Ken's Ongaku Go For April 2021

With April blown by, it is now time for a brand new Ongaku Go. We at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms with Apple Music featured on this site.

---

“Mixtape” by Tomita Lab

This one is kind of a cheat as it is a 10 minute long track but can be broken up into four or five depending on where you break it. It plays like one traditional mix tape with several genre shifts in its runtime and really flexes on Tomita Lab’s thought and creative process. While some might feel that it’s long and conjoined very weirdly with no real theme, I feel like that’s the point as each break feels like a fresh breath of air and drew me in with every transition. I had previously known Tomita Lab’s previous work with another vocalist I hold to the highest regard, Naz, but with “Mixtape” I’ll definitely be looking toward to more of his work in the future.

Be sure to check out a snippet of the track in a preview video below along with the track in its entirety here!

---

 “PIECE” by TENDRE

I knew this was going to be on my Ongaku Go just after me first listen and what a way to make his major label debut with Universal. While not changing too much of the norm of what I expect from a Tendre song, its lyrics really brought me in along with the composition that is just out of this world. “PIECE” is an amazing major label debut and I have no doubt that TENDRE will have several releases planed for the year, but with tracks like this I can’t wait to see what he has in store for the future. 

Check out the music video for “PIECE” below long with the song here!

“ad meliora” by THE CHARM PARK

Inspired by our interview we did with this amazing artist, I played this track on a loop along with his album Bedroom Revelations. I have loved the chill vibe and slow composition that this track had and it reminded me why I had THE CHARM PARK as one of my favorite artists a couple years back. I look forward to any work that this artist releases and “ad meliora” wasn’t any different.

Be sure to check out our lyric video for “ad meliora” below along with the track here!

“Saikai” by KIRINJI

I was surprised by how fast KIRINJI would drop another release due to it becoming more of a music project for Takaki Horigome instead formally being a band. I had my trepidation about it at first, but after just listening to the first 30 seconds my fears were quickly alleviated. With Horigome’s vocals on point and not missing a beat with this track, it just takes the listeners on a magical wonderland of sounds of city pop infused flavor. The composition is something else that really stands out for me as it doesn’t sound like traditional KIRINJI, yet still holds that nostalgic feeling at times. I have already listened to “Saikai” a dozen times over and it shot to my top five of the year already, and will likely stay there. 

Check out the lyric video for “Saikai” below along with the track here!

“JELLY FISH” by SHE IS SUMMER

Butting into my boys only club of artist for this month of Ongaku Go, we have SHE IS SUMMER who was riding high with both the release of her brand new album DOOR and celebrating Mico’s fifth anniversary with this project. “JELLY FISH” brings out the best of Mico’s vocal work and range and had reminded me why I fell in love with her in the first place. Its unique composition is superb with a trance like beat that listeners can get lost in. Although Mico had just released this, I expect more releases to celebrate her anniversary and I can’t wait to hear more in the future. 

Check out “JELLY FISH” here!

Gray's Ongaku Go For March 2021

Picking it up after Ken, and Luna, we’re another month down in 2021 and we at Ongaku to You would like our readers to know what has been filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms with Apple Music being featured on this site.

---

“Seijyaku no Toushi” by Touken Danshi Gigekiri Hizamaru

My history with Touken Danshi is pretty shaky. I don’t recall another song I’ve really cared for, but “Seijyaku no Toushi” here just rocks. I love the tempo and energy of the track, and the rapping is done super well. Overall, this number is just a ton of fun and I highly recommend it.

Check out “Seijyaku No Toushi” here, along with the official music video below.

---

“Kareto Watshi No Hondana” by Aina The End

With Aina The End being a founding member of BiSH, I was expecting something else other than this song. I’ve loved it since the first time I heard it and it’s personally my track of the year so far. It is a light, fun, poppy number that will just leave a big smile on your face. 

Check out “Kareto Watshi No Hondana” here, along with the official music video below.

---

“Time Traveler” by 7ORDER

I’m so glad Ken covered these guys on Music Corner. I’ve loved them ever since and I’ve been listening to their ONE album in my rotation on repeat this month. My favorite track is “Time Traveler” which is just a fun piece that leaves me coming back for more. I really enjoy their vocals and the harmonization is done super well.

Check out “Time Traveler” here, along with the official video below.

---

“Mikakunin Hikousen” by Takayoshi Tanimoto

Digimon Adventure: (2020) has been on my shortlist of shows to watch for a while now and I’ve been talking about Digimon a lot in my private life and this Mikakunin Hokousen has been on repeat as a result. This is the opening for the new series and it’s a nice high-energy song that really captures that sense of adventure the franchise is known for. 

