JaME Weblog

miyavi World Tour

Kay — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:13:09 +0000

In June, miyavi embarked on his very first world tour. Needless to say, over the whole world, his fans were going crazy with the prospective of seeing the multitalented artist live. Kicking off with a performance in Japan in May, miyavi and his crew then headed to the United States, followed by three performances in South America (courtesy by JaME Brazil), a Europe tour taking him to eight different European countries, five shows in East Asia and ending with a number of concerts in his home country, Japan.

miyavi’s management sent us the following summary and pictures of the tour.

雅-miyavi-

1st WORLD TOUR
THIS IZ THE JAPANESE KABUKI ROCK TOUR 2008

VOCAL&GUITAR: MIYAVI
MC: TYKO
MC: DAGFORCE (only EU CIRCUIT)
BASS: HIGE-chang
DRUMS: RYO YAMAGATA
DJ: TeddyLoid
TAP&HANDSONIC: SARO

Total amount of countries performed in: 14
A total of 33 performances.

Total traveling distance of the tour: 48,385 miles
The same distance as the total length going around the world!

Total number of local media: covered by about 200 Companies
Including JaME.

Total number of local currency used: 10 different currencies
$ (Dollar), $ (Peso), R$ (Real), € (Euro), krone (Kröne), ￡ (Pound), NT $ (Taiwanese dollar) ₩ (Won), 元 (Yüan), 円 (Yen)

Total number of languages Miyavi used on stage: 11 different national languages
English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, French, Chinese, Korean and Japanese

Performance in Chile:
miyavi was the first JRock Artist EVER to do a SOLO performance in Chile. 2000 tickets sold out instantly!

Performance in Sweden:
The Japanese drum (Wadaiko) and miyavi’s guitars were lost on the way to Finland. After a search, we found out that they were left in Sweden. Urgent transportation was needed. The instruments reached the venue just as doors were opening, and the live was held successfully.

JaME Coverage of the Tour:

Mixtape: Japanese Summer

Kay — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:53:14 +0000

August has just started, and nothing is better than accompanying these hot summer days with a mixtape of summery songs! Here’s a selection of songs that will serve excellently as the soundtrack for this season.

01. Remioromen - Ashita ni kakaru hashi (Horizon)
02. YUI - Rolling star (Rolling Star)
03. Yaida Hitomi - Hitori Jenga (Air/Cook/Sky)
04. ZZ - Yorokobi no uta (Yorokobi no Uta)
05. D-51 - No More Cry (No More Cry)
06. Metis - Road to the top (BLESS)
07. PUSHIM - Rainbow (Rainbow)
08. INFINITY16 - Manatsu no orion welcomez MINMI,10-FEET (Manatsu no Orion)
09. Rockamenco - Morena (Morena)
10. Ketsumeishi - Carnival (Train)
11. Otsuka Ai - Sakurambo (Sakurambo)
12. RIP SLYME with QURULI - Lovi (Lovi)
13. MINMI - Sha Na Na☆ (Sha Na Na☆)

Artist Recommendation: Rockamenco

Kay — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 07:00:14 +0000

Rockamenco’s name already gives it away: this band’s music is a mix between rock and flamenco. When flamenco vocalist KSK Arita met blues rock guitarist Ichiro in 2004, they decided to create a unit to fuse these music styles together. The following year was spent writing songs, recruiting band members and, in 2006, they were ready to start and released their first single. Their catchy, soulful music with a hot, passionate Spanish influence also caught the attention of major label Avex, who offered them a contract.

Even though the combination might seem a little strange, the band is incredibly catchy and have managed to blend various styles together seamlessly. They’re truly unique, so be sure to check them out!

Discography:

Rockamenco [2006]
Morena [2007]
Esperanza [2008]
PASION [2008]

Release Recommendation: PASION [2008]

Their recent release and first full album that came out in February this year. The album contains most songs from the previously released singles, so is therefore a good collection of Rockamenco’s work.

