I’ll be in Osaka the first week of March, and on Friday, March 7, I’ll be playing a 3-hour gig in the early evening, then heading across town up the street and around the block! to check out my good friend xanadujin spinning a set at Bar JAAI as part of the “Peace • Music • Nature Project Renovation Vol. 4″
xanadujin usually spins (video) game music, but also plays sets with hip hop, electronic music, and a variety of other genres. He’s a 10-year expat from Iowa living in Osaka, and he’s been active as a DJ in the Kansai area (as well as Nagoya and other parts of Japan) for the last 5 years or so. You can follow him on Twitter.
My set is really relaxed that Friday, mostly a conversation gathering, but hopefully some folks will join me in heading the JAAI and checking it out. I’ll try to take lots of pix. My set ends at 10 PM, and PMN Renovation 4 starts at 10, so hopefully I won’t miss too much.
If you’re in Osaka, come out!
Just got one of these:
To go with this:
It’s an interesting change and I’m learning it now so I can use it in Osaka in 3 weeks!
25 Years Since 3 Feet High and Rising
For 25 hours, EVERY song every released by De La Soul is available for FREE DOWNLOAD at their Web page from 11 AM February 14 to Noon February 15, 2014.
There’s a lot of awesome turntablism, some incredible rhymes, and a staggering number of samples (which has kept them off iTunes to this day) made this one of the turning points in hip hop history, crossing over into alternative scenes and college radio in the late 1980s. I taped a copy from the library when I was a senior, and it’s one of the first rap albums I could really get my brain around.
Get you some!
I’ll be in Japan for a week from February 28 to March 9. I’ll be spinning for WhyNotJapan!? March 7 and 8 in Osaka!
March 7 – Friday – 7PM – 10PM
Osaka Namba – TRUE SHINE
¥3000 のみ放題 (all you can drink)
Stay after the party with no extra entry fee.
日本語
March 8 – Saturday – 7PM – 10PM
Osaka Umeda – OWL OSAKA
¥3000 のみ放題 (all you can drink)
Stay after the party with no extra entry fee.
日本語
If you’re anywhere near the Kansai area (Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Nara) and can make it out either or both nights, please come say hi and enjoy a WhyNot!? Party with me! Friday night should be a bit more relaxed, with easy conversation and meeting new people, and Saturday at OWL being more of a club atmosphere with twice as many people! It’s been 2.5 years since I left Japan, and I’d really like to see lots of folks! 
Audrey Gallagher was vocalist for my favorite 4AD-signed band, Scheer. I’d say Scheer is in my top 3 favorite bands ever, with Skinny Puppy and ALL. They rocked and woke me up after a long time searching for good tunes. I was fortunate to “meet” Audrey via MySpace in the mid-late-2000s when I was living in Japan. She was very gracious to my messages and genuinely a kind person when we also connected on Facebook. After Scheer, she was briefly involved in a project called Lima, and then started adding her vocal talent to a number of electro/techno tracks by various artists. It’s gratifying to know that she’s still singing and still involved with music in a much more accessible way.
So Audrey’s started a radio show called VIVA VOCE (“With Living Voice”) and new episodes drop the 3rd Thursday of each month.
Here’s the first episode:
Still waiting for new material from Grimes, but in the meantime, she’s put two early albums (Geidi Primes and Halfaxa) up for donation/sale/free download on Bandcamp. Seriously, this is good stuff, and there’s a sample song from each if you’re not convinced to grab it all.
This is an independent artist doing it independently, after breaking through to sign with 4AD for her most recent album. She’s offering the music free, essentially, but you can “tip” any amount you want to support her efforts. If you don’t want to commit too much, underpay for one album and give it a shot. If you dig it, go get the other one and make up the difference! These are albums you’re unlikely to ever see in a local mainstream store (Best Buy, Target, etc.) and are even unlikely to see in most indy shops, because they’re kind of “old” and really small runs on small labels.
Thanks, Grimes. This *is* pretty great.
Linda Ronstadt was smokin’ hot.
And from the upcoming Lego Movie: “Everything is Awesome” by Tegan & Sara with The Lonely Island
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