The PV for “ダイヤモンドリング” (diamond ring) by BIGMAMA has arrived and it’s pretty awesome. It’s not as blow-you-away amazingly catchy as some of their songs like “Paper-craft” but it’s a really nice song nonetheless. The single is due out on July 22nd and I’ll definitely have to get my hands on it. Time to watch!

NANO-MUGEN FES.2009 runs for two days and features 14 bands from Japan, the UK, and the US. Here’s the breakdown that proves NANO-MUGEN ‘09 will be amazing:

Bands playing on both Sunday, July 19th & Monday, July 20th:
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
Manic Street Preachers – UK
Ben Folds – US
Nada Surf – US
Hard-Fi – US
The Young Punx – UK

Bands playing on Sunday, July 19th:
STRAIGHTENER (ストレイテナー)
the HIATUS
OGRE YOU ASSHOLE
Kiyoshi Ryujin (清 竜人)

Bands playing on Monday, July 20th:
SPITZ (スピッツ)
UNICORN (ユニコーン)
Sakanaction (サカナクション)
Farrah – UK

If I had to pick one day to go to, I’d probably want to show up on the 20th. While I’d really love OGRE YOU ASSHOLE and would like to see STRAIGHTENER and the HIATUS, Monday will be epic for many reasons. There’s the mega-success of SPITZ, the history and influence of Tamio Okuda’s UNICORN, and Sakanaction is near the top of my must-see-live list.

The NANO-MUGEN Compilation 2009 offers a great preview for those planning on going to the festival but if you can’t make it, it’s like the one-song set concert in a case. Although there are only 14 artists scheduled for the actual festival, the album boasts 17 tracks. Extras include songs from mudy on the sakuban (mudy on the 昨晩), lostage, and Gregory and the Hawk, which are most likely on there because of schedule changes.

Tracklist, please:

01. “夜のコール” (Call of the Night) – ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
02. “Zak And Sara” – Ben Folds
03. “Stereotypes” – Farrah
04. “Oats We Sow” – Gregory and the Hawk
05. “Suburan Knights” – Hard-Fi
06. “Silver Birch” – the HIATUS
07. “Morning Sun” – Kiyoshi Ryujin
08. “SURRENDER” – lostage
09. “Everything Must Go” – Manic Street Preachers
10. “Marm” – mudy on the sakuban
11. “Weightless” – Nada Surf
12. “ピンホール” (Pinhole) – OGRE YOU ASSHOLE
13. “ナイトフィッシングイズグッド” (Night Fishing is Good) – Sakanaction
14. “8823″ – SPITZ
15. “Magic Blue Van” – Straightener
16. “Rock Star -Understand-” – The Young Punx
17. “HELLO 蘇えるライブバージョン”, (HELLO Yomigaeru Live Version) – UNICORN

For more info on NANO-MUGEN FES.2009, check out the official site (there’s English!) and buy the NANO-MUGEN Compilation.

The three-show tour, aptly dubbed “SILVER WEEKENDER”, will hit CLUB QUATTROs in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, Nagoya, and Shibuya, Tokyo on September 20th, 21st, and 23, respectively.

“SILVER WEEKENDER” may be short but it looks to be a sweet change of pace for fans since BIGMAMA, Local Sound Style, and UNISON SQUARE GARDEN will all be coming off fresh from major music festivals like SETSTOCK’09, ROCK IN JAPAN FES.2009, the RISING SUN ROCK FESTIVAL 2009, and PUNKAFOOLIC! SHIBUYA CRASH 09.

With four bands possessing four unique sounds with rather dissimilar styles, the “SILVER WEEKENDER” mini tour will be an electrifying spectacle in melodic rock. Tickets for all three shows go on sale July 18th.

via indiesmusic.com (JP)

“溢れる” (Afureru, to flood) is the latest single from lego big morl. It’s the first release since the band’s debut album, Quartette Parade, which came out back in January. The song’s got some nice groove and is sprinkled throughout with signature-style effervescent guitar licks. It may sprout from familiar ground but it does grow into something its own.

“溢れる” is set for release on July 22nd and features two additional tracks.

Not only is it a big month, personally, but by judging from our release calendar, July looks to be a great month for music, as well. The Telephones’ major debut is slated for release as well as ACIDMAN’s 7th album, A beautiful greed. If those were the only two releases this month, July would be amazing, but of course there’s much, much more.

Here’s a list of the albums and singles coming out in July that we’re most excited about. Most of these are pretty major since some of the indie ones like to really sneak up on us. The featured releases are organized by week, with the most anticipated album/single up top and “other great releases” below (it was really hard to choose just one as “most anticipated” for each week!).

July 8th

The Telephones – DANCE FLOOR MONSTERS (album)

tracklisting:
01. D.A.N.C.E to the telephones!!! 　
02. Baby.Baby.Baby　
03. Urban Disco
04. Monkey Discooooooo　
05. Catastrophe
06. Hopping Shower
07. Jabberwocky
08. Dance With You
09. Perfect World
10. Dead Men
11. HABANERO
12. Yesterday,Today,Tomorrow(My Life is Beautiful)

Other great releases:
→Pia-no-jaC← – 風神雷神 (album)
KREVA – 赤 (single)
MONGOL800 – eight-hundreds (album)
the ARROWS – FREE AND SHIP (single)
VELTPUNCH – HOUSE OF THE PAIN (DVD)

July 15th

FoZZtone – The Sound of Music (album)

tracklisting:
01. pandemik
02. 音楽
03. NAME
04. 死んだというのは聞かないが
05. JUMPING GIRL
06. Rainbow man
07. School
08. NIRVANA UNIVERSE
09. ホールケーキ
10. I play the guitar
11. ワンダーラスト
12. シンガロン
13. のぞみ

