daily content has been here on the A-Z, well, what can I say? Life is busy and Zac is lazy.
But that doesn't mean that I've been totally dormant! Just in case you didn't already know, I am also a regular contributor to Japanator. A few of the recent Japanese music related things I've done over there include:
- A review of sorts of the newest Perfume album called Triangle. I don't exactly give it high marks for originality, and I think that raised the dander of some of the more hardcore fans...
- Another somewhat snarky review of the new album from the crazy vis-kei band Mix Speaker's Inc. called Monsters Junk in My Pocket. While I don't really find anything interesting about the music, you really need to check out their totally over-the-top (even for vis-kei!) style.
- An exclusive interview with American songwriter and performer Becca. She's managing to make a name for herself in Japan. She also just recently played at Otakon 2009.
Something else that I had nothing to do with but that I know readers will be interested in is the coverage of Kanon Wakeshima's recent stop over in LA for a live show and autograph session. Ace0fClub5 once again managed to get some amazing photos of the event.
So, things may be a little quiet here from time to time, but I'm certainly not slowing down. (Oh yeah, there's all that new stuff for Otaku USA Magazine too...) Maybe just choosing my battles a little more carefully. But never fear! More is on the way.
The new issue of Otaku USA Magazine just hit my mailbox, so I thought I'd give you a bit of a run-down to hopefully entice you to check it out when you see it in your favorite local otaku hideout.
First up, the big feature (at least as far as ZB's world is concerned) is my interview with Morning Musume group leader Ai Takahashi. We talk a bit about her rise to stardom and what it's like to be a Musume. I also review the new Morning Musume album Platinum 9 Disc. And speaking of reviews, I take a look at the debut album from Cellythm, a band signed to Nobuo Uematsu's own record label Dog Ear Records.
Aside from music, I review Noby Noby Boy, a game for the PS3. If you haven't played it, well, maybe my review will help you understand it. Maybe. Finally, as part of the big Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood cover story, I take a listen to the opening and ending themes to the show, from Yui and SID.
Then there's also everything from everyone else! There's a Utada Hikaru story from Mike Dent, A look at MadWorld for the Wii from Joseph Luster, an eye-popping interview with manga master Hitoshi Iwaaki, a billion manga, anime and film reviews and way too much other stuff to go into here. I mean, you'd need 122 pages!
I really hope you can pick up a copy as soon as you see it. As always, Otaku USA Magazine is the best (and only!) magazine for the hardcore otaku!
A little while back, I was lucky enough to get the chance to interview Kalafina for Japanator when they came to Anime Boston for a performance. We also ran a contest where we invited the Jtor readers to ask their own questions.
The results are now up on Japanator. The group was gracious enough to answer everything the community threw at them, so there should be a lot of interesting stuff there for fans and newcomers alike. Head on over and check it out!
Kalafina is going to be playing at Anime Boston later this month. I'll have a chance to talk with them while they are at the con for Japanator.com. In addition, we are also giving away some signed stuff from the group, and you could win it!
All you have to do is post a question for the group in the comments of this post. A winner will be chosen at random, and the best questions will also be added to the main list for the interview.
You have until May 20th to submit your best question, so start thinking and get posting. Good luck!
Just now, just as I was about to start on this, I realized that it has officially been one year since I started writing for Otaku USA Magazine. What? It also turns out that with the June 2009 issue, Otaku USA itself is two years old. Sure, that probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans in your world, but to me it's pretty alright.
Anyway, the new issue is out, and it's also pretty alright. I've got an exclusive interview with the founder of Japan Nite, Audry Kimura. Did you know that the tour was eleven years old this year? I think it's safe to say that Audry is the hardest working woman in the already daunting business of bringing bands from Japan to the US.
I've also got a couple albums reviews: The VORC compilation Squarewave Surfers: memory of 8bit, and the incredible Moralist S.S. EP from Lillies and Remains.
But that's just the music section. There's also a massive feature on the new Street Fighter IV game, tons of film and anime coverage, way more manga stuff than you can handle, cosplay, toys, news...the list goes on and on for 128 pages. I'm sure you're sick of me saying it, but Otaku USA Magazine really is the best, most diverse and most open minded otaku-lifestyle magazine around. (Oh yeah, and also the only one around.) I really hope you check it out!
A couple weeks ago, I had the great privilege to sit down, in the same room and at the same table and everything, with the amazing Nobuo Uematsu. Just in case that name is unfamiliar to you, you might at least know of his work writing almost all of the music for the Final Fantasy video game series.
The live show Distant Worlds, a night of orchestrated Final Fantasy favorites, is currently on tour. I saw them at their first stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota and had the chance to interview both Uematsu-san and conductor Arnie Roth before the performance. You can read the entire interview over at Japanator. You can get my review of the show there as well.
