UVERworld is a Japanese Rock band which formed in 2003, the band consists of five     members, Takuya, Katsuya, Akira, Nobuto and Shintarō. They are most known for their song D-Tecnolife which was the 2nd opening theme for Bleach. The band’s name “UVERworld” is a mix of “Uber” (In German meaning over) and world. UBERworld became UVERworld for a unique mien. Those of you who haven’t checked out this band do so, they’re pretty rad.

     Forming in 2006, Anli Pollicino is a five member J-Rock band from Japan. The Members include Kiyozumi, Shindy, Takuma, Yohichi and Masatoshi. Their first CD was released in November 21, ‘09 called Fahrenheit31. As of 2010, they will be doing a European tour in May and June.

 Tour Dates:

2/05 : Wattrelos (France) @ La Boite à musique
13/05 : Colmar (France) @ le Grillen
15/05 : Winthertur (Switzerland) @ Japanim Manga Night
16/05 : Munich (Germany) @ Feierwerk
18/05 : Clermont-fd (France) @ Salle Camille Claudel
19/05 : Lyon (France) @ Lyon’s Hall
20/05 : Marseille (France) @ le Baby
21/05 : Saint Jean de Vedas (France) @ Secret Place
22/05 : Perpignan (France) @ le Crockmore
26/05 : Madrid (Spain) @ Wurlitzer Ballroom
27/05 : Bilbao (Spain) @ Santana 27
28/05 : Bordeaux (France) @ le CAT
29/05 : Brest (France) @ le Vauban
30/05 : Rennes (France) @ Mondo Bizarro
03/06 : Liege (Belgium) @ le Tipi
04/06 : Amsterdam (Netherlands) @ Winston
05/06 : Cologne (Germany)@MTC
06/06 : Paris (France)@ TBC

     Hailing from Tokyo, Japan. Aural Vampire consists of two members Exo-Chika and      Raveman, they compose Electronica and Industrial music. Active since 2004, they released a self debut album called Vampire Ecstasy. Aural Vampire continue to do music and touring. It was recently announced that they will make a Musical guest appearance at Anime Central at Rosemont, Illinois in May 2010.

Check out their new album “Abingdon Road”,  its their second album and was released on Jan.27.  So far the new tracks I like are “Souen”, “Sweetest Coma Again” and “Shiosai”. Of course “JAP”, “Strength” and “From Dusk Till Dawn” were already in my iPod months ago.

     Check out one of Kenichi Asai’s new songs called: “Mad Surfer” from his new album Sphinx Rose. I loved it, when I first heard it on Japan-iTunes, because of its 70’s rock style.   The song is being played as an ending theme song for the anime "Bleach" starting episodes 230 of season twelve. The video is not that entertaining and you can barely see his face since his hair is too long.

Her latest single Wasurenai Yo (“I won’t forget”) is number 5 in Japan iTunes. The song is nice and she sings well in both English and Japanese. She is one quarter Trinidadian and three quarters Japanese. The video has a short movie-like clip so the song won’t actually start till after 2 minutes. The video is watchable but could get boring for some, but the song is nice.

In the Japan Version of Itunes, the song, Butterfly by Kaera Kimura (aka Kaela Kimura), is currently the top song. According to Imdb Kaera is a “Top singer in Japan.” The video is a little strange, its kind of a world that seems like a kids popup book; it’s definitely different from other music videos. The song is OK, it isn’t very unique, but watch the video, you might like it!

The song that is currently the top song in Japanese iTunes is My Best of my Life by Superfly. Don’t let the name fool you, the song is actually in Japanese. The song is nice, she has a pretty voice. However, the video is a little strange, its basically her in a white dress, on a piano is what appears to be the desert; a little strange. What in the world would a piano be doing in a desert? <~obviously confused. Anyway, check out the video and see if you like it!

Hikaru Utada announced in her site that she will be in various stores across America, she is promoting the release of her new album This Is The One. This album will have 3 songs that have never been in CD before, so why don’t you stop by one of these stores and see if you can get yours signed. Listed below is the dates and times released on her site:

UTADA IN STORE APPEARANCES
Tuesday, 5.12 @ 7:00 PM
Best Buy
529 5th Ave
New York, NY  10017-4608
For more info call: 212-808-0309
Wednesday, 5.13 @ 6:00 PM

Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood & FYE
1000 Universal Studios Blvd
Ste. 99
Universal City, CA  91608
For more info call 818.622.ROCK (7625) or 310.641.7170
Thursday, 5.14 @ 6:00 PM

Best Buy
1717 Harrison
San Francisco, CA  94103-4272
For more info call 415.626.9682
Friday, 5.15 @ 6:00 PM

FYE @ Southcenter Mall
2636 Southcenter Mall
Ste. 2110
Seattle, WA  98188-2823
For more info call 206.439.3636
Saturday, 5.16 @ 3:00 PM

Sam Goody
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Ste. 1049
Honolulu, HI  96814-4607
For more info call: 808.945.9027

This song is sung by Ayaka and its called Yume wo Mikata ni. It is currently the #1 top song in the Japan version of Itunes. I liked the song and Ayaka’s voice is very pretty, and its nice to see a woman only displaying her voice, and not her body, like most female musicians do these days. I look forward to seeing where this artist takes her career…