Rocket Shinobi

Artist: Aureole Album: Spinal Reflex 1. I 7. Edit 2. Core 8. Inner Plane 3. Closetsong 9. Brighten 4. The House Of Wafers 10. In Light 5. Pearl 11. Ghostly Me 6. Hercules 12. Last Step
Rating: | A thrilling ride with a few bumps in the road

 
Aureole albums are always an adventure to listen to because you never quite know what you're in store for. The band consists of six members with an ambitious setup. Besides the usual 2 guitars, bass and drums, they also have a keyboardist/flutist and a vibraphone/glockenspiel player. So while they have a variable pallet of sounds to work with, it's the songwriting of vocalist Daichi Mori that keeps things interesting.

His approach to music is deeply entrenched in Radiohead and Sigur Rós aesthetics, but his vision is more expansive and he's always had a penchant for experimentation. These musical proclivities have continually been stretched since the band's debut in 2009 and now with their 4th album Spinal Reflex, they've progressed even further down the rabbit hole of Mori's sonic imagination.

So where exactly have Mori and the gang decided to take us this time? Well, the opening track "I" literally begins with a bang - complete with crashing cymbols, distorted guitar shredding, and a warbly, alien-like synth, insinuating that we've reached lands unknown. Within a matter of seconds, the raucous intro to "I" becomes an upbeat, bass-driven rock track with frantic vibe/flute riffs and a rather cacophonous chorus. While this may serve as an effective intro for new listeners who get the alien metaphor, it's doubly effective for long-time fans because it also marks a literal departure in the band's sound. "I" is more direct and to-the-point than Aureole has ever been, whereas in the past, Mori's songwriting has overwhelmingly favored the slow-burn of post-rock soundscapes.

"Core" follows suit in a similar instrumental fashion, but somehow this track manages to realize Aureole's newly embraced sound in a much more convincing manner. It's not as frenzied as the opening track, but it's still upbeat and there's something more graceful about how Mori's falsetto glides over the cacophony of instruments. It's no wonder this track was released as a promotional video - it's the perfect song to represent the band's new direction. On the other hand, "Closetsong" maintains the same straightfoward rock approach, but sounds more restrained and lacks the melodic appeal of the first two tracks. It's a pleasant, but ultimately unremarkable song. Much like how "I" lead into "Core", "Closetsong" also feels like a setup for the next track.

If you were just getting familiar with Aureole's newfound territory, well this is where Mori takes a sharp turn and steers the record into more uncharted grounds. "The House of Wafers" was previously released for free as a B-side to "Ghostly Me", and takes on a new form in the context of the album - marking the first stop on the record's experimental detour. This track expands upon the piano introduced in "Closetsong" and opens with a riff very reminiscent of a haisuinonasa song (who their vibraphonist plays support for incidentally). The verses have an awkward, trippy funk to them that crescendo into an uproar, much like the choruses found in the first leg of the album. "Pearl" and "Hercules" take the funk influences ever further; the former starts as an airy post-rock track before transforming into a hand-clapping groove and the latter is a full-on dance track with Mori's croon sounding fittingly Bee Gees-esque. Though as fun of an artistic divergence as these tracks were, Mori never stays in one place for too long.

The following two tracks take the album in yet another, somewhat darker direction. "Edit" harkens back to the experimental tendencies found in "The House of Wafers" by employing an equally cerebral groove, but this time there is no melodic chorus to pull the song together amidst the aural chaos. It's perhaps the most challenging song on the album, and has a distinct, downy-ish feel to it. "Inner Plane" is a bit more palatable, but it's also more trippy. The song plays out like a soundtrack to a mysterious dream that slowly evolves into a perplexing nightmare - going from an off-kilter groove to an explosion of menacing distortion and psychotic piano riffs. These two tracks are definitely located somewhere deep within the rabbit hole, and as far as Aureole has traveled in the span of the first eight tracks, it's only inevitable for fatigue to set in at some point.

"Brighten" would have made an excellent final destination, but instead it feels more like a rest stop on a route headed towards locations that aren't worth visiting. The song is cozy and dreamy with post-rockish accents that bring early Aureole to mind. It puts a fitting cap on the madness that proceeded it and would have been a great way to end the album. Unfortunately the journey continues with "In Light", the most standard and mundane rock song on the record, "Ghostly Me", which, while decent, sounds like a prototype of the sound found on "Core" and "I", and finally "Last Step" which is more of a forced outro than a closing track. These final three tracks would have been better relegated to bonus disk material, but instead their addition seems to skew the narrative of the album in an unmeaningful manner.

That's a rather minor grievance, though. The most glaring flaw of the album is perhaps its lack of musical peaks - those moments that stop you in your tracks and practically beg you to put them on repeat. Conversely, the album doesn't have many low-points either, which is an interesting feat to accomplish for such a dynamic record. It may not be the most memorable trip your ears will take, but Spinal Reflex is a journey that'll intrigue you at every step of the way.


Support the band! Spinal Reflex on US iTunes
Spinal Reflex @ CDJapan
Spinal Reflex @ HMV

I haven't listened to the きのこ帝国 single, but your impressions of it don't particularly surprise me after the preview and their previous album. I really want to like that band but... eh.
 