Check out “Mikakunin Hikousen” here, along with the official music video below.

---

“Identity” by Kiro Akiyama

“Identity” is on Akiyama’s latest album that just dropped, FIZZY POP SYNDROME. and while I enjoyed the whole album, to me, this was one of the standouts. It’s a lovely up-tempo number that is fun to listen to. I definitely recommend everyone checking this one out.

Check out “Identity” here, along with the official music video below.

Luna's Ongaku Go For March 2021!

Picking up after Ken we’re another month down in 2021 and we at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms, with Apple Music featured on this site.

---

“OH" by CRAZYBOY feat. Shota Shimizu & OZworld

CRAZYBOY has filled my ears all month with many tracks, however, “OH” has been my most played of all of them. Ever since “OH” was released in late February, I was caught immediately by the beat of the track as it makes me want to get up, dance, and party. The collaboration between Shota Shimizu and OZworld fits CRAZYBOY’s style perfectly and that is the other reason I love this track: the composition and how all three come together and make a fun club song.

Check out “OH” here and the music video below!

---

“Headlight” by Mime

I am absolutely in love with Mime and it’s thanks to Ken at OTY for that. He sent me the music video for “Headlight” and from those first beats and Mime’s lovely vocals, I was pulled in and in love. I cannot pinpoint what it is about this track, but you get lost in its wonderful melody and Mime’s soft, sweet, and serene vocals. To me, “Headlight” has been a powerful track that has moved me on so many levels thanks to the composition and how Mime’s vocals flow throughout the song.

Check out “Headlight” here and the music video below!

---

“Aru Hibi” by Hakubi

As I’ve spent most of this month revisiting past Music Corner’s, many artists and tracks caught my ear, but Hakubi’s “Aru Hibi” is one I have revisited throughout the month. It’s my second favorite track by Hakubi and catching up to my favorite, “22.” “Aru Hibi” starts off slow, composition wise, and picks right up from the chorus and stays that way throughout the song until nearing the end. I love the arrangement as I find it fits perfectly with Katagiri’s vocals.

Check out “Aru Hibi” here and the music video below!

---

“Good-bye days” by YUI

With the release of YUI’s fifteenth anniversary self-cover album Natural, I went back and began revisiting YUI’s music. “Good-bye days” has always been a favorite track of mine and I love every versions of this track. I spent the month listening to all three versions. YUI’s vocals, the composition, and the lyrics make for a perfect track. YUI captures the emotions of this song perfectly and every time I hear it, I am moved to tears. “Good-bye days” is always a tune that I go back to and lose myself in it.

Check out “Good-bye days” here and the music video below!

---

“WHY” by Miliyah Katou

With the release of Miliyah’s 15th Anniversary MILIYAH Budokan 2020 that released March 17, I began preparing by re-visiting her discography. “WHY” is one of the tracks that I kept listening to on repeat as it has so much power behind the words. Miliyah delivers this track so emotionally and it resonates with you on a level that sticks with you. I always go back to “WHY” for the lyrics but also because of the powerful vocal delivery and the composition. It is more of a mid-tempo pop-rock track, which is different than her usual genre as she usually sticks to an urban pop feel. “WHY” always stood out to me and I am looking forward to watching her perform this live!

Check out “WHY” here and the music video below!

Ken's Ongaku Go For March 2021

With a fourth of 2021 in the books, that means a brand new Ongaku Go. We at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms, with Apple Music featured on this site.

---

“Gunjou” by YOASOBI

The population of this track on the Oricon a couple weeks ago had led to the continuation of having YOASOBI in my rotation with “Gunjou.” It is an amazing song and it’s composition just kills it for me on all departments. It has amazing mixtures of beats that made me really look forward to what the duo has in store for the next year. While I do have a small complaint about the lead-up for the chorus and the ending of the track, it doesn’t detract from my overall enjoyment for “Gunjou.” With the consecutive months of both this and “Encore” last month, YOASOBI has instantly jumped as a forerunner as my artist of the year. 
Be sure to check out “Gunjou” here, along with the music video below!

---

“I LOVE…” by Crystal Kay

Now I wasn’t sure what to expect with this song upon my first listen, as it is a cover of the ever-popular Official HIGE DANdism track from last January. Kay has just knocked it out of the park by keeping what made the original great and adding her own spin on the track to make it her own. It being released around the holiday time help the thought process of it being a slower ballad-like composition with a strong piano present with a dash of bell and violin throughout. This, mixed with Kay’s just out-of-this-world vocal range, made this cover of a tune that I absolutely loved into a daily listen. 

Check out Kay’s cover of “I LOVE…” here, along with a video preview of the track below!

