Yoko Kanno and Acid Mothers Temple are my two favorites from Japan right now. The latter especially kicks-ass (because modern day psychedelic rock is the ****!!)

Ruins and Acid Mothers Temple of course kicks ass.

I would highly recommend DJ Krush as a phenomenal turntablist and one of most well-known persona of Japanese hip-hop and trip-hop. But I would appreciate any more Japanese hip-hop recommendations, especially instrumental bands.

Post-rockers Mono are also highly enjoyable and noise rockers Boris as well.

B.O.A. is Korean, no?

she is one my favourite jp pop singer

BOA is Korean, that's true.
she can speak Japanese and had released some singles in Japanese, though.
I think it's alright to talk about BOA in this Thread. :love:

if i understand the way you mean the word, i don't have any that i listen to over and over. i'm an old school headbanger, and although there are many awesome japanese guitarists who really shred, they seem to be a little lacking in the song writing unless you like super dramatic, cartoony stuff.
i will give japan big props for one thing though. there are alot of girls who are rockin out, and that's as cool as cool gets.
these days, the best metal comes from sweden. think Drain STH (defunct)
and Mustasch.

...You're an old school headbanger? o.O

meaning that i was rockin out before most people on this forum were even born. i like older metal because of it. alot of the stuff i see coming from japan isn't what i go for is all. fine for some people, if they like it, power to 'em. it's just not for me. i like my metal without cosplay. lol

Koto, shakuhachi, or right up to Acid Mothers or BORIS (prominently featured in the LIMITS OF CONTROL soundtrack) or OOIOO or Boredoms, Flower Travellin Band (dunno about the reunion but their older stuff is great, especially "Satori" ...) Speed Glue & Shinki, Les Rallizes Denudes... lotsa wild stuff out of Japan

Dir En Grey is some messed up Jap-rock

It's also unbelievably awesome.

Yes it is.

Obsure has a disturbing video, tho.

like anime music?

Most of the Japanese music I listen to is from Anime opening/closing themes, so my awareness of everything they have to offer is pretty limited. About 90% of all Japanese music I've heard is upbeat/uplifting, though that may just speak to my ignorance of the Japanese music industry as a whole.

Right now, I would probably qualify Abingdon Boys School as my favorite Japanese group. I consider Athena, Dress (cover of a great song by BUCK-TICK), and Strength to all be great songs (I don't mean great in the sense of musical composition but rather personal aesthetic value).

A few other random artists I like are:
Riyu Kosaka
Akino Arai
Kokia
L'arc en Ciel


Also, whoever listed TommyFebuary6 should listen to the single Paper Moon if you've not heard it already (performed under TommyHeavenly6, odd name change for whatever reason).

Well besides what's already been mentioned here, a lot of great zeuhl, jazz/jazz-fusion, and prog. has come out of the land of the rising sun as well.

Ask, and ye' shall be given recommendations. :)

Hide is clearly the best Japanese musician of the past 50 years!

I am not major on J-Pop, but I do like to listen to:

BoA
Namie Amuro
Misia
Ide Mariko
AI
DOUBLE
Anri
LISA
Utada Hikaru

Whoa not a lot of love for L'arc En Ciel - some of the easiest-to-love rock music made in the last couple decades. I have a love for L'arc that will not die. Gackt, Ghost, Ayumi (she is always so reliably good) are my other big Japanese pop/rock favorites. Hide's solo albums are kinda badass too.

But what about that most delicious of J-rock confections: cheesy over-the-top goth? Starting with Malice Mizer and Moi Dix Mois and heading straight for Blood! That is some full-on theatre, a gesamtkunstwerk that supercedes Wagner by dint of its performers living entire public lives in character? So good and bad for you.

ACID
One Ok Rock
Dir en Grey
D'espairsRay
Does
Last Alliance
Kanon Wakeshima
Stereopony
KAT-TUN
Asian Kung-Fu Generation
L.MC
Anna Tsuchiya
Crows
Dennou Romeo
Gackt
Miyavi
L'Arc~en~Ciel
girugamesh
abingdon boys school

One OK Rock! :D I quite enjoy them.

I also like some of Shiina Ringo's stuff. I love her uniqueness. But sometimes her voice grates on me. :(

I'm a really big fan of GO!GO!7188 though! They're amazing!!

SHonen knife = fantastic happy punk, and The Execute is decent hardcore.

I don't know exactly if this is "Japanese music" but the band "Time Requiem" is a good band. It says they are from Japan so I guess they are. Give them a listen guys. It's like Japanese power metal its cool as hell lol.

I will say again... does ANYBODY out there like Hide?

that would be for the metal forum not this one

I really like a few of his songs, even some of the stuff X did, but most of his solo stuff is too bizarre or over the top for my taste.

Still, a top class musician imho, with an over abundance of creativity, shame he died relatively young.

Electric Eel Shock is awesome. Sort of metal/punk combo, I don't think even they know what they want to be. But they're really loud and the drummer wears only a sock.

Hilarious, and they're 20x better live.
youtube "ROCK & ROLL CAN RESCUE THE WORLD"

I love Flow and Asian kung fu generation

l luv boa she popular

Boris. Everybody needs to listen to Boris. It will blow your ****ing mind.

(Tip: Listen to Boris very loud.)

Guitar Wolf, Guitar Wolf, Guitar Wolf, Guitar Wolf, THE STALIN, and Guitar Wolf.

Aren't thread's like this missing the point?

I don't think Japanese rock music really qualifies as world music.

This might as well be in the rock and metal section.

Yeah, I've never really considered it world music either, although you could make the argument that some of the stuff out there in J-Rock/J-Pop/J-etc has elements to it that are very uniquely Japanese.

Would that qualify it as world music, even with the strong Western influence on the material prevalent in practically everything that comes out?

I thought I saw "B.O.A." somewhere before, maybe - maybe not, every band has it's own alternative spelling:
BAO - Swedish orchestra
BOA - Croatian music group
BoA - South Korean pop singer
Boa - Russian jazz
Bôa - British alternative/indie

On an English site, when the music's lyric's on in Japanese I'd say it's world music.

Yeah, but the music itself is influenced almost entirely by western music.

Thus I don't consider it world music unless sanshins, biwas or kotos are involved. :laughing:

I'd love to hear some Japanese power metal played on a distorted Koto.

I don't much about Japanese music (Rock, Pop, or Trad.)
my three favorite Japanese artist (so far) are:
1. Chichi & Sweet Papa
2. Hiromi Uehara
3. Puffy Ami Yumi


Boo Boo

You forgot the shakuhachi
I have a shakuhachi album by an American artist and a Jazz album by an Japanese artist.

if you like, check out Hiromi Uehara, she's an incredible piano player, some of her stuff reminds me Jazz/Prog mix of the Relayer album.

I found this amazing guitarplay (for her age) on Youtube, her name is Chichi. She plays Telstar, that song was writen by Joe Meek, Tornados had a #1 hit in the UK in '62, he also produced The Syndicats (Steve Howe played guitar for them)

so very true...I think I found the Japanese version of Black Eyed Peas

Amuro Namie
one of the most famous Japanese singers in the world!!
Her PV looks great!~