The Menoz song sounds pretty good. I'll definitely give the mini shot when it comes out (exactly one week from now ).

I tried the new きのこ帝国 single today, and while the melody in the teaser prompted me to expect something a bit more compelling, the actual songs were extremely pedestrian. After their last album, I can't say that I'm particularly surprised, though.
On a brighter note, here's the new PV of a new indie-pop band called Menoz. If this song is any indication, they seem pretty decent. The female vocalist reminds me of Sebastian X's vocalist in both sound and mannerism. Their first mini album is out on the 6th of May, so something to possibly look forward to.

Played this on plug a day or 2 ago, but Zazen boy's bassist is coming out with a solo album in May. Sounds promising!
 

Honestly, I didn't even realize that Merpeoples was still around, but it looks like they're releasing one last album and disbanding on April 5.

Yeahhhh. I feel the same way. Aesthetically, they're legit, but their music leaves so much to be desired. It makes me wonder if they're trying so hard to appeal to a certain crowd/image that they've unwittingly sacrificed their sound along the way? I usually like for bands to maintain some level of rawness, but I feel like tricot would actually sound better with a bit of pop refinement.
Other bands that I think fall into that whole "aesthetics > sound" trap are kinoko teikoku, indigo la end, and even though she's not "indie" (not anymore at least), Seiko Oomori.
 
 

Like I said above, I think she'd be ok with a bit of refinement.
 
 

wow.....This is pretty upsetting actually. They were a cool band (and one of the more interesting female fronted ones), so it's sad that they're calling it quits. What makes their disbandment even worse is that those samples sound great!
-
Speaking of female-fronted bands, here's a new all-girl band that one of my pals is into. They'll be releasing their first mini album in a few days. Nothing special or amazing, but still promising considering that these girls are only 17. My friend said they sound like a young/old-school akai-koen, and that description is accurate!

I wouldn't want a whole album of that, but as a one shot i'm okay with it. Maybe Nakata just needs to get it all out of his system, and then go back to making actual music. Just don't mess with Kyary and everything will be okay.
 
Bomi is really good, I found out about her through Plug. Her and Ai Otsuka are probably my favorites at the moment. I don't mind idol music, but it all starts blending together at some point and it's hard for me to know where to go find alternatives. Plug has actually been really good at helping find new and awesome stuff.

2014 has yielded yet another year of wonderful music, and here's my usual self-indulgent run-down of the albums and EPs I enjoyed most.
My tone this year is a bit more personal and subjective than I tried to be in 2013, and my list isn't as long either.
Thanks for checking it out nonetheless.






CAT5's Favorite Japanese Releases of 2014






clepsydra by chouchou merged syrups.
 
Sample: 橙鳴る

    clepsydra took me by complete surprise after last year's thoroughly disappointing
debut "since". chouchou merged syrups. aren't just following cinema staff's
blueprint on how to play emo rooted indie-rock/pop anymore,
they're actually making it their own this time.


Passage of Time by Cloud nine(9)
 
Sample: Passage of Time

 lop abuse on somebody was, for me, one of the most promising young
post/math-rock bands out of Japan. But since they've disbanded their
guitarist has gone on to join Cloud nine(9), which has, again, become
 one of the most promising young Japanese post/math-rock bands.
Surely this is fate. Oh, and it's completely free over @ bandcamp


HEADACHE AND HEARTBURN by CONCERT
 
Sample: 曖昧さ回避

This release took me completely off guard and would have completely slipped 
 under my radar if not for a good friend of mine. CONCERT's sound seems to
draw heavily off of 70's soft-rock and psychedelia while employing quirky and
forward-thinking production. I imagine this is what a collaboration between 
lamp and cornelius might sound like.


BRIGHT TIME by EGO-WRAPPIN'
 
Sample: 太陽哀歌

 EGO-WRAPPIN's last full-length album Steal a Person's Heart was an underwhelming
effort, fraught with various musical style except the one they do best. So it's great
to hear them return to their jazzy roots on the BRIGHT TIME EP. But with only
4 tracks and the entire thing recorded in mono, it's such a tease.


JariBu by JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra
 
Sample: Wild Pansy

   I'm only aware of three different Afrobeat bands from Japan, and each year it
   seems like these bands take turns outdoing each other - 2012 was the year
  of KINGDOM☆AFROCKS, 2013 was REGGAELATION INDEPENDANCE,
  and so 2014 inevitably falls back to the JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra. They've locked
the grooves down this year and delivered their finest album yet.


homephone TE by macaroom
 
Sample: Kingdom

Another obscure recommendation from a friend that would have surely slipped my
radar. macaroom creates dreamy ambient-pop and homephone TE is an
intoxicatingly immersive album from start to finish. There are, however, 2 tracks 
sung entirely in Croatian that might raise an eyebrow at first.