---

“Keep in Touch” by SIRUP 

With the release of his mini-album, cure, back on the 16th, which is just out of this world and made me love this artist even more then I had last year, one of the outstanding tracks that I haven’t written about before was “Keep in Touch” which features guest vocalist SUMIN. Right out of the gate, the song’s piano presence was just fantastic, and paired with SIRUP’s vocals, it is just a match made in heaven. SUMIN brings a foreign feel to the song by having a majority of it sung in Korean with SIRUP joining in with some Korean banter in parts of the chorus. With everything that had gone on with the last year, a track like this is much needed. Now if SIRUP can continue with solid hits like he did with cure throughout the rest of the year, he will join YOASOBI in my artist of the year list. 

Check out “Keep in Touch” here, along with the lyric video for the song below!

---

“Bakamitai (Taxi Driver Edition)” by Takaya Kuroda

Now if anyone follows me on my Twitter antics, and on Podasaurus, then you would know that I absolutely love the Yakuza game franchise. Unfortunately, I’ve been waiting for years to have some sort of musical representation for that franchise, as before Yakuza 7, there was no way that these songs would be available. Originally sung by Kuroda, who voices the main character of the franchise, Kazuma Kiryu, “Bakamitai” is arguable the most well-known song from the franchise as it is tailored to his vocal range. The lyrics just speak to me and makes me relate to Kiryu and ever since I heard this in the game, I have absolutely loved it. I’m so excited that SEGA has put a majority of the Karaoke original songs for the series across digital streaming platforms and will keep them in my rotation for the foreseeable future. 

Be sure to check out “Baka Mitai” here!

---

“Seabed, Moonlight” by Yorushika

Now this was an interesting track that I stumbled upon from Yorushika’s discography as it’s just a track of ambient sounds and music beats. Growing up next to the beach, being able to just hear the waves crashing against the shore with the water rushing has such a calming effect on me. While I had a rough time with everything going on personally within the last couple weeks, I haven’t been able to get my usual sound of nature in and “Seabed, Moonlight” was able to give me that energy twice over. The overarching piano compositions mesh well with the water escaping feel that Yorushika starts the song with. This, along with the string instrument that she introduces throughout, gives a feel of wonderment right to my ears. While Yorushika was an artist that I had only half paid attention to with the nature of how we do the show, this track had made me into a huge fan that can’t wait to hear what’s next. 

Be sure to check out the song here!

Gray's Ongaku Go For February 2021

Picking it up after Ken, and Luna, we’re another month down in 2021 and we at Ongaku to You would like our readers to know what has been filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms with Apple Music being featured on this site.

---

“Lost In Paradise (feat. AKLO)” by ALI

I’ve been watching Jujutsu Kaisen and this is one hell of a way to end the show. This is a fun song that is easy to listen to on repeat. It has a great saxophone solo in the middle and a great rap bridge to back it up. The fact that Ken picked them for Music Corner is a bigger boon, I had such a blast listening to them.

Check out “Lost In Paradise” here, along with the official music video below.

---

“Boku Wa Boku Wo Suku Ni Naru” by Nogizaka46

This track is honestly not a stand-out for the group, but I really missed them last year for the most part, and so while this is not the most exciting song they have released, I’ve been really enjoying listening to it. I’m excited to see what 2021 has in store for these girls. The melody is pretty catchy, and the girls’ harmony is still excellent.

Check out “Boku Wa Boku Wo Suku Ni Naru” here, along with the official music video below.

---

“Zeal of Proud” by Roselia

This tune was a nice surprise that really hit me. There was a point in my life where I only listened to rock music and I guess I just got burnt out so now I don’t listen to that much rock for fun, but “Zeal of Proud” is really good. This is easily my favorite song that I’ve heard by Roselia. I really have enjoyed just going back and listening to this song on repeat.

Check out “Zeal Of Proud” here, along with a preview for the track below.

---

“Everlasting Sky” by Beverly

I recently just finished watching Kamen Rider Build the Movie: Be the One, which this song served as the ending theme to, and I’ve had it on repeat ever since. I love this song so much; I love Beverly’s vocals that are in this song. Also, this song is used to maximum effect in the closing moments of the movie and, honestly, it was hard to sit there and not cry.

Check out “Everlasting Sky” here, along with a preview of the official music video below.

---

“endless journey” by lol

What a wonderful surprise this song has been. This number dropped a few days ago and I’ve had it on repeat ever since. This tune to me is classic lol with a catchy melody and fun lyrics. Also, as usual, Honaka has a great rap break in the song. This is a great way to start off the new year and I’m excited to see what they do next.

Check out “endless journey” here along with the official music video below.