On June 29, SESSIONS COLLECTION VOL. 1 was released. This is the first digital compilation inspired Tokyo Community Radio’s recent training program “sessions.” DJ and Beatmaker Licaxxx runs the online radio platform, and the training sessions have seen incredible success, inspiring new musicians to grow and improve.

“sessions” is a training program focused exclusively on dance music. Participants work closely with DJs and other active music creators to hone their skills and share unique experiences. The main goal of the program is to teach more about current technology and to share real-world examples that can help participants thrive. Sharing actual problems that current artists are facing and how to overcome them is also a popular part of the program.

Club (RDC) and Red Bull, inviting guests to embark on a 3-day/2-night training camp in Izu to hone their DJ and dance music skills. Artists from all over Japan were selected from an open call and gathered to create new works individually or in groups after listening to advice and having discussions with track makers active in several different genres.

A ton of music produced during the “sessions” program is included on TCR’s first 18-track digital compilation album. In addition to the 14 artists that participated, Stones Taro, Carpainter, Pharakami Sanders, and Licaxxx worked with FELINE to create a track as well. This genre-crossing compilation album by the next generation of Japan-based artists is a must-hear for active DJs, and a behind-the-scenes look at the training camp is available on TCR’s official YouTube channel.

TCR will also be hosting events in Tokyo and Osaka this weekend with re:lax, a unit comprised of DJ/producers re:ni and Laksa from the UK. Keep an eye out for more details!

Kroi is a five-member band blending a wide mix of musical styles, from R&B and funk to soul, rock, and hip-hop. The group has just released their new digital single Fuurai on all major streaming services.

The song will also be included in Kroi’s second major EP MAGNET scheduled to be released on March 29, 2023.

The song is vastly different than Hard Pool released last month, featuring a relaxing melody and vocals and lyrics by Uchida. Fuurai shows off the true range of Kroi’s music.

Fuurai also features performances by members of Zainichi Funk, a band that participated in Kroi’s Live Tour 2021-2022 “Dig the Deep.” Motoi Murakami (Trumpet), Gentle Kubota (Trombone), and Takehide Hashimoto (Sax) appear on the track.

Fuurai (Music Video)

The music video for Fuurai has also been released.

Takuto Shimpo, who has directed many of Kroi’s past music videos and stage productions, returned for Fuurai.

The many locations seen in the video match the music perfectly, and fans will want to head to YouTube right away.

Kroi will release its second major EP MAGNET on March 29, 2023.

Singer Vickeblanka has released a live performance video of Black Catcher, the opening theme song for the anime series Black Clover. On January 25, 2023, the singer will release Vickeblanka presents RAINBOW ROAD -Ki- on Blu-ray and DVD.

Black Catcher – Vickeblanka (from「RAINBOW ROAD -Ki-」LIVE DVD＆Blu-ray on sale January 25, 2023)

Black Catcher serves as the 10th opening theme for Black Clover. The song has been ranked in Spotify’s Top 10 Most Played Japanese Songs Overseas for three consecutive years and has been streamed over 160 million times. The accompanying music video has been viewed over 50 million times.

Vickeblanka appeared in the recent Shochiku Tokyu New Year’s drama series Kaden Samurai Special Stop! Chuushingura. At the start of the series, the main character Shijuro Kanenashi plays a yakuza in prison after being falsely accused of a crime. The series co-stars Kenichi Takito who was surprised by Vicke’s powerful performance.

Treasure, the theme song for the regular drama series, is also being used as the theme of this special.

Vickeblanka presents RAINBOW ROAD -Ki- will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 25, 2023. This was the singer’s first arena concert, featuring a rare 19-track setlist including encores.

The live show includes signature tracks like Masshiro, Ca Va?, and ULALA, as well as an encore performance of the song Changes. The concert release also includes a 2-CD set of live recordings from the performance. The asymmetrical stage featured a unique acoustic setup that is fully captured in this incredible set.

In addition to the standard edition, a Limited First Edition will include a 52-page photobook with rare images from the rehearsal.

Those who preorder through the French Link fan club will receive a special rubber band, and an A3-size calendar poster on a first-come, first-served basis. 55 people who preorder by midnight on January 6 will win an A3-size calendar poster autographed by Vickeblanka himself.

LE SSERAFIM, a girl group produced by BTS’s label HYBE, released FEARLESS -Japanese version- on download and streaming sites on December 15. The full single will be released on January 25, 2023.

LE SSERAFILM is a five-member girl group consisting of Kim Chaewon, Sakura, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha, and Hong Eunchae. This is the first girl group produced by HYBE and SOURCE MUSIC, who have both worked with a number of global artists.

