Visar inlägg med etikett Frederic. Visa alla inlägg
Visar inlägg med etikett Frederic. Visa alla inlägg

måndag 24 oktober 2016

Jpop: Frederic - Night Step (ナイトステップ)



All the images is from "Night Step"
I've really like Frederic sound since the start, but the first video Rererepeat from their upcoming first full length album made me feel like I'd had enough of their signature guitar sound.
Then now comes "Night Step", and it feels all fresh again. Just a small twist, adding some nerve and a dash of darkness, and it is even more addictive.





tisdag 5 juli 2016

Jpop: Top 10 of the second quarter of 2016

This quarter's best videos has a definite tilt towards the electronic and and synth-retroesque, but there is still place for some wild visuals and idol groups.

10. Natsu no Mamono - Demon Bom-Ba-Ye, Awakening version (魔物、BOM-BA-YE 〜魂ノ覚醒編〜). The super charming cos-playing gang of five is back with another great fan-service video of craziness. Looove it!

9. Frederic - Only Wonder (オンリーワンダー). They have found their sound it seems and they are sticking to it. Well, it works and so who am I to complain.

8. Naomirusty - La Niña Night (ラニーニャ夜). A naive styled 80s retro song with just the right balance of emotion and instruments to make it work so well as it does.

7. Haraeki Stage Ace - Rockstar. Basically a rather simple uptempo jpop song that we have heard before, but the focus and clarity makes it well worth listening to.

6. Tokyo Girls Style - Reflection ( リフレクション). The girls has a presence in their videos that few idol groups manage, a kind of soberness amid all the usual dancing and singing.

5. Sasanomaly - Re:verb. This is visually the best video all hands down this year so far, where director Atsushi Makino continues to use the excellent arts&crafts themes as before.

4. Cicada - Yes. Akiko and her band delivers with confidence a soulful and soft song that makes me relax.

3. Oyasumi Hologram - Neuromancer (ニューロマンサー). Drawing trongly visually on Harajuku-stylish looks and image, the duo delivers emphatic electronic pop that uses dissonance to enhance the beat.

2. Stereo Japan - Dancing Again. This could have been a run-of.the-mill girl idol band, but the production and the funky drops in the middle sections are just lovely ear candy for me.

1. Have A Nice Day! ft New World's Girlfriend - New Romance. The emotion and sound landscape actually makes the broken english an asset here in this great retro piece.

tisdag 31 maj 2016

Jpop: Frederic - The Invisible Man & Only Wonder

I have really liked Frederic's song so far, with the first two videos being my favorites, but both "The Invisible Man" last autumn and this months "Only Wonder" has the same basic qualities and melodies that made me like the group from the start.


onsdag 23 december 2015

Jpop: Top 20 of the fourth quarter of 2015

With a few exceptions, this last quarter of 2015 seems dedicated to the odd, the different and the ugly, which is in some sense is just business as usual for what makes me love the japanese music world.

20. Riemann Mic - Re: Gokun OK. If nothing else, I liked a lot of "ugly culture" videos this autumn, with aesthetics that one would maybe think is un-Japanese, but they are very much a part of Japanese culture, believe me. ;-)

19. Inshow ha - Pretty. The life-size ice copies gimmick aside, this is very much the sound of Inshow ha again, in a good way.

18. Daoko - ShibuyaK. A rather new and young aquaintance but then she also has a very fresh and interesting take on the jpop sound.

17. Suiyoubi no Campanella - Ra. It is obvious that this video shows that SnC is getting more and more recognition for their music as it is their most expensive and visually impressive video be far.

16. Suiyoubi no Campanella - Medusa. If 'Ra' is carried by its visual strength, Medusa is more a meld of a sound and vision - yes, a typical good SnC video in other words.

15. AoA - Oh Boy. First single from their japanese debut this song and video delivers all of what the fans expects in terms of looks, choreography and sound, but I find it slightly repetitive in the long run.

14. Crayon Pop - Dancing all night. Their second japanese single is actually one of their better songs the last year, and the video shows of yet another of their excellent and nerdy dance numbers.

13. 0.8Syooogeki - Words of rainbow color. Both very beautiful *and* very punk, that is a feat in itself. Love this video.

12. Sloth - Bi Bi Bi. The video is on the trashy side, but that just suits the Serebro cover perfectly, with Tokyo rapper Sloth managing to make the song even more addictive.

11. Rip Slyme ft Chay - Jump. The sounds of this are really cool and modern, combinating perfectly with the video.

10. Beddo In ft Ijiri Okada - C-tone beauty-eggplant. It seems I have managed to dig into  more than average of ugly videos these last few months...this is another one. Charming in all its burlesque.

9. Tokyo Karan Koron - Spice. Her voice! Those guitars! So harmonic and sweet.

8. BoA - Lookbook. Yet another good song from the queen of asian pop.

7. Asakura Saya ft Gomess - River Boat Song. Super charming Saya involves autistic rapper Gomess to reach even further with her very personal take on traditional japanese enka songs.

6. 5572320 - Ponpara Pekoruna Papiyotta. This video is so very much an indirect tribute to Queen, with its pompous and crazy video and arrangement. So impressive.

5. Asako Toki - C’est La Vie ~Onna wa Ai ni Isogashii~. Asako Toki's jazzy voice is a golden jazz voice and here it comes perfectly to its right, creating a small soft universe with her singing.

4. Mizuki Nana - Super☆man. She has already made several popular songs for animes and such, but this song cought my eye for being so positive and just happy, which felt refreshing and perfect for Mizuki Nana.

3. Osaka Syunkasyuto - Furo the King. Singer Maina is so impressive in her cover och Rainbow's original song and this video version is so completely crazy and captivating!

2. Rebecca ft Charisma.com - Friends. Yep, two covers for top three, but the new version of this song is all about the nerve of the song and the contrast between Rebecca's and rapper Itsuka's singing, it just takes the song to the next level.

1. Frederic - Owarase Night. A close fight but the guys of Frederic won this on creativity, and I really love their sound.


söndag 25 oktober 2015

Jpop: Frederic - Owarase Night (オワラセナイト)


I missed out on the follow-up to extremely charming "oddloop" from Frederic, which was this "Owarase Night". I have they with this established a fetish for videos with two girls doing most of the groups acting? ;-)




måndag 12 januari 2015

Jpop: Frederic (フレデリック)


The two twin brothers Mihara Kenji (vocals) and Koji from Kobe forms the center of the four piece band Frederic that released their first album this autumn. Somehow being able not to sleep due to jetlag made me want to post their charming video "oddloop" which has a certain night theme.