Following up on a rather quiet 2017, alternative jazz/hip-hop band cero have announced that they will be releasing a new full-length record next month on May 16th. This release, titled “POLY LIFE MULTI SOUL”, comes fully three years after the release of their previous album “Obscure Ride” and will include 12 fresh tracks from the group.
“POLY LIFE MULTI SOUL” will be issued in three different versions, with the Limited Edition A to include a DVD containing live footage and the Limited Edition B to include second CD which will contain the instrumentals for all of the album’s songs. Ahead of the record’s release, the trio will also be issuing lead track “Waters” as an analog single next week on April 25th.
You’ll find a teaser for the album, as well as its cover and complete track list right after the cut.
Japan’s party queen Ayumi Hamasaki is slated to appear in the upcoming Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2018 event.
She shared the news on her official Instagram and Twitter account, with the caption:
“I was there, just a girl amongst friends.
That same girl is proud to be part of RAINBOW PARADE 2018 in my “hometown”, Tokyo❣️”
It was accompanied by a photo of her waving the rainbow flag, which was taken at a pride event in Los Angeles back in 2014. Hamasaki will be accompanied by longtime collaborator Leslie Kee, who just recently took the promotional shots for her tour Ayumi Hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2018 Power of Music 20th Anniversary.
Over four years after the release of her previous album, singer/songwriter Megumi Mori has announced that she will be releasing a new record later this month on April 25th. Titled “1985”, this new release will feature 14 songs, including a special self-remake of her indie era track “Soba ni”. Of note, this also marks the first time that Mori has self-produced any of her material.
Ahead of the album’s release date, the short music video for the record’s lead track “Kakushinhan” has been uploaded to avex’s Youtube channel. In addition, previews of each of the remaining album tracks can be found at Mori’s official website.
Read on below to find not only the aforementioned PV, but also the cover and track list for “1985”.
Media giant Oricon conducted a poll surveying 1,000 people asking them which actors would break new heights within their career for 2018. Men and women aged from their teens to 50s all participated in the survey.
Winning by a long-shot in the male and female actor categories was Mackenyu Arata and Wakana Aoi.
Mackenyu Arata is the son of famed actor Sonny Chiba, he grew up in Hollywood and is fluent in both English and Japanese. Starting in 2014 he started to give his full attention to acting, and has constantly became more popular as the years went on.
Rocker Superfly has announced her marriage to Daisuke Kanazawa, keyboardist of the band Fujifabric!
Superfly, whose real name is Shiho Ochi, released a statement on her official website. She characterized Kanazawa as “calm, caring, and very unique”. The couple only met one year ago, but definitely feels that Kanazawa is the one.
“I feel like I can laugh, have fun with this person even when we’ve become grandparents”
Despite obvious plans for children, Superfly shared that she will definitely continue with her singing career. She plans to create and sing even more energetic songs in the future. Apologize for the sudden announcement, she asked fans to continue to support and watch over them.
Shock rocker Marilyn Manson will be joining X Japan on stage for their second set of Coachella performances. Manson shared that he was personally invited by X Japan’s leader YOSHIKI, the two have formed a close friendship over the years.
On his official Instagram account Manson wrote “I am happy to join my great friend @yoshikiofficial and XJapan at Coachella on Saturday the 21st for a special performance,”
We’re back with this week’s edition of Oricon Flashback. This is where we look back on what topped Oricon this week 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago. Think of it as a way to reminisce and learn about the past of Japanese music.
Following several years of silence, veteran rock band Southern All Stars have just announced that they will be performing the theme song for the upcoming film “Soratobu Tire”. Based on Jun Ikeido’s suspense novel of the same name, the movie features a star-studded cast including TOKIO’s Tomoya Nagase, Dean Fujioka, Issei Takahashi, Kyoko Fukada, Ittoku Kishibe, Takashi Sasano, and more.
The theme song, “Tatakau Monotachi e Ai wo Komete”, will be SAS’ first new song in over three years and is said to focus around the theme of people struggling and fighting within society. The track also marks the start of the group’s 40th anniversary celebrations this year, which are expected to kick off in earnest on June 25th.
“Tatakau Monotachi e Ai wo Komete” is set to be released as a digital single on June 15th, to coincide with the release of the movie, but you can hear a preview of the track in the film’s latest trailer if you read on below.