The original Korean track FEARLESS spent 19 consecutive weeks on the U.S. Billboard charts, setting a record for K-pop idols. The music video received over 100 million views within its first 100 days of release.

Numerous Campaigns Underway Now

In conjunction with the advance release of the Japanese version of FEARLESS, a playback campaign was launched on Rakuten Music starting December 15. Those playing the song can receive an original postcard. A social media sharing campaign is also underway–those sharing the song from select music streaming services on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #FEARLESS will be entered to win an original sticker.

A LINE MUSIC playback campaign will also begin on December 21. Participants will be selected by lottery to take place in an online event with random members of LE SSERAFIM. All participants will also receive an original LINE Talk background image, so be sure to take part! More details will be released soon, so keep an eye out.

Sizuk, a music project started by composer Shunryu, has officially launched! The composer is known for his contributions to anime and idol music, and in this new project, Shunryu will collaborate with illustrators, lyricists, singers, and other talents to produce original content.

For the project’s debut single, Dystopia will serve as the opening theme for the anime series The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World, scheduled to premiere in January 2023. The lyrics were written by Shoko Fujibayashi and arranged by John Kanda (PENGUIN RESEARCH), with a jacket illustration by SOLANI. It was sung by AYAME, the vocalist of the rock band AliA.

The song will be released as a digital single on January 6, 2023. Be sure not to miss the anime series either!

©御子柴奈々・講談社／「冰剣の魔術師が世界を統べる」 製作委員会

Released in 1988, the film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack remains popular with fans of the series over 30 years later. A rerelease of the original soundtrack on vinyl has been announced, coming on February 18, 2023. The record will be cut by Bernie Grundman and will feature Shigeaki Saegusa’s magnificent score and the theme song BEYOND THE TIME ~Beyond the Mobius Universe~ by TM Network.

The three-sided panoramic jacket for the record was illustrated by Naoyuki Kato, and fans will love the red record itself reminiscent of Char’s personal emblem and Gundam.

(C)創通・サンライズ

In 2013, Shinichi Ishizuka’s Blue Giant manga series hit the scene. Serialized in Big Comic, the series has sold over 8.8 million copies to date, and readers seem to have fallen in love with the author’s depiction of emotion. Ishizuka has even influenced the real-world jazz scene with his creation.

Blue Giant will be turned into an anime film in February 2023, directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa, known for his work on Mob Psycho 100 and Death Parade. The script is being written by NUMBER 8, the editor of the original manga and the story director for the Blue Giant Supreme spin-off. Studio NUT is handling the animation.

As the manga series largely focuses on the world of jazz, the film’s soundtrack is already being highly anticipated by fans. World-renowned pianist Hiromi Uehara is composing the original music that the film’s jazz trio JASS performs. He’ll also play the piano for the character Yukinori Sawabe.

Saxophonist Tomoaki Baba will play the saxophone for the character Dai. Auditions were held in cooperation with Universal Music, featuring leading players from Japan and abroad. Baba was an easy choice, wowing judges with his large sax and powerful performance.

Shun Ishiwaka, the drummer of the band Millennium Parade, will play the drums for Dai’s classmate Shunji Tamada. One of the most sought-after drummers on the scene, Ishiwaka is active in a number of genres. 

Hiromi Uehara’s piano performance is sure to wow audiences. His incredible technique and emotionally-charged performances have wowed the world for years. 

“I never thought the day would come that I’d be able to truly recreate the music I had heard only in my head,” Uehara said. “I’ll put all my passion into it.” The pianist is a fan of the work and has continuously expressed his excitement about the project. 

“As I performed the saxophone as Dai, I could feel his passion and his obsession for music,” said Tomoaki Baba. Ishiwaka also expressed excitement. “We had a lot of fun going through the trial and error process,” he said. Baba and Ishiwaka, both from Hokkaido, were in the same big band when they were in elementary school, and oddly enough, the members feel a connection like that of their respective characters.

Original manga author Shinichi Ishizuka expressed his excitement about the project. “I’m so glad that Uehara is on board. I want to thank all of the musicians for their awesome sounds!”

Be sure to check the film out when it releases next February!

©2023 映画「BLUE GIANT」製作委員会　©2013 石塚真一／小学館

The mobile game Puzzle & Dragons has been around for ten years, with over 90 million downloads worldwide. Continuing its incredible popularity to this day, Universal Music has announced that a best-of album would be released on November 23, 2022, featuring a number of popular tracks from the game.

The album, titled Puzzle & Dragons 10th Anniversary Festival, will feature a collection of original songs by famed game composers Kenji Ito and Yukio Nakajima. Fans of the series will be excited to hear Departure Ver.0, created by Ito before the well-known song Departure was released. This will be the first time that the song has ever been released.

