Who here listens to Japanese music (or any Asian music) and what do you recommend?

There're a number of Japanese artists I like across different styles and genres. For example:

1) Nujabes. His music is simply amazing, and one of the reasons why I like Samurai Champloo as much as I do.

2) Oreskaband. Makes me smile every time.

3) Loudness. Pretty solid heavy metal band.

4) Carmen Maki & Blues Creation. This is how you play blues rock (shame they made only one album together).

5) Wagakki Band. A mix of modern and traditional Japanese instruments. Their live performances are incredible.

Bonus: a work of beauty, both the song and the video (I don't even normally listen to this kind of music, and yet I like it).
 
Necronomidol -> good if you like idols doing decent enough metal/darkwave/industrial.
Sigh - most of their work is in English, yet a solid black metal group.
Aural Vampire -> my fav Japanese industrial group; all songs in Japanese.
Radwimps
 
Weigel21 said:
who else has come to love japanese (or any Asian) music and what groups or songs they really recommend.
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I wrote up an absolutely gigantic list of jpop songs I like, though it's currently sorted not by artist or genre or song title, but by key, so may not be relevant to anyone here except those with absolute pitch. I guess you can Ctrl+F for your favorite artists there though. (FWIW, most of my exposure to J-pop has been through anisong specifically, so temper your expectations accordingly.)

Here are some of the highlights:
  • My favorite artist is Melocure. They're a group that existed only really from about 2002-2004, and produced one album as well as wrote music for Stratos 4 and UFO Princess Valkyrie, before the untimely death of Ritsuko Okazaki, whom you may know from her solo career where she wrote music for various things including the series Fruits Basket and Love Hina, and the visual novel Symphonic Rain. She has a very simple, poetic, humbly beautiful style, but then she combined this with Megumi Hinata's more pop/rock-ish influences, and half the songs on their lone album are among my all-time favorites -- far more than any other album. This includes their three ballads: "Agape", "so far so near", and "ALL IN ALL".
  • Aside from them, I also am partial toward savage genius, a group that was active mainly around 2001-2008 and did theme songs for shows like Uta~Kata, El Cazador de la Bruja, Yozakura Quartet, Elemental Gelade, and Pandora Hearts, and angela, a group that's been around for a while and did theme songs for shows like Stellvia, Fafner, Coppelion, and others.
  • Meanwhile, Rie fu is the first J-pop artist I got interested in, because a friend showed me her famous ending theme to Bleach (even though I never watched the show beside the one episode he showed me).
  • As for individual singers, I definitely enjoy Asami Imai's voice, which I got to know through her role as Chihaya Kisaragi in iDOLM@STER, but I don't know her songs that well.
  • As for knowing songs, I've probably been comparatively most exposed to Nana Mizuki, since she's done a crapton of theme songs for things, though her songs can sometimes be hit-or-miss for me. Incidentally, I've noticed some other artists that seem to be aiming for a similar style, such as Konomi Suzuki and Yui Ogura based on the few things I've heard of theirs.
  • As for something less clearly tied to anisong, I've very recently taken to Maico, for her album Beautiful World. And various AMVs/MADs have introduced me to songs by other artists, most notably Cliff Edge, which I think is a hip-hop duo that collabs with other artists frequently, resulting in several songs that have spawned popular MADs (specifically "Endless Tears", "Aishiteru", "Sayonara I Love You", and "The Distance", but there are others I like).

...and this is all just for actual pop songs. I'm not even counting soundtracks here. That's a whole 'nother ballgame there.

Weigel21 said:
Then there are singles I've heard that I've really liked from groups that didn't really exist long, for instance, Blue Field by Trident from Aoki Hagane no Arupejio.
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Ahh, I love "Blue Field".

It's funny when that happens because it's just so obvious to tell. I mean, I wonder what show a group called "Coffin Princess" did their one thing for. :P Though sometimes they also make an album of image songs.

Sometimes they just don't make up a new name. I think they just listed the actors' names when they did this for Gabriel DropOut's OP/ED and Absolute Duo's ED.

Speaking of Absolute Duo, I love "Believe x Believe", just as much as "Blue Field". "Believe x Believe" also reminds me of "a-gain" by Ray, which is also in the same key (B-flat major) and has roughly the same tempo (though not exactly, so the only way I can string them together is by tempo-adjusting the music or by playing it myself).

(Incidentally, "Blue Field" is in F major, but it ends on a sequence of a D minor chord, a C major chord, and B-flat major chord so it doesn't quite go into the key of B-flat major very smoothly. But "Blue Field" is a good choice to follow a song that ends in C major, when I string songs together via circle-of-fifths relations.)



As for non-Japanese Asian pop, I think I generally enjoy it, and I'd like to find more Cantopop to listen to but I haven't ever gotten the time. I do quite like Leon Lai's "Summer Love" and Joey Yung's "My Pride". I also know several Mandopop songs, such as Wilbur Pan's "Bu de bu ai".

