XANVALA Strikes Back with Latest Single!

“Seisen” Jacket Cover

Five-member alternative rock band XANVALA keeps building momentum and brings out a fighting spirit with a new striking single titled “Seisen”. As a result of constantly battling all the obstacles that the pandemic brought to the musical scene, XANVALA has developed a challenging attitude and solid resilience to keep moving forward. This approach is reflected in “Seisen”, which means ‘holy war’ or ‘crusade’. “Seisen” is a thrilling song with a strong beat and fiery vocals that manifests the everlasting fight that life is.

In addition to the title track, the single features the aggressive track “LEGAL” and the emotional ballad “Kuchinashi”. It includes a live DVD with footage from their concert at Takadanobaba AREA that took place on August 26th.

Although the official release date was set for October 18th, the single will hit stores all over Japan on November 3rd, 2021. “Seisen” is already available to pre-order online. There is also a special bundle sold exclusively through their official store that offers access to an autograph session via Instagram on November 2nd and 3rd.

This single follows the sophisticated EP Gayoku no maku and the thunderous single “Janome” released this year. In the meantime, XANVALA has been able to tour successfully within Japan with safety guidelines in place. This has given the band and fans the hope of reaching more areas and enjoying in-person concerts as before.

It is clear that the commitment of XANVALA to fight against all odds is strong. Moreover, it’s paying off as they are getting attention from more and more people in Japan and other countries.

Gear up and join XANVALA on the battlefield and check out the music video for “Seisen” below!

AKINA of FAKY Reflects on Past Love with Latest Single!

“Stupid, Careless, Dumb” Digital Jacket Cover

AKINA, a member of all-girl group FAKY, released her new single “Stupid, Careless, Dumb” on October 15 across all digital music streaming platforms. The lyrics to “Stupid, Careless, Dumb” are based on AKINA’s own past experience of drowning in love. The track was produced by TOSHIKI HAYASHI(%C), the backing DJ for duo chelmico, who has also worked with artists such as Kai Kubota, iri and Awesome City Club. This is a mellow, chill must-listen tune that will seep into your dreams.

AKINA stands out in the world of J-pop, thanks to her mixed American and Japanese heritage and her upbringing that was spent in various countries and cultures, where she developed a unique sense of music. She made her solo debut toward the end of last year with the Yaffle-produced track “Touch”, which was added to the influential Spotify playlists “New Music Friday”, “Girl On Fire” and “Dance Pop: Japan”. In addition, she has been widely praised for the strength and delicacy of her singing voice, while her cover of “Amazing Grace” was used in the movie A Morning of Farewell starring revered veteran actress Sayuri Yoshinaga – just two of AKINA’s exceptional achievements as a debut artist.

Then, on October 6, AKINA collaborated on a song with Tokyo-based duo The Burning Deadwoods, following their highly regarded releases with kiki vivi lily and PEARL CENTER members MATTON and inui. AKINA’s exceptional musical sense has taken her from global activity with FAKY to her budding career as a singer-songwriter, and now to the attention of Japan’s indie music scene.

Comment from AKINA

“‘Stupid, Careless, Dumb’ is about looking back on a past relationship and regretting how decisions were made. Everyone has a love that they wish they weren’t too immature for at the time so I hope you can relate to this one!!” — Akina

With producer TOSHIKI HAYASHI(%C) having traversed the spectrum from high-quality J-pop to lo-fi hip-hop and AKINA’s unique multicultural approach to music, the chemistry is ripe for some amazing results. Check out “Stupid, Careless, Dumb” to hear for yourself on all streaming platforms here!

STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION Becomes A Star in His Latest Release!

“TRISTAR” Digital Jacket Cover

Producer, Singer-Songwriter R・O・N’s project STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION has pre-released its newest single “TRISTAR” this past week October 14 across all music streaming platforms before the actual CD press version that is scheduled to be released on November 24, 2021. The new song is full of new challenges for STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION. As the chorus melody repeats, "Do what I want and do what I need", stimulates the earworms, it draws the charm of the lyrics and the track itself like no other songs he has created. What’s more to pay attention to is the strong melody and arrangement ideas. As the solid beats strongly supports the core roots, with shining synths and the gentle enveloping vocals are intertwined, just listening to the song makes you feel cozy as your heart bounces in the flow. STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION’s unique sound-making technique of treating his vocals as an instrument constructs the song not only as just pop but stylish.
“TRISTAR” is also sung in full English for the first time on a single for all his fans on the globe to enjoy. The English lyrics speak of his determination and positive feelings. R・O・N says, ”There are many times when people have to make choices and decisions, but at such times it became something that can be close to you as someone who gently pushes your back.”