Interview with Marqido

Sian — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:19:36 +0000

Experimental artist Marqido has released three solo albums to date: Democritus, Democritus II and Democritus III. He is possibly better known in Europe for his work with the Korean experimental artist itta on the project 10. His career seems to be marked with numbers, so with this in mind, we decided to ask him a few number related questions!

1. Tell us about the first time you performed in front of an audience.

When I was a junior high school student I formed a band with some of my schoolmates. I played guitar in the band. At the school graduation party, we did a concert in front of all of the students.t

2. Tell us a bit about 10’s second member, itta.
She is a Korean singer, artist, poet, performer, keyboardist and she can even make music with toys. She is original and has a unique outlook on music.

3. If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? (You can’t wish for more wishes!)
I have two now. I want to write an essay about traveling, and I want to make a home recording studio in special place.

6. What do you remember about your first day of school?
It had a very sparkling clean (pika pika) school uniform….

8. What are your plans for this month?
This month, I will go back to Japan. Actually, I am hardly ever in Japan! I will stay there for a while, and after that I have gigs in China, South-East Asia and Europe scheduled until next year.

10. Can you tell us a bit about your band, 10?
10 is a band that I formed with itta on October 10th, 2005. The band is one of the most active and creative bands in the Asian indie scene.

13. Do you have any good luck rituals?
Yes. I wear red clothes.

24. What is a normal day in the life of Marqido?
I like to watch the news. I am interested in the movement of the world, especially about Asian countries.

The Recycled Questions Interview with JaME

Kay — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:34:15 +0000

The JaME team currently includes over 100 people, all with different backgrounds, cultures and interests. Seeing as we are represented in almost 30 countries, you can imagine that it’s a colorful bunch with a lot of interesting personalities. We wanted to give our readers a glimpse of the team members, so we thought of holding an interview with them. But there was a problem: what to ask? We fixed this problem by recycling interview questions, i.e. taking questions from old JaME interviews, ripping them out of context and having a clueless JaME member answer them!

Here are the answers, as well as a reference from which interview it was taken:

Does it mean that music can’t be without ‘pain’ for you? (from: Pay Money to my Pain interview)

Chenka [JaME Netherlands]: Well although admittedly concerts can be very painful, standing in the crowd, you can also decide to stand a little more to the back. So music can perfectly be without pain.

Is there anything that you would’ve liked to see or experience in Germany? (from: the GazettE in Germany)

Cynthia [JaME US & Mexico]: Why, yes, actually there is! I would like to experience the savory taste of sauerkraut and bratwurst while drinking beer… in a pub. Can you get that in a pub in Germany? (laughs)

So the theme was ‘monster’ and you chose to be stark naked? (from: interview with Billy)

d [JaME Greece]: But of course my dears; I mean, hello! Pamela has done it, Paris has done it… It was a ‘do it, or be left out of the party’ kinda deal.

And of course, it was painful and mean, having people point at naked you, calling you a monster…but, darling, it was delivered in such an extremely artistic manner! Especially the mud wrestling, Godzilla crossover scenes featuring dozens of visual kei remixes, were simply fantabulous! For the love of J-music dammit! It is just a shame that it sold out so fast…

How does a lesson with your students go, what is the message that you want to give them? (from: interview with Emiko Minakuchi)

Direnwe [KoME Finland]: Lessons usually tend to go smoothly, but every once in a while someone decides to show up butt naked o.O I still don’t know the reason why my students do this.
It really shocks me so my message to them is to keep their private parts private.

Bands like BALZAC or Guitar Wolf perform in Europe quite regularly, but why, do you think Europe likes those big Visual Kei bands like Dir en grey more? (from: interview with Marble Sheep)

Dizzy Cage XIII [JaME UK]: I think it has more to do with the image than the music these days, although I’ve had that feeling for a while now anyway. All these bands that are known for their eccentric behaviour, flamboyant costumes and antics on stage draw more attention to themselves through their image than their music. I think that’s why some bands who were known (and popularised) during their Visual-Kei days, are now gaining “anti-fans” due to their departure from those years.

