Music Corner Week 11: tiny yawn

tiny yawn is a four-member pop-rock band formed in 2017. Aligning with the fresh genre of alternative-pop, tiny yawn creates a beautiful and interesting sound which is a breath of fresh air in a genre wherein bands are a dime a dozen of.

Their songs “夜明の星” (“Yoake no Hoshi”) and" “寝言” (“Negoto”) both show off that uniqueness that makes them stand out. While both tracks seem to have a fairly simple composition for first time listeners, having vocalist-keyboardist Megumi’s powerful yet soothing vocals mix into said compositions dials them up dramatically; listeners are taken on a ride of delightful melodies which fans of the pop-rock genre have never been introduced to before.

Currently, tiny yawn has released two EPs, “swimmy/breather” and “Yoake no Hoshi/Negoto”, both from earlier this year. They also just announced that they will be performing in this year’s RO JACK for ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL.

Check out tiny yawn’s official site along with their official Twitter.

tiny yawn stars:

Yuki Sugama (guitarist)

Kohei Takashima (drummer)

Megumi Takahashi (vocalist/keyboardist)

Koji Yasuda (bassist)

Check out the music video for “Yoake no Hoshi” below!

Music Corner Week 10: Kishidan

For this week’s Music Corner we cover the ever-cool rock band Kishidan. Kishidan started back in 1997 as a four-member group; Show Ayanocozey is the group’s frontman and the main vocalist for the group, who also happens to be DJ Ozma. Hikaru Saotome provides the dance moves for the group along with his screaming talents when needed. Hitomi Saionji and Hoshi Grandmarnier—the latter who joined the group in 1999—serve as guitarists while the last member to join—also in 1999—was Shouchikubai Shiratori, the bass guitarist.

Kishidan is a well-oiled machine full of personality led by the dragon-like vocals of Show Ayanocozey whose ability to match his tone to the music is unparalleled. Both guitarists write fun riffs that are a blast to listen to. Their music videos are fun to watch as well; each video is full of energy and usually features a crazy scenario like in their music video for “The Weekend Bancho” in which they wind up fighting a robot that’s gone crazy. Each member of Kishidan sports a huge pompadour and wear old styled school uniforms. Everything that Kishidan does is done with a touch of humor and a fondness of the gangs and values of yesterday. They tend to have appeal toward the younger generations because their songs are mostly about motorcycles, being with one’s gang, conflicts with school, and adolescent love.

Kishidan is under Avex Trax for their record label and are managed under Sony Music Artists. Since Kishidan’s formation they have released fourteen albums, their latest 万謡集 (Manyoshu), which was out August 9 of 2017. They have also released twenty singles, many of which featured in anime and dramas. Kishidan’s last single was “Running Man” which dropped August 30 of 2017. You can follow Kishidan on Twitter and give their official site a look.

Music Corner Week 9: Cider Girl

Cider Girl is a three-member pop-rock band that formed back in 2014. Keeping to the creed of becoming that exhilarating rush of carbonated bubbles that just overwhelm the senses and are lost in a short period of time an experience that is usually found in cider drink. Just as akin to drinking said drink Cider Girl’s songs are high energy and give out that exhilarating edge, but are short and to the point. Coined as their “Carbonated” sound Cider Girls high tempo leads them to an edge in the already crowded market that is the Japanese pop-rock genre. 

A perfect example of this “Carbonated” sound is their songs “Satellite” and “Melancholy” in which Yurin vocal paired with lead guitarist Chi’s amazing guitar skill come mixed with Bassist Fujirum’s tempo crescendos to a point that takes their listeners on a ride in which their melody is just like tiny carbonated bubbles that have just be popped in such a high energy and intoxicating way repeating over and over it give that refreshing feeling to the listeners ears. This feeling lingers on till just as the song is about to end giving that urgency to go ahead and take another “sip” of their songs. 

As the members of the band like to keep their public image to themselves, Cider Girl employs models to perform in their music videos in the lime lite as opposed to the band themselves. Dubbed the “Cider Girls” they are just as important to the band as an honorary fourth member to the actual members that perform the songs. Currently, the 2019 Cider Girl is Rina Onuki which you can see here.

Currently, Cider Girl has release four mini-albums “Cider no Shikumi” (2015) “Cider no Machi Made” (2016) “Diorama InCider” (2016) “Diorama OutCider” (2016) which were released during their indie day before being signed with Universal in 2017. With Universal, they have released two albums SODA POP FANCLUB 1 and 2 in 2017 and 2018 respectively along with three singles with a fourth, “Clover” being released on July 3 which you can pre-order  here.

Check out the Cider Girl’s official site and Twitter along with the music video for “Satellite” below!

