Hello there inmates!
Having a good week there my friends? Keeping your hands clean I hope. I’m glad to hear that. It’s been a reasonably eventful week here at the asylum. I’ve been in the really irritating process of getting new identification documents. I won’t go into specifics, but it involves getting new photos taken and filling out forms. Always a drag but I suppose that’s modern living eh? On a slightly more positive note, I have received my first jab for COVID today. I barely felt it at the time, but my arm felt slightly more sore as the day has gone on. Here’s hoping for no side effects and suitable protection!
Enough about me though, you’re here for music aren’t you? Well, I decided to go for a more straight forward theme for todays music. Instead of esoteric and fluffy subjects like love and happiness, I’ve gone for something much more “flesh and blood” today. So, for those who haven’t seen the clue on social media, I’ll spill the beans. The theme for todays music is Japan.
Oh yes, that fantastical land of the rising sun! It’s a place that I’ve personally not yet visited and I have to admit it’s likely to be at the top of the bucket list that I just decided I have. So much media from this proud nation has inspired me (and others of course), from countless video game franchises to anime. From the traditional artwork and history of this old country, to the various art styles of manga. Japan has inspired many artists all over the world I’m sure. Not only in subject matter, but also in style. I’ve even known some Scandinavian metal bands who have taken to using some traditional Japanese instruments and instrumentation in their songs. I’m going to attempt to have the majority of songs today be from actual Japanese artists as well, but I may include an abroad artist… Let’s see what we get today eh?
Arigato gozaimasu!
Join me as we delve into the musical minds of eastern artists the world over!
Gackt – Returner
https://gackt.com/
Babymetal – Da Da Dance
https://www.babymetal.com/en/
ONE OK ROCK – Clock Strikes
https://www.oneokrock.com/
Sayuri – Mikazuki
https://www.sayuri-official.com/
Whispered – Strike!
https://www.whisperedband.com/
And there we have it!
See? I wasn’t joking about that Scandinavian band! That aside, I hope you enjoy some of these choices and check them out as well. I wish I could have included more music forms, such as Taiko or Koto, but this list would go on forever if I threw out every band from Japan I could think of. I also don’t really know any artists in particular who focus on traditional oriental music. So again, I urge you to check out all of these artists. It would be nice if they could receive more recognition outside of Japan.
So, let’s throw out some social media spiel! The asylum has a page over on Facebook, an account on Instagram and an account on Twitter. I always forget to mention it, but there’s a page up the top that includes all of my social media links, including deviantART. Also, if you enjoy what I do here at the asylum, please consider supporting me over at the Ko-Fi page. Thanks for everything!
Until next week, have a very crazy day inmates!
WorldofHarley 