Indie Corner Week 23: Ai Namida

Ai Namida is a singer-songwriter who launched her career in 2014 while she was in middle school, getting noticed from her cover songs. While in high school she started performing lives and even published her first song, “虚と花” (“Uso to Hana”), which became Tower Records' number one indie song six weeks in a row.

Her latest song “夢月写” (“Mudezuki Utsushi”) shows off while having a very simplistic singing style and composition. It complements her melodic voice very nicely, just whisking the listener away to a calming state of mind.

Currently she has one mini-album titled,“虚と花” (“Uso to Hana”), which was released late last year. With her latest single titled, “夢月写” (“Mudezuki Utsushi”), that released in September of this year.

Check out her official website here, and her official Twitter here, and check out her song “Mudezuki Utsushi” below!

Indie Corner Week 22: showmore

showmore is a two-man pop unit formed in 2015 that mixes the genre of neo-jazz and hip hop. It flips both genres on their heads with their catchy beat and mature themes behind their lyrics. Vocalist Minami sings with all of her emotions no matter what beat Atsushi composes for her, be it a slow and somber beat in “Dryice” or a more upbeat melody in “Circus”. Currently showmore has released only one physical single titled “恋をした (Koi wo Shita)/ circus (2018)", along with several digital singles throughout 2017 and 2018--you can find these on both iTunes and Spotify. They also released their first album, overnight, back in May.

showmore stars Minami Nezu (Vocals)

Atsushi Inoue (Keyboards)

Buy their album overnight here, and check out the music video for their song “circus” below!

Indie Corner Week 21: Chapman

Chapman is a four-member neo soul band originally formed as an acoustic duo in 2013, the rest of its members forming in 2018. They conjure up an interesting crossover of soul and Japanese style pop music. Keyboardist Jyuisha’s hypnotic melody takes the listener for a ride that redefines soul style music.  Their song “I’m just a kind man” flaunts vocalist Yutaka’s soft vocals that mesh well with the band’s overall chemistry.

This August the band released the music video for “I’m just a kind man”—their first music video—along with the announcement of an EP coming out by year’s end.

Chapman stars Yutaka (Vocals)

Jyuisha (Keyboards)

Doi (Guitar)

Kidokuro (Bass)

Check out their official Twitter here and their video “I’m just a kind man” below!

Indie Corner Week 20: JYONGRI

JYONGRI is a urban-pop singer, who debuted in 2006 under EMI Music Japan, a subsidary of Universal Japan. Her debut single Possession/My All For You made #16 on the Oricon charts. She had 9 singles, 2 studio albums, Close to Fantasy and Love Forever, and a best album “JYONGRI BEST TRACKS”, all within 4 years. In 2012, EMI Music Japan ended their contract with her. 

JYONGRI has since released many original songs on her YouTube and has been doing live performances in Japan. Currently, she isn’t signed with anyone.

JYONGRI’s music is mostly piano based, which she plays herself. She is know for her powerful ballads and vocals.

I highly recommend many of her “original” songs on her YouTube, such as “Unhappy”, “Here to Stay”, and “Cheers”. They showcase her style and her voice very well.  If you can find her older songs to purchase, I highly recommend the songs “Lullaby For You” and “Possession” as starters.

JYONGRI’s new digital single “Purple Cloud” was released on May 16, 2018. This is her first digital single since Free My Soul in 2012. “Purple Cloud” is a mellow song with an urban pop feel to it. It has a catchy beat which the Japanese and English lyric combination blends naturally with her powerful vocals. You can currently purchase “Purple Cloud” on iTunes. Please check out the video below!

You can check out her official website here. And follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. She also has a Spotify which you can check here!

Indie Corner Week 19: Penguinrush

Penguinrush is a four-member pop band that wants to merge the styles of funk and jazz into modern J-pop. Bassist Kotaro and keyboardist Mayu bring out a unique fusion of styles that puts listeners into a trance at each listen of their songs' beats. This is further amplified with the fusion of Miyo’s calming vocals and the beat courtesy of her fellow bandmates. This all is orchestrated into a nice exhibition of how a modern jazz band should sound. Their song “RET” is an great example of thier unique style that they bring to the genre 

Currently Penguin rush has released three singles: “une” (2016), “yoasobi” (2017), and “Chorus” (2017). They also released debut album No size this past August.

Check out their official site here, and Twitter. Also check out song  “RET” below!

 Penguinrush stars

Miyo (Vocals/Guitar)

Mayu (Keyboard)  

Kotaro (Bass) 

Nariken (Drums)