  Shishido Kavka is a drummer and singer who formerly played with the rock band The News. After releasing her debut solo album "Kavkanize" in 2013, her popularity skyrocketed. I unfortunately wasn't a huge fan of the album, but I was into her sound. I could tell she would be somebody to watch, at the very least. It paid off. With the single "Asamade Sugar Me", written by Seiko Oomori herself, I was hooked. That song, which is also the third track on this new album, is one of the best I've heard in a while. Was it just Seiko Oomori's songwriting talent, though? Of course I had to listen to the whole album. "Toridori" open up with, you guessed it; an instrumental intro. I swear it's the new thing. It's pretty cool, though. "Get Up!" is the first real song, and ohhhhh boy. This is a great song! It's so hard, there's so much energy flowing through every piece of this song. The chorus melody is fantastic as well. "Sayounara Atashi" has a great jazzy, driving bassline. Track four is the perfect single "Asamade Sugar Me" which I mentioned above. I love everything about this song. All of it. Seiko Oomori's backing vocals sound incredible here, and it has the best chorus on the album hands-down. Asamada Sugar Me MV (short version) "Crying" begins a short break from the energy, a softer song with a little bit of a dark side. "Don't Be Love" is a lovely symphonic rock piece with an overlying cloud of malice. It sounds like something out of a western, maybe. Another high point on the album is "Spider Trap", which features some flamenco influence and a Spanish flair in the melody. The strings sound great on this one. It's a bit of a darkly romantic song, it fits the theme of "this could be in a western". Not like a spaghetti western, but more like El Mariachi. Chunks of this album could easily score a Robert Rodriguez movie.
It's a nice song, it sounds like a closer, I'm just not SUPER into it or anything. It's not bad! Overall, that's the album; not bad. The first half is full of powerful and energetic songs I love, the second half has some darkly romantic symphonic pieces I love. Everything in between feels like filler, though. Shout out to "Asamade Sugar Me" for being the song of the month hands-down, though. I love that one. I am into this album well enough; I'll keep listening to it for sure. Shishido Kavka still has a long career ahead of her, I'm sure she can keep putting out quality music. -Justin  Toridori
Shishido Kavka
From The Stalin, to Polysics, to Shonen Knife, some of the most incredible punk rock of the past few decades has come from Japan. One of the most prolific Japanese punk bands around, TsuShiMaMiRe formed in the late 90s and have been playing together ever since without a single lineup change. A-To-J had the opportunity to see the band on their recent tour, both in Los Angeles and in Fullerton. This is a review of their Los Angeles set at The Echo, along with photos. Arriving early to The Echo, smack in the center of Echo Park, we were treated to the chilled-out folk rock (almost dream pop, even) of My Hawaii. They weren't too bad, giving a nice vibe to the few people who showed up early. Maybe an odd choice for a punk show, though.  My Hawaii by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016 Even if they felt super out-of-place for the lineup, they actually had some pretty good songs. You could tell that it was the wrong environment for the band which is sad because I felt that they didn't get much appreciation. I was really into the mostly instrumental song which the singer said came to him in a dream. It sounded like some kind of psyched-out film score.  My Hawaii by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016 The second support act was Skapeche Mode, a ska band who exclusively covers 80s post-punk and pop songs. They played some hits like Duran Duran's "Girls On Film", The Smiths' "Girlfriend in a Coma", and Depeche Mode's "People Are People". They also played.... the Popeye theme song? They were pretty fun.  Skapeche Mode by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016 Skapeche Mode closed out their set with "Just Can't Get Enough", but before that they played a TsuShiMaMiRe song which they learned just for this tour! Unfortunately we don't remember which song it was and it's not reflected in their setlist, but it was a great time overall.  Skapeche Mode by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016 Finally, it was time for the main event. TsuShiMaMiRe set up their own equipment, something I rarely get to see from touring bands. Combined with the extremely small venue, the show felt really intimate. The band came up and introduced themselves before launching into the hit "Speedy Wonder". They sound amazing! Even compared to the high energy found on the band's albums, they somehow are even better live.  TsuShiMaMiRe by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016
 TsuShiMaMiRe by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016 Noticeably absent from the setlist are classics like "Sex on the Beach", "J-POP", and "UFO FOR YOU". Still, old songs always have to get cut when a band is touring with new material. I'm not complaining, I LOVE the new album! After the set, we were able to hang out with the members, take lots of pictures, and buy lots of merch. Overall, a really great time. TsuShiMaMiRe is one of the best bands I've seen live in a long time, really scratching the "Japanese pop punk" itch that so few bands can manage (even fewer who actually tour internationally). I'll definitely be seeing TsuShiMaMiRe the next time they come back!
