EXILE's TETSUYA taking break

Major male-idol group EXILE announced that their member TETSUYA will be taking a break from performing with the group. TETSUYA, who has a dislocated kneecap, has been dealing with this problem for two years now. He has received partial treatment for his knee but still suffers from frequent pain; he has managed to continue to work through the pain, but now he has decided to undergo full treatment. With full treatment it will take TETSUYA several months to completely recover, and obviously he will need to limit his activities and stay away from anything physically demanding. However, TETSUYA is hoping to be back on stage by "LDH PERFECT YEAR 2020" next year. We here at Ongaku To You wish him a speedy recovery.

Necry Talkie hopes to make new MEMORIES with new mini-album!

Popular five-member Indie Corner band Necry Talkie announced that they will releasing a brand new mini-album, MEMORIES, July 24. Dubbed the group’s self-cover mini-album, MEMORIES will be the latest release by the band since their very successful first album ONE! from December of last year.

Lead guitarist Asahi remarked that the group experimented with several different sounds and styles for this album and hopes that fans are just as excited as they are. The album will release with eight tracks total and, keeping to Asahi’s word, will encompass several different styles. There will be more upbeat tunes such as “ジャックポットなら踊らにゃソンソン” ( “Jackpot Nara Odoranya Sonson”) and there will be ones in which they mixed vocaloid style with their songs, such as with “ゆるふわ樹海ガール” (“Yurufuwa Jukai Girl”). MEMORIES is looking to be an album that will stand out from the rest. 

Currently there are no pre-order link at the the time of this writing and will update when it does! In the meantime check out Necry Talkie’s latest music video, “Ashta ni Datte”, below!

Track listing:

Necry Talkie「MEMORIES」

01. 音楽が嫌いな女の子 (Ongaku ga Kiraina Onnano Ko)

02. ジャックポットなら踊らにゃソンソン (Jackpot Nara Odoranya Sonson)

03. 夕暮れ先生 (Yugure Sensei)

04. あの子は竜に逢う (Ano ko wa Ryu ni Chigau)

05. 浮かれた大学生は死ね (Yukareta Daigakusei ha Shine)

06. きらいな人 (Kirena Hito)

07. ゆるふわ樹海ガール (Yurefuwa Jukai Girl)

08. ティーンエイジ・ネクラポップ (Teenage Necry Pop)

INORAN kicks off new era with brand new album!

After small break, vocalist INORAN announced that he will be releasing a brand new album, 2019, June 7.  For those who don’t know, INORAN, who was famously known as the former guitarist for the band LUNA SEA up until their untimely disbandment back in 2000, has since then found major success as a solo act.

2019 will be INORAN’s latest original album since THANK YOU back in 2016 and it is his third original album overall. You can look forward to two different editions: a CD-only standard edition and a limited edition dubbed the Perfect Box Edition. This particular edition will include not only the album along with a DVD featuring several music videos, but a vinyl version of the album, making it a must-grab for fans. It can only be ordered here.

INORAN TOUR 2019「COWBOY PUNI-SHIT」

2019年8月21日（水）Tokyo’s Shinjuku BLAZE ※Fan club only

2019年8月24日（土）Kanagawa’s Koube VARIT. ※Fan club only

2019年8月25日（日）Shizuoka’s LIVE ROXY Shizuoka

2019年8月31日（土）Ishigawa’s Kanazawa AZ

2019年9月1日（日）Nagano’s  NAGANO CLUB JUNK BOX

2019年9月13日（金）Hiroshima Hiroshima Second Crutch

2019年9月14日（土）Okayama’s CRAZYMAMA KINGDOM

2019年9月16日（月・祝）Fukuoka’s DRUM Be-1

2019年9月20日（金）Miyagi’s darwin

2019年9月22日（日）Aichi’s ElectricLadyLand

2019年9月23日（月・祝）Osaka’s OSAKA MUSE

INORAN also announced that he will be having a brand new cross-country tour titled 「COWBOY PUNI-SHIT」 starting August 21 though September 23 (tour info to the right).

Check out INORAN’s latest music video “I’m Here for you” along with the pre-order link for 2019 below!

Standard Edition  

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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!

With her powerful vocals Naz announces debut single!

Okinawa-born vocalist Naz will be making her debut with her single “JUQUCY”, dropping July 24. Originally debuting with Tomita Labs’s song “OCEAN” back in August of 2018, Naz impressed Tomita with her strong vocals and was soon signed.

Tomita, along with several members of the music production team WONK, will produce “JUQUCY” with Naz taking writing duties for two of the tracks on the single. “JUQUCY” will drop with five tracks total.

Naz will also be making a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s famous track “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” along with Naz’s track “Fare”, which she just dropped earlier in the week.

Unfortunately no pre-orders are available right now but check this space later!

In the meantime check out the music video for “Fare” along with the track listing for “JUQUCY” below!

Naz「JUQUCY」

01. White Lie

［Written：Kento NAGATSUKA（WONK） / Composed：Ayatake Ezaki（WONK） / Produced：Ayatake Ezaki（WONK）］

02. Clear Skies

[Written：Lori Fine / Composed：Keiichi Tomita（TOMITA LAB） / Produced Keiichi Tomita（TOMITA LAB）］

03. Rain Wash

［Written and Composed：Naz / Produced：Keiichi Tomita（TOMITA LAB）］

04. Fare

［Written and Composed：Naz / Produced：Ayatake Ezaki（WONK） / コーラス：Kento NAGATSUKA（WONK）］

05. These Boots Are Made for Walkin'（Nancy Sinatra Cover）

[Produced ：Ayatake Ezaki（WONK）］