Maika Loubté Remixes Her Dreams With Latest Release!

Lucid Dreaming: The Remixes Jacket Cover

Tokyo based singer, songwriter and producer Maika Loubté will release a remix version of her latest album Lucid Dreaming titled Lucid Dreaming: The Remixes back on June 15, 2022 through her own label Water Records.  Maika enlisted a collection of talented artists and producers from Japan and beyond to reimagine her songs from her last LP.

Participating remixers include Cwondo, Dai Ishio, ermhoi, EXPCTR, Kan Sano, lIlI, LISACHRIS, Primula, Risa Taniguchi, Small Circle of Friends, Sountrive, TiMT, 80KIDZ, Food Matsuri a.k.a foodman, and more. Each of the 14 different unique creators brought their own creativity to freely reconstruct the music. 

Lucid Dreaming means "明晰夢" in Japanese, and is a concept album in which dreams and reality cross over as a single story. Maika describes the remix version of the album as “a deeper dream, where one can enjoy the sensation of falling deeper and deeper into the second and third levels of the dream.”

Since the release of Lucid Dreaming, Maika has been touring throughout Japan with sold out solo shows in Tokyo.  She recently was featured on the track “薄明” (which means Twilight in English) by KIRINJI on his album crepuscular. Currently, Maika is working on new music. Be sure to check out Lucid Dreaming: The Remixes here, along with the music videos for It's So Natural - Food Matsuri a.k.a Foodman Remix below!

Documentary series ‘WARPs DIG Season 1’ reaches the dance battle final, featuring a new track by m-flo’s Taku Takahashi and guest judge Ruu from Fabulous Sisters!

The dance battle final of ‘WARPs DIG Season 1’, the detailed documentary series by avex entertainment group WARP-Syndicate that began broadcasting in April this year, has been released. 

Unlike the usual strict top-down audition shows, on ‘WARPs DIG’, the participants themselves select their teammates and have a hand in the judging. So far, Team RED (TAKERU, SOMA, MIZUKI and REIA) and Team YELLOW (TSUBASA, YUGA SANO, YUGA SHIBUTANI and SEIYA) have endured the tough first rounds to advance to the final. Talented dancers have gathered in each team and fierce battles with a variety of styles have been fought. 

The track for the final is provided by m-flo member ☆Taku Takahashi, and the guest judge is Ruu from Fabulous Sisters, who won the World of Dance championship twice in a row. The winning team in Season 1 will be given priority entry to Season 2, and a special prize will be awarded by top fashion brand A|X Armani Exchange. 

Check out the video to witness the thrilling end to this three-month battle below!

WARPs UP Becomes A HERO with Latest Release!

“HERO_sei” Jacket Cover

Japanese-Chinese boys’ collective WARPs UP released their new single “HERO_sei” back onJune 10. This is the second original single released by the group’s two Chinese members LANGYI and MINGJUN, following January’s single “POWER_Shin”.

Previous songs by WARPs UP featured lyrics in English, Chinese and Japanese, an impressive achievement that set the group apart. This time, though, the group have released separate Japanese and Chinese versions for the first time, conveying a strong message through their lyrics.

The lyrics remind us that even though life in our sometimes orderly, sometimes chaotic modern society can be difficult, if we forcefully pursue our dreams without being constrained by the past or by boundaries, anyone can become a hero with the power to change the world. This meaning is reflected in the English word “HERO” in the title, while the Chinese character “sei (oath)” conveys “the promise of a bright future”. This mid-tempo ballad sets its positive message to a beautiful melody, resulting in a magnificent, uplifting song.

A music video was also released, featuring members of WARPs UP junior training troupe WARPs ROOTs as backing dancers. The video uses hard concrete as a metaphor for the brutalness of modern society; a mirrored surface has been laid over the concrete, expressing a sense of openness and of floating in mid-air, with themes of self-liberation from the oppressive orderliness of modern life.

Be sure to check out the music video for “HERO_sei” below, along with the streaming link for the track here!

lol Brings the Movement Tonight with Latest Release!

“Baby tonight” Jacket Cover

Popular male-female dance-pop group lol recently released their new single, “Baby tonight”. This love song was written by group member Yusuke Sato, while his bandmate honoka was inspired by the lyrics to write the rap section. “Baby tonight” was unveiled during the group’s first national tour in about two and a half years, lol live tour 2022 -laugh out loud-, and the intense dance performance and melancholy lyrics became a hot topic among fans.

Be sure to check out their dance practice version of “Baby tonight” below, along with the streaming link for the track here!

blank paper Achieves A Higher Legacy with Latest Release!

“High legacy” Jacket Cover

One of Japan’s most enigmatic new names in rock, blank paper, announced that knock-out new single “High legacy” will be available for download and streaming worldwide back in June. The track follows in the blazing footsteps of debut single “enemy”, which has been streamed over a million times since its release four months ago. The track was also used as the theme song to mecha anime AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline from animation studio Sunrise Beyond (Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, Code Geass), and also as the entrance music for Muay Thai athlete Yoshinari Nadaka.

“High legacy” sees blank paper continue making moves in the world of combat sports with the track being chosen as a theme song for two wrestling events in their home country of Japan. The track is the theme song for the New Japan Pro Wrestling tournament Best of the Super Jr. 29, as well as the ending theme for the Japanese TV program World Pro Wrestling through the months of June and July.

Regarding the new release, blank paper’s vocalist C45P3R comments, “Nice to meet you all, we are blank paper. Our new single “High legacy” that was released on June 3 is a very exciting fight song. Please listen to it!”. 

With its powerful sound and links to wrestling within its lyrics and its collaborations with the sport, ‘High legacy’ is expected to create an impact with fans of rock music and wrestling around the world. In addition, it has also been announced that blank paper will travel overseas for a short Japan/anime tour this summer, with shows scheduled at HYPER JAPAN in London and OTAKUTHON in Montreal, and further appearances expected to be announced shortly.

About blank paper:

Established in Japan, 2021, with the concept of producing music alongside fans, listeners and professionals. They start with a piece of blank paper and see where the collective journey goes. The result of this creative process is known as ‘bpm’ (blank paper medicine). Each dose contains high concentrations of energy and emotions from varying sources, which can lead to side effects of a transcendental nature upon the listener. The identity of blank paper’s core members has yet to be disclosed beyond code names ‘C45P3R’ and ‘T3R354’.

Be sure to check out both release for “High legacy” and “enemy” here, along with lyric video for “High legacy” below!