Tigarah
Japan is a veritable treasure trove for good music. Be it the adorable ukulele duo of Petty Booka or fist pumping riffs of Boris – the land of the rising sun’s music scene is just as diverse as the one in the good old U.S. of A. There aren’t a whole lot of Japanese acts on OurStage right now but the few that are members of the community are worth checking out:
Free Cube is a jazzy duo specializing in sultry females vocals over relaxing bossa nova rhythms – a good eastern counterpart to Bitter:Sweet.
Orsenna is a rock group with electro and shoegaze influences. The band is based out of Osaka and has a French ex-pat on vocals.
Hailing from Tokyo there’s electropop singer Tigarah. Her track “Let Me Plug USB Stick In” is sure to be a hit with fans of Norwegian singer/DJ Annie.
Last but not least, there’s the avant-garde folk pop group Yellow Peril. Their track “Somnia” draws upon influences from EELS and Beck’s acoustic works.
For a sampling of these artists from Japan you can check out this playlist while eating your favorite supermarket sushi – try to take it easy on the wasabi.
It’s not often you come across younger artists or listeners with a passion for folk music. But lately more and more youngins are picking up guitars and showcasing some raw talent, giving music lovers hope for the future of homegrown acoustic. Why are these younger musicians turning to folk? With the majority of labels geared toward catchy, Top 40 artists — with danceable and often superficial songs— it seems the new “cool” thing for young musicians to do is go acoustic.