Cider Girl stars Fujirum (Bass)

Yurin (Guitar & Vocals)

Chi (Gutiar)

Music Corner Week 8: lol

lol is a five-member co-ed singing and dance unit formed back in 2014 and signed under Avex Trax. Their name, not unexpectedly, comes from the internet-born acronym "LOL", which—for those unfamiliar with web culture—stands for "laugh out loud". It could be assumed, then, that the group enjoys making people smile as well as impressing them.

lol consists of three women and two men, the oldest member of the group being Naoto, a vocalist for the group. Naoto has some really sweet vocals with a wide range to boot. Yusuke, the other male member of the group, is also a vocalist but on occasion he will contribute with his under-utilized rapping skills. Honaka is the main rapper of the group but she also does a lot of standard vocal work for the group; most songs that lol performs are pop songs but many have a rap break in them—and that is when Honaka shines brightest. Hibiki and Moca, the last two members of the group, both serve as vocalists and are blessed with very beautiful vocals that cover a broad range.

lol’s very first single was “Fire!”, which was released August 12 of 2015. Since then, lol has gone on to release two albums and nine singles total with their latest being “Sayonara no Kisetsu” which was released this past March 20.

What sets lol apart from other idol groups is their ability to blend hip hop elements into most of their music while staying mostly pop. Take the aforementioned “Sayonara no Kisetsu”, for example, which is an amazing song that truly showcases their talent as a group. Its opening is fantastic and seeing Yusuke play the piano is really cool because we normally don’t see the members of the group playing instruments. Moca and Hibiki take up the mantle next and they trade lines back and forth, with Moca singing one line and Hibiki singing the next. As the song crescendos, Moca’s and Hibiki’s lines trade off faster and faster until they start singing together for the chorus. Once the chorus ends, Honaka comes in with her signature style of rapping and holds a wonderful rhythm that lets her lines flow with such ease. After she’s done, we hear Naoto come in with his lines. Naoto has a great voice which he used to great effect here.

Another amazing song done by lol is their web-exclusive song “with u”. Currently available on Spotify and Apple Music, “with u” is a beautiful love song talking about spending one’s life with another person. What makes thing track stand out for lol is that it’s a little different from their usual work in that there is no rapping in this one. The harmonization on display is done incredibly well and “with u” keeps up a pretty fast tempo but still manages to forge this incredible sound that’s so full of beauty.

“just go!!” is off of lol’s latest album lml and was an amazing surprise. It is one of lol’s more intense songs but the rhythm and beat is just plain fun to dance to. Honaka’s rap in “just go!!” is one of her better rap breaks and the vocal work on display really just stands out.

“trigger” was released as a promotional track for lml and honestly it is quintessential lol. This is a very dance-heavy song with a thumping bassline that persists throughout. Again, Honaka really just shines in this one with her amazing rapping skills but after her rap break it cuts to Naoto’s vocals which are just great. Yusuke takes over for the bridge and his vocals are really on point there. Also, if you watch the music video you can check out the pretty impressive dance choreography on display. There are two versions of the “trigger” music video which are the standard version and the “high school” version. Both music videos are very well done and fun to watch.

You can check out more of lol on their official website along with their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Music Corner Week 7: Ghost like girlfriend

Ghost like girlfriend is the solo project of visionary singer-songwriter Ken Okabayashi which started back in 2017. Originally planned to be a one-and-done project, Okabayashi brings something fresh to the fusion genre, a genre already crowded by several artists.

While Okabayashi’s dulcet vocals might be a turn-off for some, they must be commendable when they are combined with the amazing compositions that discover that missing puzzle piece that makes the song whole, coupled with the understanding on how and when to inter-splice that particular beat and melody—a skill not all artists have when trying to tackle this particular genre. This is perfectly put to the forefront in his track “shut it up”, wherein his vocals, albeit jarring for first time listeners, become something that just clicks together when the entire composition is mixed in. It all ends up coalescing into an unforgettable track. On the opposite spectrum, Okobayashi’s  tracks “(want) like (lover)” and “sand” blur that line of what is fusion and takes it a step further with something that is so gelled together perfectly, introducing listeners to a world of sounds they never knew existed; a world that, without Okobayashi’s superb knowledge of composition, could turn the whole track off-balance, spiraling the song’s components into disarray.

Currently, Okabayashi has three EPs under his Ghost like girlfriend moniker: “WEAKNESS”(2017), “WITNESS”(2018), and “WINDNESS” (2019). He’s also got an upcoming first album titled Version under EMI Record, dropping June 19. You can pre-order it here.

Check out Ghost like girlfriend’s website and Twitter, along with his song (want) like (lover) below!