The next day, A-To-J's Manuel and Teepu went to see TsuShiMaMiRe in Fullerton and got an interview with the band. Look forward to that!  TsuShiMaMiRe's setlist, photo by Justin Setlist: 1. Speedy Wonder 2. My Brain is Shortcake 3. BUBBLES 4. Hanami Soto de Sake 5. Psy-A-Kuma (Bad Dream Bear) 6. Human Coating 7. Ebihara Shinji 8. Time Lag 9. JAGUAR -------------------- 10. Tea Time Ska (encore) (NOTE: The band also played "Hyper Sweet Power", but it's not on the setlist and I'm fairly certain "Tea Time Ska" was the only encore. It was great though!) -Justin TsuShiMaMiRe Mari (Vocals/Guitar) Mizue (Drums) Yayoi Tsushima (Bass)  Perfume has been around for years, and has a devoted and loving fanbase. As a result, one of the most hyped albums of the year has been "Cosmic Explorer". After months of waiting, it's finally here! Perfume's 5th album comes at a time when BABYMETAL is at the forefront of J-pop and Utada Hikaru is on the verge of a return; can this pop group from 16 years ago still get fans exited the way they could before? I think they can. If you've been following our J-pop reviews this year, you know a lot of artists are opening their albums with instrumental intro tracks. "Navigate" is that. It has a nice vibe to it, very spacey (cosmic, even?). It's fine. The title track is what I'm here for. "Cosmic Explorer" is an incredible song! I adore the whisper-thin vocals Perfume has become known for, and mixed with the amazing space pop background... Perfect. This song is so powerful.
"Miracle Worker" steps away from the massive sound of the ttle track to get a bit cuter, and a bit softer. The chorus synths are super bouncy and danceable as well. The album hangs out in this mindset for a while. The fifth track, "STORY", actually makes me a little bit... upset? It's mostly instrumental, with occasional soft vocals barely peeking through. I actually like the vocal sections. The instrumental though? It's like the most watered-down dubstep/techno you can imagine. It's so repetetive! There are sections I like, but most of it is just filler. For an album that already has 14 tracks on it, I really can't imagine why this song even had to be included. Luckily "STORY" is followed up by "FLASH", the album's most recent single. I love this one. It's a great single and fits in well on the album too. The lead single "Sweet Refrain" is next. It's nice, but not much of a single. It wasn't recieved very well when it WAS released as a single, in fact. It's just solidly okay. There are actually a lot of singles on here. In addition to the previous ones, there's also "TOKIMEKI LIGHTS", "STAR TRAIN", and "Cling Cling". The latter song is EXTREMELY Kyary, like so Kyary it hurts. This makes perfect sense, as the song was actually produced by KPP's producer Yasutaka Nakata.  Honestly, this album is a pretty straightforward Perfume album. It's cute and soft, sweet enough to be poppy but melancholy enough to have its own place in the world of pop music. If you're already a Perfume fan, this album will probably be pretty welcome. If you're NOT a Perfume fan, I can't think of anything here that might change your mind. I AM a fan, and I like this album well enough. "Cosmic Explorer" is an AMAZING song, the rest of them are nice but a little predictable and conventional. This is a comfortable album where Perfume just hone the sound they've been working on for years. It's worth a listen if you're into the group at all. -Justin Perfume is: Yuka "Kashiyuka" Kashino Ayaka "A~chan" Nishiwaki Ayano "Nocchi" Omoto Cosmic Explorer
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With this month marking the first new music from Utada Hikaru/Hikki since 2012’s "Sakura Nagashi", and also nearly a decade since the iconic "Utada United 2006 Tour", this TBT piece is dedicated to the DVD release of said tour.  "Utada United 2006" arguably marked a high point for Hikki’s career with her latest Japanese album, Ultra Blue, having recently been released and her Western audience riding high on her works for the Kingdom Hearts series as well as her 2004 English album, Exodus. It also signaled a return for Hikki to Japan after Exodus, playing 22 big-arena shows across Japan. It’s hard to really emphasize Hikki’s importance on the Japanese music scene, but seeing crowd shots can put her popularity in perspective, and hearing her range in both vocals and song type only cements her as one of the strongest women in the Japanese music scene.  Utada United’s DVD release setlist is an interesting mix of her latest tracks for the time, some of her more popular songs from Exodus, and her earlier works. The setup for the stage included a moving array of LEDs, which featured both her as well as various imagery during the show. The stage itself was shaped like an eye and featured light up tiles, pulsing along with the music. Hikki herself went through 4 outfit changes against an all black clothed backup band, as if marking different parts of the show.  The first chunk of the show opened with her major single at the time, "Passion". This high-powered opening led into the catchy dance-y tracks "This Is Love" and "Traveling", before slowing down into into "Moving’ On Without You" and "Sakura Drops", and ending with the more somber "Final Distance" and "First Love". Here she wore a rather poof-y black and white dress, which bounced and fluttered around with her as she danced.
The second movement, opened with an intense interlude that went into the Exodus tracks: "Devil Inside", "Kremlin Dusk", and "You Make Me Want To Be A Man". For being English tracks, the crowd seemed to respond well to them; but then again Exodus probably fared better in Japan than in the West for Hikki. She was covered in a pillow-y coat, which honestly could not have been the most comfortable thing to wear at the time.