Personally I find that sad, why do bands have to be Visual-Kei to gain popularity when they usually abandon it anyway? I think that’s mainly for material reasons, but if they are that truly uncomfortable with that image, then they just shouldn’t start it in the first place. I mean, look at the examples given in the question.

BALZAC have been around for years now and have always been distinguished by their horror-punk image and relationship with The Misfits. Sadly though, they remain fairly unknown in the West. Is this due to their image? I think so for the most part, they didn’t start off wearing dresses and make-up. They’ve always been “male”, raw and heavily influenced by the West, I sometimes think fans are prejudiced against bands who take influence from Western culture and music.

So, really I think I’ve waffled enough. I just get the feeling that fans are happier to receive Visual-Kei artists over here because of their image or characteristics rather than their music.

Certain rumors said that you would be taking part in a film. Is this true? There has not been an official announcement. (from: Kana in France)

flikflak [JaME France]: Well you know, as my management didn’t make any announcement, I should not speak about it. Anyway, I’ll just say that it was a big chance to work with such well-known people, and it will be, I am sure, a very enriching experience.

In fact it is not the first time I have got an offer for a film, but as music is the most important thing for me, I preferred to concentrate first on my music. But don’t worry, I won’t let my fans down, and I will continue to do music, and I will keep my own original style, that is the most important thing.

Would you like it to be bigger or would you change it in any way? (from: interview with Abigail)

FoXjapan [JaME France]: Hmmm. Would you see if I would like it to be bigger? If you are not satisfied you could ever change any way… OH it’s not the question? Okay!

Be bigger? I’m not anorexic, and always know that in the JaME team, I’m the most beautiful of course. Even if I will eat fast food every day, I am one of the sexier guys in the team, but it’s normal, the difference between you and me… It’s simply me. I would not change anyway!

But if I would change, I’m seeing in a dragon’s reviewer, who would spit fire sanctity review about Japanese music in France! Or metamorphose in emo, for sleeping with lots of girls, because having class is good, but to ’sleep’ in a bed in good company is better! (SEEEEEEEXXXXXXX!!!! send me e-mails girls!)

Is it a game to joke about Hibiki all the time? (from: the Studs in France)

Hope_to_faith [KoME Germany]: You know it started as a game and just occasionally I came up with jokes about Hibiki, but now it’s something so normal. I wake up thinking about a joke, while I eat I think about a joke…it’s a necessity now. And hell I’m happy with that because those jokes fulfill my life.

Have you ever gotten into any trouble playing naked? (from: Electric Eel Shock in the UK)

Jess [JaME US]: Well, my mom did get pretty mad at me. She chased me around our yard for a half hour, yelling at me to come back inside so she could get the watermelon seeds out of my hair, but hey, I was young and the breeze felt nice!

You are inspired by mysterious voices while sleeping? (from: interview with CATSUOMATICDEATH)

Kiri [JaME UK]: Oh yes that… ha ha… my best ideas come the morning after a really good sleep and I can hear people in my dreams. To be honest though, I am not sure whether it is ‘mysterious voices’ or the TV that comes on early. Maybe that is why every song I write these days is about scandalous idols.

In the song Music like a prayer you sing “Watashi no kami wa ongaku [...].” Could you describe a little more about how you were able to find God? (from: KOKIA in France)

Matron [JaME Finland]: My family has always been kind of religious but I don’t know if I myself believe in Christian God or something else. I’ve just always had a feeling that there must be “something bigger behind this world we’re living in”. I got more views for the life as I went to confirmation camp when I was 15 (in Finland nearly every kid takes a part in confirmation camp). I believe I won’t just disappear as I die but I’ll become part of nature, go to “heaven” or something beautiful like that. The thought makes me feel content and relieved.
Also, I don’t pray but several times I’ve thanked “someone up there” in my mind when something wonderful has happened. Some people might think now “wow what a scary religious person” but I hardly ever talk about these things aloud because I find my religious views very personal.

