This episode really covers a lot of history. We’ve got The Blue Hearts doing their mid-’80s punk thing. We’ve got Cornelius make enemies with celestial bodies in the ’90s. And our featured artist set is occupied by the man all the way at the top of modern Japanese pop, Kenshi Yonezu. And while Summertime may be my favorite time to listen to City Po…

New music from Aimer? A little dash of K-Pop thrown in? Songs from movies about fighting armies of robots? Sounds like we’re back to business in this episode of Nihongaku Radio. It felt good to stretch a bit and do an episode focused on a list of the Japanese musicians Rolling Stone missed in their Top 500 Albums of All Time list. Sometimes you’ve …

The folks at Rolling Stone have once again gifted the world a list of the Top 500 Albums of All Time. While I agree with many of the picks on the list (although I’m not sure why Red Hot Chili Peppers deserve more than one spot), there is a glaring omission: Music in a language other than English. Sure, I can see why Marvin Gaye deserve that number …

A big part of what makes any music scene vibrant is constant change. It’d be easy to pack a Nihongaku Radio episode full of Polysics, X Japan, Boom Boom Satellites, The Pillows and my other favorites. It’s far more interesting though, to scour the internet looking for the next Japanese band I’ve never heard of. To that end, I’ve jam-packed this epi…

It’s been months since I’ve been to a live show. Same for you? Well, the good news is that a lot of bands and artists are making the switch to live-streamed concerts. Take our featured artist for this episode, Negicco. If you move fast, you can check out two live-streamed Negicco concerts at the end of this month. The good folks at Tokyo’s Coolest …

Omodaka is the man, and that’s really what this episode is about. If you haven’t had the pleasure, allow me to expound upon this masked man’s virtues. Omodaka is persona employed by electronic musician Soichi Terada to share his unique brand of folktronica to the rest of the world. Yeah, that’s right. I said “folktronica.” The man combines dope bea…

It’s summer and that means the time is right for a special City Pop episode. What is City Pop? It’s the soundtrack to real (or imagined) hot summer nights dripping in the economic excess of 1980s Tokyo. So dress for the discotheque, grab a drink, and get ready to party like the economic bubble is never gonna burst! Get ready for music from Anri, Ni…

Welcome to the episode that lures you in with chill beats and then attacks you with vampiric violins. Yep! We’ve got music from Malice Mizer, a new song from Boris, and some dope beats from Kirinji. And don’t miss electronic music pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra in the featured artist set. Have you got a request? Hit me up on Twitter and let me kno…

Finally it’s Friday! And you know what that means! In this episode of Nihongaku Radio, prepare for some newer Polysics music, a little K-Pop courtesy of the idol group Twice, and a particularly cool track from Sekai no Owari. And Mothercoat is hanging out in our featured artist set. What are you waiting for? Have you got a request? Hit me up on Twi…

We’re here. It only took four episodes since the show’s return for me to claim the featured artist set for myself. Boom Boom Satellites are a personal favorite of mine. I’m betting you’ll dig them too. And even if you don’t, there’s plenty of music in this episode. Get ready for Avengers In Sci-Fi, TM Revolution, and The Gazette. And if that wasn’t…

In this episode, I snuck in a secret featured artist set by including not one, but two musical projects headed up by Enon Kawatani. Good news, though, both projects sound completely different, kind of like all the music in this episode. Have you got an itch to hear some Visual Kei? Are you jonesing for a hit of that good, good J-Pop? Want to hear a…

There’s more to Nihongaku Radio than just Japanese music. Philosophically speaking, Nihongaku Radio is all about introducing people to broader musical world outside of their primary language. To that end, I’m stoked to introduce some new Thai and Korean artists I’ve recently discovered in this episode. Get ready for Lulileela, Orly, and Fever. Of c…

Welcome back to Nihongaku Radio, a twice monthly exploration of Japanese (and other Asian) music for a primarily English-speaking audience. It’s been a few years since the last episode due to a whole heap of life. Sometimes, it do be like that. Even when I wasn’t making this show, I kept on believing that life is better when we step outside of what…