The third set opened with a heartbreaking cello-and-vocal-only rendition of "Be My Last". The cellist stayed as the set led into very-scaled-back-in-backing-instruments versions "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro" and "Colors". She left as Hikki got into the groove of a retro-ish set of "Can You Keep a Secret?", "Addicted to You", and "Wait and See". This piece of the show ended with "Letters" and "Keep Tryin’". Her outfit here was a rather dramatic red dress seemingly made up of strip upon strip of fabric draped across her (it could actually be seen under the coat from the previous set).
Hikki ended the show with "Automatic" and beloved crowd favorite "Hikari". Heartfelt thank yous to her band and the crowd and confetti dotted this ending (which could be considered the encore set), closing out a powerful show with a bang. Her final outfit for the night was a simple yet cute skirt and shirt combo.
Hikki’s energy for the nearly 2 hour set never seemed to slow down, even with the slower tracks. She genuinely seemed to be enjoying herself, interacting heavily with her band as well as the crowd. The entire concert was a wonderful audio-visual assault of Hikki’s brilliance. Each segment felt cohesive, and the overall setlist was a great presentation of her body of works. The cinematography and audio of the DVD itself were great: a wonderful mix of up close, far, crowd, and overhead shots with music that felt properly recorded and not lacking in volume. I’m so very glad it wasn’t just focused on Hikki or just a handful of the same shot type, as it really gave the band proper due and the crowd shots gave depth to the insane amount of people who showed up. The segues from one song to another were well blurred, and the live versions of the tracks performed were, while different, able to stand on their own as solid renditions. I will always be impressed with Hikki’s ability to keep her vocals strong for live sets, especially with how long this one was.  My copy of the Utada United 2006 DVD is one of my most prized possessions. Every re-watch of it is a delight, even after a decade since its release. I could gush about Hikki forever, but for now I’ll just say try to find a way to watch even just a couple videos from this DVD. If you’re a Hikki fan, it’s quite the highlight reel of some of her more popular tracks that you’ll find yourself singing along to. If you’re not, I promise it’s still really good music and an entertaining watch. -Janette (anarchymarie)  
After the massive wave of memes regarding the micro-genre "Vaporwave", all serious musicians even slightly associated with the tag either changed direction or dropped off the face of the earth completely. A couple years later, Dream Catalogue was born. Dream Catalogue is an internet record label devoted to electronic music following in the footsteps of Vaporwave, without all the ~aesthetic~ ****marble statues**** ~$sad boyz$~ you get the idea. Dream Catalogue instead pushes emotional dark and dreamy electronic music with a heavy cyberpunk vibe. While many of the artists in the genre are English-speakers using Japanese language and locations as a ripped-off aesthetic, there are some legitimate Japanese musicians associated with the style. Enter: Yoshimi.
Yoshimi Hishida, professionally known as Yoshimi, is an electronic musician born in Tokyo and known for his various film scores. "Tokyo Restricted Area" is his latest album, released on Dream Catalogue. It's largely instrumental ambient music with some minor vocals used for atmosphere. This is a very atmospheric album in general. It's simultaneously beautiful and traumatic, dreamy and haunting. Yoshida describes it as an album about the more esoteric aspects of Tokyo which many people may be unaware of.
Musically, "Tokyo Restricted Area" is a mix of dark ambient electronics and traditional strings and percussion. For example, the track "Refoulment" is heavy on the steely plucked strings but also glitchy beats and ambient pads. The music is both antique and futurist in a really unique way.. The people are Dream Catalogue have taken to calling this style "Hardvapour" and I don't disagree. Yoshimi himself calls it "Japanese Hell Trap" which is even better. "I Had So Many Names" has some pounding percussion ominously warning of something bigger to come. It's incredibly sinister. There's some satanic vocals on there too, distorted chanting reminiscent of SUNN O))). It's really terrifying in a way, just adding to the nightmarish atmosphere of the whole album.
We usually review pop music on this site. This is the polar opposite of pop music. "Tokyo Restricted Area" is not for everybody; in fact, it's barely for anybody at all. If you're looking for some background noise, check this out. If you're into horror movie scores, check this out. If you're of the small group who really enjoys dark ambient music then this album is right up your alley. It's experimental and atmospheric and super super ominous. If there were a movie to accompany this, I'd watch the hell out of it.
-Justin Yoshimi: Who?TsuShiMaMiRe is a punk trio formed in the late 90s by bassist Yayoi Tsushima (Tsu Shi), guitarist/vocalist Mari (Ma), and drummer Mizue (Mi). The lineup has never changed since the band's inception in 1999. Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re is a combination of the members' names and "mamire", the Japanese word meaning "mixed up". The band members were all college students when they formed the band and started playing in clubs. They've been touring the United States frequently since 2004, and will be returning next week at The Echo in Downtown Los Angeles (tickets available here, 18+ only) where A-To-J will be seeing them. They're also in the middle of a tour that will take them all across the US. What?TsuShiMaMiRe plays mainly punk rock with influences from ska, art rock, and indie rock. Their sound is generally fast and energetic, which translates best into their live shows. The band has released 10 albums between 2004 and 2015, as well as a best-of collection. They're still going strong and show no signs of slowing down. For Fans Of... Shonen Knife, Melt-Banana, Noodles, SCANDAL Official Links
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