[Album] J-Pop: An Introduction (and discussion)

Great to see the J-pop thread return in all it's glory.

I've been listening to The Brilliant Green a lot lately. Although I've recently gotten into groups like NEWS, Chihiro Yonekura, Flow, and Zone. This stuff is just awesome to listen to.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I just went through your ist and I'd like to make a suggestion to add a section of your R&B/Hip-Hop section to the group SOUL'd OUT. Their newest CD, "Alive" was released 3/8/06. I highly suggest to give them at least a listen. They've released 3 albums total, in addition to several singles. They are:

Diggy-MO - Main MC
Bro. Hi - Human Beat Box
Shinnosuke- Trackmaster

Check them out.

SOUL'd OUT

There's nowhere I can't reach.

News from the J-R&B/Hip-hop scene.

Heartsdales, announced they are breaking up to pursue their careers further as solo artists. Although I am disappointed that this has happened, I am hopeful that both Yumi (Rum) and Emi (Jewels) will continue to make great music.

On July 12th, Heartsdales released their, THE BEST OF Heartsdales "THE LEGEND" CD+DVD compilation album. The CD contains their music tracks while the DVD correlatively contains the music video for each track respectively.

I recommend this album to anyone with even the slightest interest in J-R&B/Hip-Hop.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

#aznmp3 has finally released "THE BEST OF Heartsdales: THE LEGEND" via torrent. It turned out great. Its the only album that contains their latest and last single together, "FOXY LADY". Which includes the songs FOXY LADY and STAY.

Check it out here.

THE BEST OF Heartsdales: THE LEGEND

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

An update in the world of J-hiphop:

SOUL'd OUT has annouced that they will be releasing a Single Collection Compilation album. You'll be able to buy this in either the CD/DVD combo or just the album. The DVD contains all of the music videos from the audio album.

Tracklist:

1. ウェカピポ [Wekapipo]
2. Flyte Time
3. Dream Drive
4. Shut Out
5. Love, Peace & Soul
6. 1,000,000 MONSTERS ATTACK
7. Magenta Magenta
8. BLUES
9. To All Tha Dreamers
10. イルカ [IRUKA]
11. ALIVE
12. TOKYO通信～Urbs Communication～ [TOKYO TSUCHIN ~Urbs Communication~]
13. Catwalk
14. Starlight Destiny

It's scheduled to release on December 27.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by parKbench

I love J-pop. Some of my favorite artists are:

ORANGE RANGE: sort of like a mix between rock and rap. Rapping in Japanese just sounds awesome.

MIZ: actually the first j-pop cd I heard. Sort of poppy but she sings half in Japanese and half in English.

BoA: she is actually from South Korea, but really awesome.

MIKA NAKASHIMA: she is a real genuis. She can sing anything from classical to hard core punk. She even sings "Amazing Grace"

I've been to Japan. My wife is Japanese, so we flew there to get married and so that I can meet her family. Japan is awesome. I told my wife if shecan teach me to speak Japanese, we are moving!

Welcome parKbench. Good to see more J-music enthusiasts.

Since you've already listed some of your favorite artists I'd like to suggest some for you to give a listen to.

ORANGE RANGE: If you like those guys you should definitely check out bands like SOUL'd OUT, Heartsdales, and HOME MADE KAZOKU.

MIZ and BoA: These two defintely side on the more pop type. I suggest you try out Crystal Kay (especially her most recent CD, "Call Me Miss..."), Rei fu, and Sowelu.

That's cool how you're learning Japanese as well. It can be rather challenging.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by aznxinvazn

I would never associate Rie fu with Crystal Kay, Sowelu, and BoA. Her style is much more eclectic than those three who sing mostly Pop/R&B.

I agree. I guess I could've made a separate section for her, but parKbench said he was interested in artists who sing in both Japanese and English. Rei fu definitely fits into that category at least.

parKbench: If your interested in more J-hip hop, definitely check out the artists I mentioned in my previous post:

- SOUL'd OUT
- Heartsdales
- HOME MADE KAZOKU

Also, which CD's besides MusiQ do you have of ORANGE RANGE?

FELIPE NO