Music Archives | Page 21 Of 25

Pop Singer Natsume Mito Appears in Baby Star CM with New Mascot

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Baby Star Ramen’s mascot, Bei-chan, is to be retired by the Oyatsu Company Ltd. and new mascot, Hoshio-kun will be gracing the packages of Japan’s popular snack food which has sold nationwide since 1959. Announced at a press conference, Hoshio-kun’s first commercial (CM) appearance will be with fashion model and pop singer Natsume Mito advertising Baby Star’s newest snack food, Baby Star Panmen. The commercial will be broadcast nationwide in Japan from February 6th.

Continue reading “Pop Singer Natsume Mito Appears in Baby Star CM with New Mascot”

Macross Delta Voice Artist Releases MV to Promote Solo Single Debut

naotouyama By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Actress Nao Tōyama who is behind the voice of Reina Prowler from the hit Japanese anime series Macross Delta will make her debut as a solo artist. Tōyama who’s voiced characters from such anime series as Hataraku Maou-sama! (はたらく魔王さま!, The Devil is a Part-Timer) and Ai Tenchi Muyou! (愛・天地無用!) will release her first single “True Destiny/Chain the world” on February 1, 2017 under the Flying Dog Label.

Yesterday Flying Dog released through their official YouTube channel the 2chorus music video promoting the single “True Destiny.”

Tōyama announced the release through her official Twitter account:

こんばんは！「True Destiny」MV公開です！！今までしたことのない表情や、バンドさんとの撮影、回るマネキンチャレンジ（？）そして大切な本にあんなことを…((；ﾟДﾟ) ぜひご覧下さい！（東山奈央）
#naobou

According to Richard Clark, member of the Macross Delta Facebook group, this video may not be available for viewers in the United States.

Tōyama is a former student of Waseda University. She is currently managed by the talent agency Intention.

Source(s): Nao Tōyama‘s official Twitter, Macross Delta Facebook group, and Richard Clark.

Video Source(s): Flying Dog official YouTube channel.

Can You “Sing” Me a Fortune? A Movie Review

Illumination Entertainment’s Sing is their latest animated work and it is so far not making the charts.

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Illumination Entertainment has not had a massive hit outside of the Despicable Me franchise. The Secret Life of Pets (now available on Amazon) was kind of fun, but a lot of the good parts was given away in the trailer. Sing is their latest and it is so far not making the charts. While there’s a lengthy story to bring the lives of five anthropomorphic animals together to win a contest, there was not a lot of plot short of turning this film into the animated equivalent of Glee.

This film is more like a celebration of all those television shows that follow the America’s Got Talent mold, but this time it includes a bit of back story about the lives of the top five talents. Had this film been a television show, more drama could have been added and the lives could have been better explored.

Continue reading “Can You “Sing” Me a Fortune? A Movie Review”

Wind Up Geek’s J-Music Quick Fix – November 28, 2016

lazygun By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Glay – Takuro

Glay’s lead guitarist Takuro has released a short version of his music video “Guess Who”, a track off his first upcoming solo album Journey without a Map (to be released December 14, 2016). The album contains 11 tracks that is jazz and blues based and is produced by Takahiro Matsumoto, Grammy Award winning artist and member of rock duo B’z. Matsumoto won the Grammy with Larry Carlton in 2011 for best Pop Instrumental Album Take Your Pick. Fans can purchase the CD at a cost of ￥2,500 plus tax or buy the CD/DVD package which will contain the full version of “Guess Who”, a making of, and two documentary films for ￥4,000. Takuro will be supporting his first solo album with a 15 performance tour of Japan starting in February, 2017.

Continue reading “Wind Up Geek’s J-Music Quick Fix – November 28, 2016”

Wind Up Geek’s J-Music Quick Fix – October 3, 2016

shonen By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Bradio

Bradio will be performing live with France‘s 80’s group Les Innocents in a concert titled “Music Exchange Concert France-Japan ～BRADIO meets Les Innocents～”. The event will be live streamed through VIDEO Clipper. The VIDEO Clipper app is only available for the iPhone. Streaming will begin October 4th at 5pm (17:00) JST. Bradio’s live will begin at around 8:20pm (20:20) JST.

About VIDEO Clipper
https://clipper.events/

App Store　VIDEO Clipper Download
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/video-clipper-maruchianguruderaibu/id1053782735?mt=8

Continue reading “Wind Up Geek’s J-Music Quick Fix – October 3, 2016”

Traditional Japanese Group Covers Track from GNR’s ‘Appetite for Destruction’

SMER_CD_BLH14 By James Robert Shaw
(The Wind up Geek)

They have yet to go viral on YouTube with this recording but Japan‘s Bamboo Flute Orchestra has received over 840,000 views on Facebook thanks in part to Guns N’ Roses, the NHK, and the Rock vs. Metal Facebook page (stylized Rock \m/ Metal). Bamboo Flute Orchestra which contains members Yoshimi Tsujimoto, Erina Ito, and Yuko Watanabe are taking the Internet by storm. Like the Yoshida Brothers before them they are introducing traditional Japanese music to a wider audience. With their first album Shakuhachi (released on September 28, 2016), they create a fusion by performing pop and rock tunes with traditional instruments. Some of the songs covered by the Bamboo Flute Orchestra are Michael Jackson‘s “Smooth Criminal”, Avicii‘s “Wake Me Up”, and Taylor Swift‘s “Shake It Off”.