It's not often that we get to meet those people who have so strongly affected our lives from afar. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to talk with Uematsu-san and everyone else involved with the Distant Worlds production. My sincere thanks to them all.
It's time again for another fantastic issue of Otaku USA Magazine to stomp its way into better magazine sellers everywhere!
This time around, I've got a nice interview with my heroes Polysics. I managed to catch them in the phone just before they kicked off their latest US tour.
There are also album reviews of Saitone, Boom Boom Satellites and 9mm Parabellum Bullet for your merit debating pleasure.
Of course, that's just my own personal neck of the woods. There's a ass-ton of the usual great content, from games reviews, interviews, manga and anime talk, figures and much more. Plus, in case you didn't notice last time, the cover price is almost half of what it used to be! You can't lose. I hope you get a chance to pick it up soon. There's much more to come, so stay strong, true believers!
It's time again for another issue of the best Japanese pop-culture magazine in the West, Otaku USA Magazine!
Issue #10 (February 2009) is out now. In it I have a review of the very very cool anime series Ghost Hound. If you're into anime that's very far away from moe and cute, squeeky magical schoolgirls, then Ghost Hound is the show for you. It's very slow, atmospheric and very creepy.
The really big news is my exclusive interview with the amazing electro master OMODAKA! We even have a photo (possibly the first ever?) of the man behind the machines (and the mask!) I had the chance to talk to him at length and learn more about Soichi Terada's past and just what exactly Omodaka means to him. If you've been entranced by his music and the videos, then you will not want to miss the interview. I'm a huge fan, and it was an honor to have the chance to talk with him.
If that's not enough, I also have reviews of Omodaka's albums, and the chip-tune Christmas album Holy 8-Bit Night + compilation on the website.
Of course there is much more than a few pages of music. There is a huge feature on Gurren Lagann, a ton of manga reviews, an interview with Yoko Ishida (not by me) and, gasp!, a positive review of Dead Space!
Otaku USA really is the best collection of all thing pop/Japan/otaku out there. Oh! They just dropped the price as well! Now it's only $5.99 per issue! You can't go wrong, people! I really hope you can check it out. If you do, please, by all means let me and the staff know what you think. We really do listen to you.
Thanks!
Back again, it's another issue of Otaku USA Magazine. Once again, I've got a bunch of music stuff in it, from a really cool interview with the super sexy and super bad-ass all-girl surf-rock group Thee 50's High Teens, to the huge round-up of various American labels releasing some pretty nice compilations of a wide range of Japanese music. Oh, and I also take a way too in-depth look at the game Siren: Blood Curse. Yeah, I sort of love that series...TO DEATH. HAHA! Get...oh, never mind.
Of course that's just the icing on what turns out to be not only a sweet, but rather nutritious, cake. There are billions of manga reviews, a very in-depth look at the entire Death Note franchise, a mutual fan-boy geek-out over the Macross legacy, more Ouran High School Host Club coverage than is clinically approved, lots of really bloody film reviews, and plenty of totally ridiculous looking robots and men in rubber suits.
Yet that's still just the beginning. There's, like, 100 pages of other stuff. You'll just have to shamble out of your hikikomori haze and find a copy for yourself. Check out the site for more.
I've recently done a few interviews (part of the reason for the slow updating lately!), so I wanted to collect them all into one post. All interviews were either by phone or in person and recored, so hit those links and start listening!
tokyo pinsalocks
tokyo pinsalocks are an all-girl, fuzzy psych-rock band who recently played a couple shows in America, and I had a chance to talk to them after their show at Anime Boston on March 21st.
Download: TORRENT | DIRECT
ketchup mania
ketchup mania are a pop-punk band. They were recently on tour with Japan Nite, and also played at Sakura-Con. I talked to them after the con on March 30th, and it sounds like they had a great time!
Download: TORRENT | DIRECT
Freezepop
These guys aren't Japanese, but an American electro-pop band based out of Boston. They've been on a ton of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, even though they don't have a guitar player! I talked to them before their free show at the University of Minnesota, Duluth on March 31st.
Download: TORRENT | DIRECT
Enjoy!
It's been a good month for tokyo pinsalocks. First their new album was released on JapanFiles.com, and then on March 21st they played their first show in American at Anime Boston.
I recently had a chance to sit down with the electro-fueled psychedelic trio the day after their Anime Boston gig. I plied them with questions and tried to find out what they planed to do with their time in the States, their formative past and their future dreams. You can download an mp3 of the interview over on Japanator.
Did I indeed get a private show from them in my dreams that night? I think I'll just have to save my answer until they make good on their promise to visit Minnesota on their next tour. I AM WAITING.