“TRISTAR” has also been chosen as the ending theme song for the anime series “Muv-Luv Alternative”  where the story is about humans who wage a long battle against the extraterrestrial species BETA, with humanoid weapons known as Tactical Surface Fighters.

Japan’s top charting artist STEREO DIVE FOUNDATIONS continues in producing new forms of stimulating progressive music. 

eill Proves Her Infinite Possibilities on the Cover of ‘PLASTIC LOVE’!

“PLASTIC LOVE” Digital Jacket Cover

eill has been rocking the music industry with her latest release of “PLASTIC LOVE” this past week. This song is originally from the album “VARIETY” by Mariya Takeuchi which was first released in 1984. This cover song is available to listen to through major music streaming services. The arrangement is made by the producer Yaffle, who is one of the leading figures in the Tokyo music scene. The tempo of the song is slightly slower than the original one and the arrangement is just perfect - it's not overdone too much or not enough. The usage of digital effects is quite catchy and has an amazing effect on the vocals. Most of all, eill's delicate voice cannot be forgotten once you hear it and her singing is very delicate, causing a great impression that will stay with you. The lyrics and melody of the original song, which was first released in 1984, is still fresh. Of course the arrangement by Tatsuro Yamashita is just great but at the same time eill’s version of “PLASTIC LOVE” has brilliant balance as a pop song in 2021.

To begin with, the combination of eill and the song “PLASTIC LOVE” is an interesting one. As many media have already mentioned, the revival of Japanese “city pop” music has been viral in many countries recently, and ‘PLASTIC LOVE’ by Mariya Takeuchi is one of the songs which started this trend. The official YouTube music video of “PLASTIC LOVE” by eill has been watched over 770.000 times (as of October 2nd). Many comments have been written in English and other languages, including Korean rather than Japanese.

Be sure to check out the music video for eill's “PLASTIC LOVE” below along with the track here!

tricot Goes Beyond with an Upcoming Album and a Return to Europe in an Upcoming Tour!

Four-member rock band tricot will return to Europe and the United Kingdom after an absence of three years and three months for the WALKING × WALKING TOUR 2021-2022.  After completing a tour of Japan, they will travel to Europe to play 18 shows in nine countries from March 30 through April 22. The full list of dates is below. For ticket details, visit the official website of each venue directly.

The band will also release their first full-length album in 14 months on December 15, titled Jodeki. The album will feature 24 songs, including Japanese TV series theme song “INAI”, “BAKURO” and “Dogs and Ducks”. Twelve of the songs will be instrumentals, and the CD + DVD and CD + Blu-ray sets will include video footage from the June 5 headline concert ‘tricot BAKURO’. The CD + Blu-ray set will also include a music video and behind-the-scenes footage.

Ahead of the album launch, tricot are planning a series of digital releases. On October 20, “WALKING” will be released as the lead track. “WALKING” is the fourth and final song in a series of digital releases following “INAI”, “BAKURO” and “Dogs and Ducks” and this time the cover artwork features an eye-catching pop-art illustration of tricot drummer Yusuke Yoshida, designed by vocalist Ikkyu Nakajima.

Between all of these releases, tricot will be rocking fans with new music through the end of 2021!

Be sure to check out the pre-order links for Jodeki along with the European tour dates below!

Standard edition

Limited edition DVD/Blu-ray

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IN EUROPE

March 30, 2022 (Wed) Brighton Komedia (UK)

April 1, 2022 (Fri) Leicester Firebug (UK) 

April 2, 2022 (Sat) Leeds Headrow House (UK)

April 3, 2022 (Sun) Glasgow Stereo (UK) 

April 5, 2022 (Tue) Manchester YES (UK) 

April 6, 2022 (Wed) Sheffield O2 Academy2 (UK) 

April 8, 2022 (Fri) Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach (UK) 

April 9, 2022 (Sat) Bristol The Exchange (UK) 

April 10, 2022 (Sun) London The Garage (UK) 

April 12, 2022 (Tue) Paris Point Ephemere (France) 

April 13, 2022 (Wed) Brussels Botanique (Belgium) 

April 14, 2022 (Thu) Amsterdam Melkweg (Netherlands) 

April 16, 2022 (Sat) Copenhagen Loppen (Denmark) 

April 18, 2022 (Mon) Prague Futurum (Czech Republic) 

April 19, 2022 (Tue) Budapest Turbina (Hungary) 

April 20, 2022 (Wed) Banska Bystrica Zahrada (Slovakia) 

April 21, 2022 (Thu) Bratislava Nova Cvernovka (Slovakia) 

April 22, 2022 (Fri) Barcelona Sala Bóveda (Spain)

Further details: https://tricot-official.jp/live/tour.php?id=1002045