Saturday 25 February 2012

New International Idol & DJ Event: J-GEEK



Here at Denpa no Sekai, nothing makes us happier than helping spread the fun of denpa and moe music all around the world. For many of us fans, this will eventually lead to making the great pilgrimage to Japan itself, and taking part in awesome live idol and DJ events. However, for many of our readers, this might also seem like a big leap into an unknown world. Do you want to get to know Japanese otaku culture and mingle with the local fans, but you just don't know where to start? You are in luck, such an event has just been created: J-Geek! (And for those of you already well versed in the culture, don't worry, the guest lineup and great price is already enough of a draw! Maybe you can even be an ambassador and help teach other visitors!)




The first J-Geek event takes place on 3/8, a bit short notice for those flying in from other countries, but don't worry, there are more events to follow! Being the day before Miku Thanksgiving Day, this one will have a Miku theme, complete with cosplaying bartender girls.

The event is organized by Saeki Kenzo, who our readers most likely know as the producer of Shiraishi Nagomu (白石なごむ)'s album, and organizer of the famous TOgether idol live events which have featured Momoi Haruko, MOSAIC.WAV, Dearstage girls Dempagumi.inc, Afilia Saga... The list goes on. However, he also has a long history in the music industry as a vocalist and lyricist, check out his facebook profile for his full story in English!

Also, if there is anything you are curious about or would like to see in upcoming events, please sound off in the comments and I will pass them on to the organizers! They want to hear from you!



 The biggest draw of the lineup this time to Denpa no Sekai readers no doubt be Morinaga Mami (森永まみ), who readers of our twitter may know by now as an up and coming "DEMPA-KEI milky Idol." Cute style and crazy songs, she's got it all! You also may know her from her band, "necomimi spacenoid" (necomimi☆スペースノイド), or when she took part in the Moe Purin auditions hosted by Inoue Miyu (井上みゆ).
Want to see her in action? Watch her twitter for when she'll do her next NicoNama broadcast, or check out the many videos on youtube!






Another name that might be familiar to our readers is Momochi Minami (桃知みなみ), probably the most famous anime face kigurumi idol / DJ in the world?! And yes, she is actually a girl for all you jaded doubters out there! Our Momoist readers will know her best from being a repeating guest on Momoi Haruko's NicoNama show, and also appearing on the Nico / TV show "Dream Creator" with her. And don't forget Legend Of Face, the band where all members retain anonymity by hiding their faces. (Though Momochi claims she's out of place in that group since she shows her face!) Other members include the infamous denpa princess miko, and the "trap" guitarist Tissue Hime.

As a DJ, she focuses on anime songs and idol songs, and shows off her skills in dance and otagei. When she debuted, she only communicated through gesture or the use of a wipe off board (using her cute armbands to wipe it clean), but now she's somehow gained the ability of speech.







Also in the idol line up is the appropriately named "twin tail", an idol group of two twin sisters, Kisida Eriko (岸田恵里子) and Kishida Rina (咲岡里奈). They perform separately as well.

Although they aren't touted as a denpa group, check out this cute and fun song, 「だぁ~い☆キライ!」performed by 咲岡里奈 with 池田彩.



See them in action at about 2:45 in:







Introduced as a "FUSHIGI-KEI petit-avant-garde Idol", denpa fans will be pleasantly surprised with the cute voice and wild style of Kurimiya Marron (栗宮まろん).




You simply must check her out on youtube and become an instant fan! This girl knows how to rock!







Last but not least on the idol side is えみゅ (Emyu) (Also known as 色音えみゅ) the "Beauty-Cutie Idol". She also works a maid at the maid cafe "ぽんでぃしぇり".




Unfortunately, she suffers from "hard to google name" syndrome, so my searches for live videos have failed. Best I can give you is this interview:








DJ Captain Mirai (キャプテンミライ) will also help bump up the Miku theme by playing lots of vocaloid songs. Besides being a Vocaloid producer, he has his own solo music career too.











The famous DJ Kazu (DJ和) will also be stopping by to show his renowned skills as an anison DJ. He's released a number of anison mix CDs, his most recent being J-アニソン神曲祭り [DJ和 in No.1 胸熱 MIX].











Spicing up the visuals will be VJ KITUNE. Some of you may know him from Anison Index at MOGRA.


Check out in a QB costume, doing an interview with Momochi, complete with English subtitles. Just don't be tempted to make a contract.











Ready to come visit? Here's what you  need to know:

Location: Shibuya SECO
Time: 19:00 open, 23:00 close
Price:
  • Door Price: 2000 yen (+1 drink)
  • Facebook reservation price: 1500 yen (+1 drink)
  • Cosplayer Price: 1000 yen(+ 1 drink)
(For the unfamiliar, +1 drink means you must also buy a drink ticket, usually 500 yen.)

If you're coming, don't be afraid to hit me up on twitter if you wanna hang out! Even if you're not coming, feel free to send any questions or suggestions too!