Once again, huge thanks to the JapanFiles.com crew for the interview, and to tokyo pinsalocks for being awesome. Let's hope they come back soon!
I was recently given the opportunity to shoot a few questions over to the band, and let me tell you, they delivered. The band has been undergoing a long transition from vis-kei to goth, and guitarist/programmer Kiwamu isn't shy about his feelings toward the current state of the vis-kei scene ("Recently many bands are just boring bands. There is no originality,") and vis-kei fans ("Many fans join a visual kei band's fanclub without listening their music.") He also comments on music downloading ("They want to get songs without any respect,") and bad anime-con promoters that they would rather just forget. BLOOD is obviously a band that's independent and proud of it, not afraid to tell it like it is and step on a few well-deserving toes.
Check out the entire interview after the jump. Huge thanks to Roger from Tainted Reality for giving me the opportunity to talk to the band, and of course to the band itself for being very cool and honest, something any music scene can always use more of.
Jtor: How did the three of you meet and form the band? Have you been in any other bands before BLOOD?
Kiwamu: I formed BLOOD in 2002 when I met Kaede. After that, we changed vocalists twice. Fuki is the third vocalist. He joined in 2004. After we made this lineup, we are going well now. BLOOD has carried out its own activities as an independent group belonging to no company. We have achieved great success, having sold a total of 18,000 CDs and performed over 50 one-man live shows around the world, including in Europe and America. I also sponsor gothic events in Tokyo on a regular basis. From 2004 to 2006, BLOOD worked under the concept VENGEANCE for BLOOD, basing all band activities on the theme of vampires. From 2006 to 2007, they conducted all activities under the concept of the French poetry collection Les Fleurs Du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) by Charles Baudelaire. As of April 2007, they are currently working with a new concept "Symphony of Chaos". Before BLOOD, I was the only person had some activities in Japanese indies scene. My past work is in our website. If you have interest in this, please check them.
Jotr: You have recently added two female members to the line-up, Bloodmore Har and Ryo. Could you explain their role in the band?
Kiwamu: Har is a woman, but Ryo is not woman. Please don't mind. He looks very pretty in fact. Har is the dancer on the stage. She has her own band The Royal Dead. When I saw her at the event, she looked very cool. So I asked her about dancing live. Her support is not at every show, but when she can come to our show, she will support us. And Ryo, he is the talented manipulator [I think he means "producer." -ZB]. My agent Miwa introduced us. When we had the sound check at the studio, his sound was very cool. So now, we have re-recorded our new album to put his sound on these songs. In fact, I need to make almost parts on our songs. He can bring his many ideas to my songs to bring out the detail of songs, they are good magic.
Jtor: How has your sound changed from vis-kei to goth? Is it simply more electronic, or is it something else?
Kiwamu: Last year, we started to change our sound style to Gothic. Maybe our new style is electric gothic. When I talked with Fuki about our next vision, we noticed "we have not listen to visual kei music for 5~10years." Recently visual kei bands are very boring. Stereotype, copy-cats. So we changed the styles. Our melody is Japanese-style. And backtrack is European gothic-style.
Jtor: You've said before that "Visual Kei fans don't listen to music. They just enjoy the face of band members," and that "...goth is attitude." What exactly is "goth attitude" to you?
Kiwamu: Many fans join a visual kei band's fan-club without listening their music. I hate that situation. I can't understand that. Visual kei music is just fashion to many fans. For me, gothic is not fashion. In fact, I have worked with many foreign gothic artists, and I am working for my band by myself for six years. Recently I organized a gothic event in Japan. I produced a gothic compilation album. For me, everything about these activities are life-style. Gothic is my attitude to express my feeling. So I don't join in any record company in Japan. For the visual kei record company, artists are just money. Not music. They just want to get money from artists. So I have helped many independent artists in Japan.
Jtor: Even though your musical style is evolving, you are still a very visual band. Is there any difference between traditional vis-kei and simply being a very visual/dark band?
Kiwamu: I think the music style definition is difficult to explain in a word. Some maybe think "BLOOD is visual kei" another maybe thinks "BLOOD is industrial." Another maybe think "BLOOD is visual and gothic band" etc. But we had activities as an old school visual kei band from 2002 to 2005. Of course, we are proud of this period. We don't say "BLOOD is not visual kei!" It is a very strange thing. Some artists do this. A shame. They spit on their past works. It is not cool. In fact, music genres are just for the music companies and CD shops.
Jtor: What was wrong with the vis-kei scene that caused you to abandon it? How is the goth scene different from the vis-kei scene in Japan?
