Tokyo International Music Market (TIMM) has its annual music showcase online and it begins November 4-6! This three-day event will be livestreamed worldwide via their official YouTube channel.
Now in its 17th year, TIMM brings together music industry professionals, buyers, and artist representatives for seminars, performances, and business meetings designed to build relationships and spark financial partnerships promoting Japanese music artists to the ever-changing international market.
Vicke Blanka and Taiiku Okazaki have teamed up for Bakashi Hour Night! This highly danceable track has a lot to like. It speaks of friendship, music and retro gaming. The collaboration should be of no surprise when these two J-pop stars are in fact buddies in real life and their love is recorded to all to see. The music video is now available to watch online and stream.
The Japanese word ‘bakashi’ means ‘bewitching’ or ‘enchanting’, ‘BAKASHI HOUR NIGHT’ is a song about friends hanging out together and wistfully longing to “mess around together for decades”. The music was composed and arranged by Vicke Blanka, and the lyrics were co-written by both Vicke Blanka and Okazaki.
Fans of masked production unit AmPm have three new reasons to celebrate! This duo have three brand-new releases. Available to listen now are remixes of “Chime” by Ai Otsuka and the title song to the upcoming CGI movie, “Lupin the Third!” This film will debut around North America on Oct 18th (dub) and 21st (subtitled). On the latter day, an original track from this duo will also be released to keep the funk on. They have reunited with vocal collaborators Michael Kaneko and Nao Kawamura to give fans more than a singular treat for this season.
Tim Craig’sCool Japan 2nd Edition (Amazon USA link) is a very welcome update to looking at what’s trending, and how it affects the industry. The term was coined circa 2005 and when this look “Inside Japan’s Cultural and Creative Industries” can change overnight due to many influences–be it on a global scale or amid crisis–the effects are often longer term than a return to form.
The fast and furious industries in the business side of Japanese side entertainment–ranging from anime fandom to J-pop to manga and sumo (to name a few)–are not the only industries affected by change. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry coined the term.
Like the original edition, it’s written for folks who want a deeper look into the industry and it’s a perfect textbook to use not only in a high school level but also academic. Two new chapters–”Shesha and the Manga Industry Face a Midlife Crisis” and “Japanese Comedy: Entertainment Powerhouse Yoshimoto Kogyo Shaken by Scandal”– fill in the years between this edition and last. For the other chapters, addendums and what’s happening now are added to reveal whether or not projects like the Cool Japan strategy works.
Little Glee MonsterBy James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)
The Back Horn
The Back Horn will be hosting a special live concert to celebrate the release of their upcoming 2-CD greatest hits album, Best of the Back Horn II, and their 20 years as a band. This special concert will be by invitation only and will be held at the intimate venue where the Back Horn had their first paid gig, 下北沢SHELTER (Shimokitazawa Shelter) in Kitazawa, Setagaya, Tokyo. Fans will be able to win an invitation via lottery through two ways:
Japanese pop group Fairies (フェアリーズ) have released through their official YouTube channel their first music video under their latest formation. The video titled “Synchronized” is the first without member Fujita Maria and will be released as a single March 1st of this year. Fujita announced through her Ameba Blog early in January her retirement from the entertainment industry. Fujita expressed interests in studying for a career.
Fairies will be promoting “Synchronized” with an evening performance at Zepp Tokyo in Aomi, Kōtō-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture. The performance will start at 18:30 (6:30pm) on Sunday, February 19th. Those who are unable to attend can watch the performance through the LINE LIVE app. The viewing url will be https://live.line.me/channels/21/upcoming/979450.
By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)