What’s your opinion about idol-groups nowadays? (from: OLIVIA in France)

NirVanKa [JaME Russia]: For me, idol-groups are X JAPAN, LUNA SEA and also Dir en grey. What I think of them? Well, the more I get into Japanese rock the more I understand that their music is the best I’ve ever heard. Lyrics, music itself and also the style of the band suit them perfectly! I am very happy that X JAPAN returned, I am also happy that Dir en grey doesn’t stop - they create awesome music, make awesome performances!

I want people to understand the difference between such groups and new ones. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like indies or new bands. But for me they are really idol.

Is it hard to draw on your cheek by yourself? (from: Metronome interview)

Paparoachster [JaME Netherlands]: Which cheek? even though I think it will either way be hard to draw, and it depends on what I would want to draw.

Do you have any special desires? (from: Plastic Tree interview)

Polina [JaME Russia]: My desire is to become rich and famous as a vocalist, be all over variety TV shows and have fanboys running after me screaming my name and ripping off my clothes. After that my biggest desire is to sing a duet with Ryo of 9GOATS BLACK OUT.

Word associations: Please give us the first word that comes to your mind about each of these things: Sex. (from: interview with The Candy Spooky Theater)

Reyep [JaME France & Webmaster]: When and where?

So if you got your own fan club, what would you like to do? (from: Dio interview)

Ruka [JaME USA]: I’d have it be available for both Japanese and non-Japanese! And I’d try to do lives in the 5 countries where I had the most fans.

For those who do not know, can you explain what happens during these evenings? (from: Tokyo Decadance press conference)

Sanaka [JaME Norway]: You mean after we’ve played Spin the bottle? Then we play Seven minutes in heaven and somehow I’m always the one who ends up in the closet, but it’s good though since my band mates are all so good-looking. After that we try on each others’ clothes. I’ve learned so much from these evenings, like how pink and orange don’t go together.

Are you planning anymore secret missions? Or is it a secret? (from: miyavi interview)

Sianface [KoME UK]: I’m terrible at keeping things like that secret, so doubtless I’d tell everyone eventually. I have to try though or my secret partner for my secret missions, Cage, will beat me.

Should Japanese and European fans learn something from each other? (from: the Gazette in Finland)

sofi2311 [JaME France]: Sure! Japanese fans have to learn to move during a live. And European fans to stop moving so much, and scream like a dying pig during the live.

Many girls thought that you’re more beautiful in person than in photographs. What did you think of European girls? (from: interview with Merry)

Yoosh [JaME Germany]: Yeah I actually hear that a lot of times but my managers pest/force me to do all these photoshoots. I can’t help it (laugh).

European girls? I think it varies in every country but my impression is that all of them are very passionate, maybe a tiny bit TOO passionate? But I enjoy it every time I see them around, especially in summer. But that doesn’t only go for European but also North-American or Australian girls.

Every super hero has a secret identity. We know they’re supposed to be kept secret but would you mind sharing some information about yours? (from: press conference with Uchusentai Noiz)

yura [JaME France]: If I tell you something, I couldn’t save the world anymore! And to be honest, I don’t know my own secret myself, so I’m sure to keep it secure!

X JAPAN in France: First Steps

Chantel — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:23:46 +0000

X JAPAN on roller blade

Let’s go back in time a bit. During the traditional roller blade run through Paris each Friday night, t-shirts that were printed with X JAPAN were handed to the participants attending that evening. They then made their run through the capital, wearing these t-shirts, announcing the opening of the official French website!

Video and announcement at Japan Expo

On Saturday, in Japan Expo’s LIVE HOUSE, a giant screen broadcast a video digest of X JAPAN’s March concerts at the Tokyo Dome.

Shortly before the end of the video, one of the members of X JAPAN’s staff made an announcement. She reminded the attendees of the opening of the official French website and spoke of the t-shirts that were handed out during the roller blade run. Finally, she officially announced that X JAPAN would go to Europe before the end of the year!

Though no dates have been finalized, fans can eagerly await further details.

The show ended with an excited shout. “X!” The gathered fans definitely made themselves heard.