Kiwamu: Please look at the Japanese visual kei scene. There are no good bands, I think. When we started music, there were many good visual kei bands. X-Japan, Luna Sea, Kuroyume etc. Recently many bands are just boring bands. There is no originality. Right? Of course, in Japan, gothic scene is very small. So we are not thinking about "we will be big in gothic scene." I am thinking about our vision in the world wide. You know BLOOD had many live shows in foreign countries without any record company support and we went there as first visual kei band. Now my plan is secret. But I will make the new style in the Japanese scene.
Jtor: Are there any other goth/industrial bands you admire (past or present)? Are there other Japanese goth/industrial bands you admire?
Kiwamu: Recently I listen to many artists I didn't know [before.] Siva Six, The Birthday Massacre, Dope Star Inc, London After Midnight, Hocico. They are not major artists, but very cool. And recently I started to work with many independent artists. Some of them had no CD album, so I support them as the label. Virgins O.R Pigeons from Greece, GPKISM form Australia, Spectrum-X from Italy, they are the artists who release albums from my label. In the world, there are very very cool artists [no one] knows. So I want to help them for this scene. Oh, I don't work with rap and hip-hop artists. lol. Sometime I get the strange email from them. But I don't know that sound. Cool sound, cool looking, no deal with any label. They are important for me.
Jtor: You have said before that you are strongly against music file-sharing and people who illegally download music. You are now in a position where it is easier to find legal samples of your music and live performances, but for many bands, file-sharing is sometimes the only way for fans to learn more about Japanese bands because so few bands are marketed overseas. How do you feel about this today? Do you think you would have as many overseas fans without the internet and music sharing? What is the best way for non-Japanese residents to learn more about bands that have little to no promotional support?
Kiwamu: I know this situation. Without internet, we can't make good activities. So I just dislike lazy fans. They want to get songs without any respect. We're always getting strange emails from lazy fans. "Can we meet at the guest room?" "Where can we get your songs by free?" "Send me autograph pictures." "Lets talk!" etc. We are very tired to read these strange emails. So I think illegal downloading is not a problem [for the] songs. It is a problem of fan's thinking. Lazy fans act in strange ways. So good fans buy our CDs and download from iTunes, because they know musicians work for songs very hard. Of course, we respect these fans too. MySpace is a very good tool. Owing to this, we can get many fans all over the world. Roger [from Tainted Reality] made this first for us. It was a good choice.
Jtor: Many Japanese bands only make appearances at anime cons, or at least cons are the first place they play in America. On this most recent tour you are hitting up regular clubs and venues. Are you consciously trying to avoid the anime scene? Do you think American anime cons are a good place for Japanese bands to play? Is it easier for you to do shows outside of cons?
Kiwamu: At US conventions, we had four live shows from 2003 to 2004. There were some troubles we wanted to forget forever. So bands can't hope [to bring their best show] to the fan. If they don't mind about that, the convention is good. In some countries, we had the live shows at the conventions. There were good conventions and bad conventions. If the convention staff is very cool, the band becomes cool.
Jtor: You have always preferred to work on your own terms, without major record label support. Do you feel this has helped you out in any way? Is it difficult to tour without a major record label?
Kiwamu: BLOOD has good agents all over the world. Owing to them, we can go to other countries to tour. BLOOD had 50 live shows in ten countries. I appreciate [the agents] very much. In USA, Roger works for BLOOD very very much. There are many lazy promoters in USA, but he is a serious worker. And if the record company works for foreign markets, they always say "five members and three staff need eight airplane [tickets], and condition is etc." I hate [this tactic] very much. They should know their value. They are more valueless than they think. BLOOD is only three members. So quick working. We don't need to worry about airplane fees for eight members. Some bands want my advice. So I always say "please reduce your members."
Jtor: Much of your past work has revolved around a single concept, like vampires or Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs Du Mal." Your new concept is "Symphony of Chaos." Can you explain this a little? What can we expect on the new album?
Fu-ki: In the dark labyrinth,you can see nothing and only hear the sounds of chaos.Then they are harmonizing...
Kiwamu: The new concept is not concrete one. We can make the new style music on these dark fields.
Jtor: Much like people in the west have a hard time understanding anime and Japanese culture, some find it strange that there is a love of French and Victorian style and Romanian vampire stories in Japan. What about these dark themes do you find interesting?
Kiwamu: We are fans of these dark cultures very much, so it is natural. For example, these cultures are very fresh to us. For example, in two days, I sent BLOOD sample songs to many DJs. They liked our music, so many [more] of them replied to me than I hoped. From this weekend, in many countries, they will play our songs at their shows. It is very interesting. Japanese DJs search for foreign music very very much and foreign DJs search for another country's music and they come to the Japanese scene.
You can find more from BLOOD online at:
TAINTED REALITY
OFFICIAL SITE
MYSPACE