As for K-pop, I've largely ignored that scene. Probably because I'm not ethnically Korean, nor do I watch Korean entertainment productions. So the only two K-pop songs I know are PSY's "Gangnam Style" and Girls' Generation's "Gee".



Weigel21 said:
I'm curios
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Don't be curios; they're just a bunch of objects. :P



edit: fixing a lack of /list
 
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GlennMagusHarvey said:
I wrote up an absolutely gigantic list of jpop songs I like, though it's currently sorted not by artist or genre or song title, but by key, so may not be relevant to anyone here except those with absolute pitch. I guess you can Ctrl+F for your favorite artists there though. (FWIW, most of my exposure to J-pop has been through anisong specifically, so temper your expectations accordingly.)

Here are some of the highlights:
  • My favorite artist is Melocure. They're a group that existed only really from about 2002-2004, and produced one album as well as wrote music for Stratos 4 and UFO Princess Valkyrie, before the untimely death of Ritsuko Okazaki, whom you may know from her solo career where she wrote music for various things including the series Fruits Basket and Love Hina, and the visual novel Symphonic Rain. She has a very simple, poetic, humbly beautiful style, but then she combined this with Megumi Hinata's more pop/rock-ish influences, and half the songs on their lone album are among my all-time favorites -- far more than any other album. This includes their three ballads: "Agape", "so far so near", and "ALL IN ALL".
  • Aside from them, I also am partial toward savage genius, a group that was active mainly around 2001-2008 and did theme songs for shows like Uta~Kata, El Cazador de la Bruja, Yozakura Quartet, Elemental Gelade, and Pandora Hearts, and angela, a group that's been around for a while and did theme songs for shows like Stellvia, Fafner, Coppelion, and others.
  • Meanwhile, Rie fu is the first J-pop artist I got interested in, because a friend showed me her famous ending theme to Bleach (even though I never watched the show beside the one episode he showed me).
  • As for individual singers, I definitely enjoy Asami Imai's voice, which I got to know through her role as Chihaya Kisaragi in iDOLM@STER, but I don't know her songs that well.
  • As for knowing songs, I've probably been comparatively most exposed to Nana Mizuki, since she's done a crapton of theme songs for things, though her songs can sometimes be hit-or-miss for me. Incidentally, I've noticed some other artists that seem to be aiming for a similar style, such as Konomi Suzuki and Yui Ogura based on the few things I've heard of theirs.
  • As for something less clearly tied to anisong, I've very recently taken to Maico, for her album Beautiful World. And various AMVs/MADs have introduced me to songs by other artists, most notably Cliff Edge, which I think is a hip-hop duo that collabs with other artists frequently, resulting in several songs that have spawned popular MADs (specifically "Endless Tears", "Aishiteru", "Sayonara I Love You", and "The Distance", but there are others I like).

    ...and this is all just for actual pop songs. I'm not even counting soundtracks here. That's a whole 'nother ballgame there.

    Ahh, I love "Blue Field".

    It's funny when that happens because it's just so obvious to tell. I mean, I wonder what show a group called "Coffin Princess" did their one thing for. :P Though sometimes they also make an album of image songs.

    Sometimes they just don't make up a new name. I think they just listed the actors' names when they did this for Gabriel DropOut's OP/ED and Absolute Duo's ED.

    Speaking of Absolute Duo, I love "Believe x Believe", just as much as "Blue Field". "Believe x Believe" also reminds me of "a-gain" by Ray, which is also in the same key (B-flat major) and has roughly the same tempo (though not exactly, so the only way I can string them together is by tempo-adjusting the music or by playing it myself).

    (Incidentally, "Blue Field" is in F major, but it ends on a sequence of a D minor chord, a C major chord, and B-flat major chord so it doesn't quite go into the key of B-flat major very smoothly. But "Blue Field" is a good choice to follow a song that ends in C major, when I string songs together via circle-of-fifths relations.)



    As for non-Japanese Asian pop, I think I generally enjoy it, and I'd like to find more Cantopop to listen to but I haven't ever gotten the time. I do quite like Leon Lai's "Summer Love" and Joey Yung's "My Pride". I also know several Mandopop songs, such as Wilbur Pan's "Bu de bu ai".

    As for K-pop, I've largely ignored that scene. Probably because I'm not ethnically Korean, nor do I watch Korean entertainment productions. So the only two K-pop songs I know are PSY's "Gangnam Style" and Girls' Generation's "Gee".



    Don't be curios; they're just a bunch of objects. :P
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Now i have a lot to look up.
 
Nujabes is what turned me on to hip hop. I love the Asian hip hop fusion..