The album jacket features newly-drawn illustrations of Ideal, who won the top spot in last year’s character ranking, Sonia, Roche, Valeria, and Mil. 

The album will be released as a CD and will also be available to stream and download. Those buying the CD will enjoy a two-disc set and special packaging, with a booklet featuring illustrations and interviews by Kenji Ito, Yukio Nakajima, and the producer Yamamoto. 100 lucky winners will be selected by lottery to win an original towel featuring exclusive art.

Over the past decade, Puzzle & Dragons has brought plenty of joy to people’s lives. Have you ever played the title? Is the music special to you?

Don’t miss the 10th-anniversary celebration of Puzzle & Dragons!

©GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Japanese hip-hop R&B girls group XG released their second single MASCARA on June 29, 2022. In only a few short weeks, the track has made big waves around the world.

MASCARA managed to reach #1 on the iTunes Song Chart (Alternative) in 17 countries. It also reached #25 on the WorldWide iTunes Song Chart, which combines results from 175 countries around the world. On the Billboard JAPAN HOT 100 chart for July 6, MASCARA ranked 48th. The CD Box was sold out within one week of its release.

Since the song’s release, the group has appeared on a series of popular Korean music shows such as Mnet’s MCOUNTDOWN, KBS 2TV’s MUSIC BANK, and MBC’s Show! Music Core. XG’s performance on MCOUNTDOWN on June 30 has already been watched over 1.39 million times, while their performance video from SBS’s THE SHOW on July 5 ranked first in Japan on YouTube’s fastest-rising ranking. The girls have an incredibly strong stage presence and are scheduled to appear on five music programs in a row going forward. This is unprecedented for a Japanese girl’s group. 

Fans of the group have been posting dancing videos on TikTok and YouTube since the song was released, and many posts describe the choreography during the chorus as the ‘shuriken dance.’ 

On July 11, a making-of video from the set of the MASCARA visual was released on YouTube, showing off the girl’s individual personalities. 

XG – MASCARA (Photoshoot | Behind The Scenes)

XG – MASCARA (Official Music Video)

With tons of new content incoming and tons of popularity already growing worldwide, expectations are high going forward, so keep an eye on XG!

Amadeus Topline is a music creation app, and a certain song created using the software has been selected as the ending theme for Fuji TV’s Junk Sports. The song Kotoba is the debut song of 18-year-old ERROR, who made her debut in the singing audition Power of Song in July 2022. By using Amadeus Topline, creators can shorten the very time-consuming process of finding a good melody during the composition process. 

ERROR Track #1 – Kotoba

Amadeus Topline is a powerful and simple melody creation app that allows music creators both novice and professional to compose songs in minutes. The melodies created by the AI can then be exported to outside music software to be polished.

An animated music video for the track ətˈæk 0N tάɪtn＜TFSv＞ from Attack on Titan The Final Season has been uploaded to YouTube. The song will be featured on the upcoming second soundtrack, scheduled to be released on June 22 and composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. The track itself was played during a crucial moment in Episode 87. 

The music video features footage from The Final Season Part 2, which aired from January to April.

ətˈæk 0N tάɪtn＜TFSv＞ – Attack on Titan The Final Season OST (Official Music Video)

The soundtrack will include 15 tracks including Ashes on the Fire -PTV- and Footsteps of Doom. Fans of the series won’t want to miss picking it up, and it will also be available to stream on all major streaming services this week.

The final episodes of Attack on Titan The Final Season will air on NHK General in 2023.

©諫山創・講談社／「進撃の巨人」The Final Season製作委員会

An animated music video for Ashes on the Fire -PTV- from Attack on Titan The Final Season has been released! Featuring music by Kohta Yamamoto, the upcoming second soundtrack, set to be released on June 22, is already becoming a hot topic online. It will also include the full version of Footsteps of Doom, which played during a vital scene in episode 80. The song has over 4 million plays on YouTube, an incredible feat for a song from an anime soundtrack. The final episodes of Attack on Titan The Final Season will air on NHK General in 2023. 

Ashes on The Fire -PTV- / Attack on Titan The Final Season OST

https://youtu.be/OhLF2dsmQpI

Footsteps of Doom / Attack on Titan The Final Season OST 

https://youtu.be/GJl_fn_skOM

Attack on Titan The Final Season OST 02 Announcement Trailer

https://youtu.be/CxMAtgTbkdU

The soundtrack will include 15 tracks including the popular song the ətˈæk 0N tάɪtn<TFSv>. Be sure to give it a listen whenever you’re feeling nostalgic for this incredible series!