Other great releases:
10-FEET – super stomper (single)
GRAPEVINE – TWANGS (album)
SUNSET BUS / CHOKE SLEEPER – Cross Island

July 22nd

lego big morl – 溢れる (single)

tracklisting:
01. 溢れる
02. 隣の少女と僕と始まり
03. マイアシモト(THE LOWBROWS Remix)

Other great releases:
BIGMAMA – ダイヤモンドリング (single)
FACT / ENDZWECK / FC FiVE / IWABO / TRIBAL CHAIR – Pentagon.1
RADICAL ARTS – 春風と君の声
school food punishment – butterfly swimmer (single)

July 29th

ACIDMAN – A beautiful greed (album)

ACIDMAN’s 7th album has arrived!!

tracklisting:
01. A beautiful greed (introduction)
02. ±0
03. CARVE WITH THE SENSE
04. Who are you?
05. Under the rain
06. ファンタジア
07. 星のひとひら
08. HUM
09. ucess (inst.)
10. Bright & Right
11. I stand free
12. OVER

Other great releases:
SPECIAL OTHERS – Live at 日比谷野外大音楽堂 090516 “QUTIMA Ver.10 -PB Adventure-”
Yuzu – いちご

There are so many releases to be excited about. What are you looking forward to this month?

Here’s a blast from the past, RAD style! I really like the album version of “祈跡” (Kiseki), which appeared on RADWIMPS’ second album in 2005 but I had never heard the single version, which was released in ‘04, until a friend showed me the PV recently. I don’t know why I hadn’t heard the single version before but I love the stark tonal contrast between the single and album versions. Both songs run over eight minutes but where the album version takes a slow, calm, and introspective turn, the single version lets loose with energy.

Even if you’re on top of things and have seen the single’s PV, it’s worth another viewing just to remember how young they looked back then =P

“Moonlight” is the latest from dynamic acoustic hip-hop duo AKLOと空 (AKLO to Sora). That’s an interesting blend from an interesting pairing. MC AKLO is Mexican-Japanese and has lived in Mexico, Japan, and the USA and guitarist Sora studied extensively in England.

I really dig the chemistry between the vocals and guitar. Check out their official MySpace and I’m excited to hear more!

It’s been a while since we rocked out…so, here’s the latest sweetness from Fed MUSIC. “rewind you” is the band’s third single and it came out on May 22nd. Good stuff!! You can see the lyrics (in English & Japanese) on Fed MUSIC’s official site.

The smashing Hokkaido-born duo of Ryoichio and Kenichi Yoshida deliver yet another shining work of folk fusion that the brothers are known for, yet with Prism, they still explore a new direction that sports a personality all it’s own.

The album shows the breadth of its inspiration from start to stop. From “The National Anthem”, a Radiohead cover to the Celtic-style “One Long River” to songwriting collaborations with Phantom Planet vocalist Alex Greenwald, Tori Amos drummer Matt Chamberlain, and many others, the Yoshida Brothers really branch out.

The album lifts off in a suprisingly modern direction with “The National Anthem”. The song, bound by a shamisen melody, comes to life as whiffs of percussion, an electric guitar, and vocals waft in and out.

Prism’s second track, “Seven”, sprints in a more familiar direction. Hipness is still intact but “Seven” isn’t as drenched with modernity as its predecessor. A cool, contemporary groove is still there but the accompanying instrumentation is a generation or two in age closer to the shamisen. It’s certainly a track with a sound that fans of the Yoshida Brothers are well acquainted with.

“One Long River” flows towards yet more delight. The song begins with female vocals that are later joined by the Yoshida’s shamisens. The chemestry between the velvety voice and the shamisen’s nimble pluck forms a harmony, full of character and peculiar beauty.

Tracks like “Red Bird” and “Mr. Nagano’s Foolish Proposal” continue with their own unique tones of character and beauty. The former radiates with a much more traditional vibe, rolling along as violins soar about. The latter touches back on “One Long River” with a similarly whimsical vibe.

The aura fades as “Hujin” and “Akita Obako” come in as very traditional. The transition is striking as this is the sound that provided the crux from which the Yoshida Brothers originally built out from many years ago. This style shouldn’t raise an eyebrow but it does, considering the brother’s foray into the new sounds and directions that create the first half of Prism.

Later tracks, “Summer Day” and “Michi” are still shamisen-centric with minimal accopanyment, yet each track explores discrete personality. One is rather aggressive while the other is calm and peaceful. “Aiya” returns to familiarity with a pleasing shamisen and flute pairing.

In the album’s final track, “End of the World”, the Yoshida Brothers synthesize every element previously featured on Prism. The track, which was included on the We Own the Night movie soundtrack, begins solemnly enough before a snare rolls in out of thin air. More elaborations float in until they’re swallowed by a simple, dwelling shamisen. Intensity bubbles back up and eventually jets into the song’s spirited climax. The return of violins and an electric guitar make “End of the World” a dynamic parting track that further proves that not only are the Yoshida Brothers sly masters of a traditional craft, but they also rock.

The Yoshida Brothers are already renowned for thier fresh brand of folk fusion and with Prism, they only further their shamisen-wielding world conquest.

The Yoshida Brothers are touring up the west coast of North America throughout May. For dates and more info, including audio samples of Prism, visit their official site.

Buy Prism on Domo Record’s official store or on iTunes.

“太陽の証” (Taiyou no Shou) by the powerful banana is a song that’s as awesome as the band’s name itself. The trio’s latest album, FLOORS, is out on May 13th. I’ll bet it’s good ;)