X JAPAN’s visit is a much anticipated event, not only in France, but elsewhere in Europe. This could well be a landmark in the history of Japanese music in the Old Continent.

To stay up to date on the latest news concerning this exciting announcement, please subscribe at X JAPAN’s official website.

Japan Expo: Day 2

Sian — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:51:19 +0000

On Friday, the second day of the Japan Expo, there were four more performances.

Day 2:

Lost Color People Concert

The jazz band showed another side to the event with their more adult, classic music, and it was also very interesting.

machine Concert

They started the concert about 30 minutes late, and the show only lasted 20 minutes…and it was an average performance. machine, the most anticipated group of the festival, was truly a disappointment. The conference and the questions were quite limited, so that didn’t help improve things…

BETTA FLASH Concert

BETTA FLASH was a very nice surprise with their world music techno, which managed to draw in a crowd not usually accustomed to this kind of music.

Author: Tanja
Translator: Sian

Artist Recommendation: SHINee

Sian — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:21:01 +0000

SHINee (pronounced in the same way as the word “shiny”) is the newest boy band from SM Entertainment, which is the Korean home to such artists as BoA and Tohoshinki. Despite being so new, they’ve already caused ripples of excitement amongst Korean pop fans, and while young (all the members are aged between 14 and 18), the group has been training for some time and has strong vocals and harmonies that wouldn’t sound out of place in a group that has been going for years. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the songwriters on their debut mini-album have also worked with the American boy band All 4 One.

Their music combines pop, dance, R&B and ballads, a staple of the Korean music scene. The combination of all these elements makes them easy and enjoyable to listen to, as well as making them appeal to listeners of all ages and backgrounds. At the moment they’re only active in Korea, but the future looks bright for this young group, and hopefully we’ll be hearing a lot more from them in the near future.

Discography:

Nunan neomu yeppeo (Replay) [2008]

Release Recommendation: Nunan neomu yeppeo (Replay) [2008]

Though this is the group’s only release so far, it doesn’t take away from the fact that it is a very strong debut mini-album which shows great potential for the group and leaves the listener wanting more. Some samples of the lead tracks are available on their official site.

Links:

Japan Expo: Day 1

Sian — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:59:48 +0000

This year on July 3 - 7, the Japan Expo takes place in Paris. The legendary event is the biggest event related to Japanese culture in Europe, and draws visitors from all over the continent. Next to various events, workshops, presentations and shops related to Japanese culture, every year there are a number of concerts as well. This year, various artists have been invited again and every day, the French JaME team will be reporting on the musical goings on of these days.

Day 1:

Aoi Concert

The young and dark Aoi moved the JE LIVE HOUSE. He succeeded in winning over the audience with his classic-style rock.

SCANDAL Concert

These four young ladies got the crowd moving with their energetic and enjoyable rock music! They also successfully communicated in English, Japanese and French to the people in the venue.

It’s with great pleasure that we find them on stage at 12 o’clock on Saturday, too.

Japan Expo Awards

One of most interesting things was the announcement of the music prizes. For the first time, the Japan Expo Awards recognises the Japanese music sold in Europe.

The title of best group was given to L’arc~en~Ciel. Their performance at the Zénith in Paris and the reaction of the audience are evidence that the group is one of the most loved. Surprisingly, the award for best CD went to OLIVIA, which was released in Europe on the French label Wasabi Records.

Author: Tanja
Translator: Sian

lynch. Art Contest Entries

Kay — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:18:22 +0000

A few months ago, the band lynch. asked JaME to do a contest for them. They specifically asked us to do an art contest and have fans draw their portraits. Quite a lot of people contributed, and the band picked four winners, who all received an autographed poster of the band.

Whereas the band seems to have a preference for mostly pencil drawings, we here at JaME were delighted to see the diversity in all the entries, from precise pencil drawings that look like photographs to oil-paintings to digital art. The themes used also differed a lot. From very gloomy looking drawings to incredibly cute ones, you can find just about everything!

It would be a major shame if our readers could only see the four winners and not all the other gorgeous entries, so you can find them all here:

Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments: which one is your favorite?