I dont know if it counts but Shanghai Restoration Project is great too. A lot like Nujabes.
All of Cowboy Bebop was great. And get fucked if you think otherwise

And whoever was in Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad
 
Here's a selection of stuff, mostly not cartoon-related. It's quite a mixed bag, so I hope you find something you like. Some of them are extremely well-known, though others, perhaps, are a bit more obscure, even in these sorts of circles.

Shiina Ringo, Tokyo Jihen
Soutaisei Riron
GO!GO!7188, Chirinuruwowaka
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs
The Pillows
Cornelius
Kageyama Hironobu
Bonny Jacks
Sakamoto Kyu
Yamaguchi Momoe
Oota Hiromi
Candies
Pink Lady
 
mussolini said:
Here's a selection of stuff, mostly not cartoon-related. It's quite a mixed bag, so I hope you find something you like. Some of them are extremely well-known, though others, perhaps, are a bit more obscure, even in these sorts of circles.

Shiina Ringo, Tokyo Jihen
Soutaisei Riron
GO!GO!7188, Chirinuruwowaka
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs
The Pillows
Cornelius
Kageyama Hironobu
Bonny Jacks
Sakamoto Kyu
Yamaguchi Momoe
Oota Hiromi
Candies
Pink Lady
Click to expand...
Of these names I recognize The Pillows, and I think that's about it. This makes me realize that the almost all of the artists I know have done something related to cartoons.

Maico, whom I recently discovered, is an exception. Yukie Nakama counts as long as you don't consider Mega Man X4 a cartoon despite its cutscenes, and that was the first J-pop song I heard I think. Cliff Edge technically counts, but I only know of them thanks to AMVs. Also, various indie/doujin artists, but that's sort of a whole 'nother scene.

I wanted to mention Mai Kuraki, except she's worked on Detective Conan, but I've never watched it. Actually, there are more examples like this -- artists who have done some work for cartoons, but I haven't watched said cartoons and I don't know them from it. These include:
* Mai Kuraki
* Rie fu (maaaybe; the friend who showed me her stuff knew her from Bleach)
* Maaya Sakamoto
* Ayumi Hamasaki
* Aoi Eir
* probably others I can't remember off the top of my head
 
There are few Japanese bands/artists I listen regularly.

Sigh is probably the one I listen the most. Awesome black metal band from Japan.

X-Japan was the first Japanese band I ever listened and I still enjoy their music a lot.

Arai Tasuku has interesting ambient/glitch music. Perfect for drawing etc.

Mili has some really good stuff as well. I don't know how I would classify their music, but I guess it's a fusion of electronic, orchestral and rock.

Dir En Grey and the GazettE are something I listen to time to time as well.
 
Hmm, most of my playlists over the last few years have consisted of J-pop/rock/metal. Quite a number of them from various anime: Inuyasha, Tokyo Ghoul, Zankyou no Terror, Shingeki no Kyojin, Ao Haru Ride, Owari no Seraph, Major, Naruto, Boruto, Hanayamata, Wake up Girls to name a few.

Non anime related bands, though they probably do have songs featured in anime would be One Ok Rock, My First Story, Coldrain, Babymetal, Aldious, Band Maid, Passcode, X-Japan, Versailles, Scandal, Radwimps, Man with a Mission, FripSide, Dazzle Vision, Do As Infinity, Bish, Lovebites, and recently Survive Said the Prophet.

While rock/metal are my preferred genres, I do listen to a wide and varied range of music from many many countries. I'm always looking for new stuff so recommendations appreciated! :smile:
Will be checking out a number of them from here already.
 
Having grown up almost exclusively on American classic rock and pushing slightly heavier as I get older, my tastes in Japanese music unsurprisingly lean heavily toward the more rock, alt, and metal bands and artists.

LiSa, Garnidelia, Konomi Suzuki, and Aya Hirano are favorites from the anime scene (I will never stop loving Aya Hirano's "God Knows..." from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). Also, the fictional band Girls Dead Monster (actually Anante Garde Eyes with vocals by Marina or LiSA depending on the song) from the anime Angel Beats! holds a special place in my heart for being the driving force that really got me into anime and other Japanese music in the first place, special props to the song "Crow Song" from episode 1.

On the heavier and more genre-blended side, Wagakki Band is incredible, Babymetal is awesome, and Lady Baby is a riot (seriously, watch a couple of their videos, it's worth it and the music is pretty good if you can get into the genre mixture).

On the more provisional side, MYTH & ROID does a lot of anime songs that I have a tendency to not feel strongly about at first, then come to love after hearing them a number of times. MAN WITH A MISSION is really popular, and I like the more rock parts of their songs... but I'm not a fan of the parts where they get more... hip-hop-ish I think? idfk, genres are hard... But the parts I like, I really like.

Finally, I know I'm going to catch hell for mentioning it here, because it's not Japanese but I'm mentioning it because of its connection with an "anime" but I'm also going to catch more hell because it's "not a real anime"... Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams have created some incredible music to go along with RWBY (please don't hurt me for going slightly off-topic).
 
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