Thursday 23 February 2012

Online MOSAIC.WAV concert 「AKIBA-POP√NICOLLECTION」 happening this weekend


Sham Studio wrote in to remind international MOSAIC.WAV fans that the "2012 LIVE「AKIBA-POP√NICOLLECTION」 in ニコファーレ" event is about to take place on Saturday, February 25th 2012. There are actually two sequential concerts, one at 1PM and the other at 6PM. Use this handy website to convert Japan time to your own timezone (late Friday night for most North Americans).

If the timetable isn't a problem and you're aching to see a live MOSAIC.WAV performance in the comfort of your home, you'll need to shell out 1500 nico points, which works out to ¥1500. That's pretty damn cheap considering real tickets are around ¥6000. It's actually easy to buy these points online as long as you have a Visa card. Just follow this simple tutorial and you'll be set. Having a good internet connection also helps.

Actually, if you're not up for a late-night MOSAIC.WAV concert, you can also opt to go with a "time shift" (that yellow button with a clock) which lets you purchase a postponed event viewing. The only "disadvantage" is you won't get to post regular or サイリウム comments. We're not really sure how many times you can rewatch the video, if at all. This timeshift option also expires on March 10th. Mandi would like to remind first-time point buyers outside of Japan that it's possible your company will block the purchase, under the suspicion of overseas fraud. Just call them up if that happens.

According to the website, ave;new are set to open the show. We'd assume that's also included a part of the virtual ticket, so quite a nice bonus! Of course, nicofarre being a proper concert hall, those who get to be there in person will not only get to experience the joys of a real live concert, they'll also be able to get their hands on all kinds of spectacular goods. Probably the top must-get item will be this 「neko にゃんこ POP!」 CD which is sure to become quite rare.




Speaking of にゃんこ-POP, here's a recent MOSAIC.WAV song to get you pumped up for this weekend's live event! 「とどけ!イン・にゃあ・はーと」 was on their latest album 「AKIBA-POP√RECOLLECTION」 which we unboxed with great pleasure back in December 2011.

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Free MP3 compilation 「ろりこんぴ²」 from 女児レコーズ






Back in November 2011, STUDIO1COURS had the great idea to release their Youkai Denpa compilation 「きゅん×2カーニバル 百萌夜行」 on the internet, absolutely free to download. If you're down with the concept of enjoying free music without a guilty conscience, then you'll love this new MP3 compilation 「ろりこんぴ²」 from 女児レコーズ.

Turns out circle owner airtoxin is no stranger to releasing free music through the 女児レコーズ website, this being the fifth album. However, 「ろりこんぴ²」 is clearly aiming to be a high-profile release as it features 21 tracks from various artists, each collaborating in their own way. There's an eclectic and impressive mix of bubblegum pop, electro, gabber, anison, glitch, breakcore and plenty more genres that just can't be put into words.

Perhaps most relevant to this blog's readership is the track 「Loli-Pop」 from tsundeRECords feat. がきコ. We've been big fans of がきコ since her high-tension song 「デートなう!」 on the C80 mini-album 「Sweet Blue」 (which also featured ななひら and our buddy keiji_haru). It's great to see her land some singing spots here and there and we certainly hope to hear even more in the future. As for tsundeRECords, we're expecting great things in 2012!

There's a little something for everyone here, but another highlight is the hardcore remix of the Milky Holmes OP from you (male version of U?). Clearly fans of the EXIT series would enjoy this remix, make sure to check out "For You Sounds" for many free albums. mononofrog_4sk & fazerock have a great contribution featuring 兎眠りおん and 初音ミク. DJ EVANGELION hits with a tragically short (just 1:16!) blastbeat outburst of happy hardcore for fans of t+pazolite and P*Light. Finally, it's pretty cool to see the mysterious Silvanian Families getting more exposure for his unique genre: moeclick.

Monday 6 February 2012

Twitter Cluster: Best of January 2012

Nothing much happened last month, but that's OK considering how insane Comiket 81 was. This has got to be our record for least amount of tweets in a month! Still working very hard on the 2011 Sampler video, should be up within a week or two.



January 1st 2012
  • Happy new year to all denpa fans and artists! We love you guys and girls! Here's to another year full of the world's craziest music!
  • Oopsie Doodle! Something went wrong with the 「ZeroShuffle」 booklets (C81 edition) Visit this page if you're affected.

January 7th 2012
  • でんぱ組.inc 1stワンマンLIVE [ダイジェスト] Digest video from Dempagumi.inc's first solo live! DVD release has been announced!
  • Ginyu Planet MOSAIC.LIVE DVD Limited Edition up for preorder on CDJapan! 2012/02/22

January 15th 2012

January 19th 2012
  • Here's an adorable PV for recent @odenpa_studio song 「なめこのうた」 (from 6th single 「ろりーたプラネット★ミ」)

January 21st 2012

January 26th 2012
  • Dearstage e-shop selling dempagumi's live CD でんぱ組.inc 1stワンマン LIVE CD~でんぱLIFEはおわらんよっ!~ Appears they do ship overseas!

January 26th 2012
  • Dempagumi.inc just announced the release date for their DVD of 1st ワンマン Live CD ~でんぱLIFEはおわらんよっ!~ : February 25 2012!