Music Review, The Retrospective Review

Where It All Began: A Retrospective Review Of Houkago Princess ~Oshiete Kudasai~

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Release Date: August 3rd, 2011

It has been a decade since Houkago Princess made their debut as idols, and like many that came before them, they started out small and relatively unknown. With seven members making up the original lineup, the group would open up their own live house in Ikebukuro, standing on a checkerboard stage that could barely hold the entire group. Backed by a team of industry newbies to help with recording, set design and promotion, Houkago Princess was a group as green as they come, but they were just as determined as any other idol group out there, and they were ready with a debut single before they even hit the stage.

This is where it all began.

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Music Review

MIKUROPOP- The soundtrack to your summer

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Making her return with one of the most anticipated releases of 2021, MIKUROMIKA brings MIKUROPOP to the international music scene. Set to drop on July 23rd with a worldwide release under SETSUZOKU RECORDS, MIKUROMIKA is ready to throw you into her bright and colourful world of music, fashion and art.

With a punchy mix full of dance breaks and reminiscent of the mid-90s house scene, and generously mixed with clean vocals and spoken word, MIKUROPOP is simply a pleasure on the ears and a joy to behold if you were around during those long summer days of years gone by.

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Music Review

This is the sound of #EbiMayo

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Release Date: May 26th, 2021

Filled with the sound of sparkling techno beats and cute vocals that hold a gentle cadence, the up and coming duo unit known as Ever!BE Mayowanaide!! – or Ebimayo – have armed themselves with the sound of energetic and catchy music in their major debut single, #Ebimayo.

Bright and ready to draw you in, #Ebimayo is a release that will bring in fans who enjoy music from performers and composers such as Toriena, KOTO, CY8ER, Yunomi and early Perfume. Jam-packed with six wonderful tracks – as well as two instrumentals – this single is sure to throw you into the sparkling world of Ebimayo, one way or another.

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News

2& return of the idol

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Pop, rock, pop-punk, idol and J-Pop are some common descriptions of self-produced Tokyo-based artist Saki Chitose, best known as Double And, stylised as 2.

Since her debut Double And album back in 2015, Saki has gone on to release a number of singles and EPs. She is well known for her dynamic and fun live performances and her distinct vocals that keep all the intensity with tightly choreographed dance routines.

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News

Cocoro Auction bring everyone together with a new single release

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After the release of their digital single ‘Like Magic / Letter’ on May 22nd of this year, the Osaka based rock band known as Cocoro Auction make their return just shy of a month later with a brand new release, titled ‘Supermoon / Together’, set to drop on June 19th.

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Interviews

From Glaciers to Oceans: An Interview with Esprit D’Air

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Kai

In a year where so much has slowed down, there’s one artist who has been busy. Enter Japanese electronic metal multi-instrumentalist, Esprit D’Air.

Reformed back in 2016 as a solo project by the talented Kai taking the reins as vocalist, musician, composer and producer, Esprit D’Air have been bringing hard-hitting aggression with melodic vocals and electronic synths to an ever growing fanbase.

With over 3 million YouTube views and 80k Spotify listeners, and a growing social media presence, the fresh and unique sound of Esprit D’Air has continued to evolve.

After the release of the incredible Leviathan back in December 2020, 6 weekly consecutive releases in 2021 including the 10th Anniversary Live Album, and the most recent single, Glaciers, Esprit D’Air are certainly making an almighty impact which will culminate at the end of the year with the album Oceans.

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Feature Article

Knuckle Chiwawa-Bands that take you back: A personal reflection.

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A personal reflection by Just Panda.

Knuckle Chiwawa

There have been so many bands over the years that have made an impact on my life. My musical tastes are vast and eclectic, and no matter what feelings I have there will most certainly be a song that I can go to to enhance those feelings, be it sadness, joy, rage or just something to take me away from the daily toils of being a grown up.

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Music Review

DEARDEVIL: Calling

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Release Date: March 28, 2021

After being given a chance to stand on stage as performers once again, the recently formed unit known as DEARDEVIL are ready to take on the music scene under their new label, Devil Margin Inc. Made up of three members – RISA, AKANE and ARARA – the creation of DEARDEVIL has become a symbol of hope and rebirth for the girls, all of whom were a part of the now disbanded idol unit, Toumei na Kankei, 3-by 30byou.

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Music Review

Cool Bands I Didn’t Discover Because of Anime

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A personal music review by Beth.

To be truthful, this journey of discovery was completely unexpected. Some years ago as a person who still owned mixtapes, I decided to go through them.

On one I discovered a Japanese band that with saavy use of the internet I found were called The Blue Hearts.
That was just the beginning and that is where we will begin.

**The Blue Hearts** – One of the more famous Japanese punk bands that were prevalent from 1985 – 1995. Their songs ranged from fun and punchy hits like Linda Linda or Kiss Shite Hoshii to a myriad of rock ballads. Sadly about the only band on the list not still active today. Well…not exactly…

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Interviews

MANACLE: we are liberation

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Hot off their first one-man live and the release of their highly anticipated debut album, MANACLE have been catapulted into the alternative idol universe, much to the delight of fans both in Japan and internationally.

With their dark and heavy electro sound, MANACLE have certainly made their presence known in the underground scene since their conception not even a year ago. And now with the release of the incredible debut album LIBERATION and fantastic new music video for ‘Look at Me’, Risaki, Ray, Hina and Maon found time in their busy schedule to chat with the Beyond Senpai team.

Here is what they had to say.

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