I watch alot of anime and used to import dvds from japan and subtitle them. Id like to get a bunch of music since I love how upbeat it can be and the techno aspect it has. The last song on the movie Tekkonkinkreet (which if you havent seen SEE IT NOW AMAZING) is by Asian Kung Fu Generation and i like that as well as alot of anime intros. Could anyone give me some good reccomendations and preferably stuff that isnt too old so I can buy it from cdjapan.co.jp/ and if I need to list animes to give you hints of what I kind of like let me know! THANKS
Try some Pizzicato Five from the 1991-1997 period. I think you can almost all their CD's on Amazon. The "Pop Jingu" series is an interesting collection of indie Japanese rock/pop, although it may be difficult to find.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the opening themes of Darker Than Black (Howling by abingdon boys school & Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without A Name~ by An Cafe) as well as the first opening theme of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (COLORS by FLOW). The ending songs of Darker Than Black are superb too but they don't contain what you are looking for: upbeat & techno. Songs by Ali Project are worth mentioning too, if a little 'different' to most other songs.
well, i don;t know if you have heard them before, Larc en Ciel used to be very famous, but not sure how are they doing now, another band that i like is The Pillows who play the FLCL OST, but maybe that's kinda old....
Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have thoroughly enjoyed the opening themes of Darker Than Black (Howling by abingdon boys school & Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without A Name~ by An Cafe) as well as the first opening theme of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (COLORS by FLOW). The ending songs of Darker Than Black are superb too but they don't contain what you are looking for: upbeat & techno. Songs by Ali Project are worth mentioning too, if a little 'different' to most other songs.
Cheers!
Ali Project did a lot of the OST to the anime NOIR. I think I bought those OST on ebay.
I listen to a lot of Japanese indie rock (more than 60 percent of what I buy is Japanese indie rock), but my favorite album from 06 is a pop one. Utada Hikaru's Ultra Blue. Amazing album, you should pick it up from Yesasia, I believe they have an overseas version for much cheaper than the Japanese pressing.
I guess it depends on what kind of sound you like. I don't know if I should make any recommendations since a lot of what I listen to is very angular and callous, (think along the lines of the Pixies, Blue Cheer). My favorite pop artist is probably UA. She's comparable to Bjork though, so don't think she's like Ayumi Hamasaki. Some of her CD's are incredibly strange. Her albums Turbo and Sora no Koya are absolute must haves though. Beautiful lush, jazzy vocals and very worldly sounds drawing influence from country to Indonesian orchestras to reggae to breakbeat.
If you like accessible rock with an edge, you should try listening to Sparta Locals. Their albums Second Fanfare (which is also my avatar) and Sun Sun Sun are awesome. They are a post punk band with some really cool and catchy guitar riffs. Second Fanfare sounds kind of like Television, and Sun Sun Sun will remind you of Gang of Four.
Are you looking for more electronic type music, or just general popular japanese recommendations? If you want recommendations based on anime theme songs, you're pretty much gonna be stuck with Oricron chart toppers, who aren't always that great.
Without hesitation I'm gonna recommend m-flo's earlier records Expo Expo, and Planet Shining. More R&B influenced hip-hop, with BITS of organic abstract influences(like jazz type stuff like Nujabes, DJ Tonk, DJ Deckstream which I all highly recommend). Their newer stuff w/o their old vocalist is cool too(I personally prefer the older stuff), because its pretty much a wide range of collabs with a lot of Asia's finest from acoustic rock, hip-hop, bossanova, etc. Cosmicolor, Astromantic, and Beat Space Nine. Their more recent Works Best II collection from last year gives a good mix of both m-flo eras. Probably my favorite Japanese group period.
I'll second Utada. Listen to her Deep River record. Really good, despite the horrific looking cover lol.
I know these guys are more K-Pop then anything, but they're signed to Avex and have done a lot of work with Verbal(mc of m-flo)/m-flo so I think they count: Clazziquai. Their first two records are really good. I liked their third and most recent one, but most probably won't feel its as accessible as the first two.
There's quite a lot out there really. Listening to newer m-flo got me into other "pop" acts because of all the collabs. As of late i'm mostly into organic abstract and bossanova type japanese music though. But based on what you seem to be interested in, check out Orange Range, Guitar Vader, and Beat Crusaders. Because you watch/read bleach, you'll probably like those along with High and Mighty Color, YUI(pretty much a japanese michelle branch), ore ska band(even amoeba is recommending their record right now)and Uverworld(I think they're way over rated though). I can recommend more based on genres like R&B, jazzier/dance type stuff, and just straight up pop like Ai Otsuka or something if you want.
My personal favorites in this category are: Do as Infinity, YUI, Younha, L'arc~en~ciel, and Hyde (Vocalist of L'arc~en~ciel), you might also like UVERworld as well
Beat Crusaders, Boøwy, the brilliant green, Glay, L'arc~en~ciel...I don't know many more as I'm not a really hardcore J-rock fan...but I like those. also Malice Mizer or maybe the pillows...?
Abingdon Boys School is releaing a album later this year which you can buy. Nightmare is another band to look out for(Death Note 1st Opening and Closing Claymore Opening).
I dont want only anime stuff thats just where I gauge most of it. I have L`arc~en~Ciel, uverworld, gackt, the gazette, and some others listed.
Lets put it this way. My music tastes are all over the place. I listen to experimental stuff like The Sound of Animals Fighting (amazing), muse, classic rock, rap, and classical. Techno can be sweet in certain doses.
If that helps Im just on the prowl to expand my music collection.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