5 - 1 + 1 = by mothercoat
 
Sample: trickster

mothercoat....consistently creative, and yet consistently underrated. They've
been around for over a decade and yet somehow their music seems to
get lost amongst international Japanese-indie fans - old and new. 5 - 1 + 1 =
is a reference to the changes in their band lineup, and each track is a
distinct reflection of those changes (track 1 - with old guitarist, track 2
without guitarist, track 3 with new guitarist). But three tracks simply 
isn't enough, so I can't wait to hear what else they've got in store.


my letter by my letter
 
Sample: ルーザー！

A friend of mine shared this band's demo with me back in 2011, and while
I remember diggin' it, I'd completely forgotten they existed by this year. I'm
glad they were finally able to get around to releasing an album, though.
Bands like シャムキャッツ and ミツメ released solid records this year, but
my letter takes the cake as my easy-going indie-rock album of the year. 
Lots of great guitar interplay and you can't beat the combo of male/female vocals.


Elephant by orcaorca
 
Sample: Clockwork Lovers

orcaorca is the instrumental outing of 2 members from the electronic
group ChouChou (no, not chouchou merged syrups. ha) Glitchy, electro-acoustic
bliss that weaves itself seamlessly in and out of ambient soundscapes 
and minimal-tehcno pulsation.


Koko by Satomimagae
 
Sample: Mikkai

I don't often hear music like this out of the modern J-folk world, so
Satomimagae was an instant love for me. Her music has an exceedingly
dense melancholic atmosphere and conjures up images of both
depression and desolation. Fantastic album recorded with the perfect 
amount of intimate rawness.


Rhapsody in beauty by THE NOVEMBERS
 
Sample: Blood Music.1985

Rhapsody in beauty is yet another testament to THE NOVEMBER's continued
growth and further accentuates their artistic proclivities. It's a dynamic album-
from abrasive shoegaze, dark grunge, to angelic acoustic numbers and more.
THE NOVEMBERS are clearly inspired and HAVE been for the past few
years. Even if it's taken them about 6 years, they've completely won me 
over as a fan and are now one of my all-time favorites.


CAO by アルカラ
 
Sample: 愚痴ばっかりのローレロレロ

arukara have been on fire since 2009, but this is by far my favorite album
from them yet. The band's sound, which combines all of the hookiness and
buoyancy of pop music with the multifaceted indie-rock ingenuity of an 
early 9mm parabellum bullet, has been refined to perfection.


IMAGINARY MONO-FICTION by ヒトリエ
 
Sample: 生きたがりの娘

I've long thought that some vocaloids had cool backing music, but being
that I can't stand vocaloids, it was always an unfortunate arrangement for me.
Thankfully, vocaloid producer wowaka took his colorful ideas and translated
them into an actual band. The results have been splendid thus far. For me, 
the jury is still out on their first full-length, but this mini definitely delivers.


ふつうのしあわせ by ふつうのしあわせ
 
Sample: キャプテンにはなれない

I saw this band described somewhere as bloodthirsty butchers meets
PANICSMILE and thought that was an apt description. Especially the
comparison to the latter. ふつうのしあわせ or "Ordinary Happy" play
wonderfully spastic, disharmonic post-punk with a trumpet thrown in 
for good measure, cuz why the hell not?


攻撃的国民的音楽 by 八十八ヶ所巡礼
 
Sample: -超感覚的宇宙-

 If you've been following my "best-Of" lists over the past few years, then
you've probably noticed that 88kasyo junrei's albums have made an appearance
every time. I'm biased as fuck and I can't help it. Their formula is like a
nonstop barrage of endorphins on my musical pleasure zones - heaps of
melody, quirky and eccentric songwriting, unhinged yet groovy
instrumentation, just the right amount of excessive noodling...so, yeah. There ya go.

(not) NUCLEAR LOVE (or affection) by 印象派
 
Sample: ライ! ライ! ライ!

There's nothing particularly outstanding about inshowha, but they make 
extremely well produced and catchy jpop. It also helps that their image/gimmick
neither overshadows nor detracts from their actual music, so the duo exudes
a kind of earnest charm. I was also pretty surprised at how well crafted this
mini album was. It flows perfectly from one track to the next and you can
tell actual thought was put into the songwriting. This isn't a release of 
sloppily glued together singles or filler tracks. Quality Jpop right here.

NO UNDERGROUND by 撃鉄
 
Sample: やっちゃおう

Gekitetsu's first full album expands on the sound they became known for on
their first 2 EPs - vivacious post-punk chock full of singy-shouty vocals,
discordant, angular guitar riffs, heady basslines, and nu-wave-y drumming.
These guys are always a blast to listen to and definitely worth a try if you're
into the coarser side of Japanese indie.

It is completely normal for a person to grow out of a music scene or genre, so I personally do not see why everyone seems to be attacking the original poster. I myself have grown out of a variety of music scenes for eventually thinking it to be silly or just not my game anymore. Everyone has at some point.

Congratulations! You have realized how shallow the depths of visual-kei is. Now feel free to look beyond the lake that is visual kei and move into the ocean of alternative J-music.
[/sarcasm]
But in all honesty, the reason why we split the download forums into two is precisely because of users like you - people that tire of visual kei music but not necessarily Japanese music and are looking for a bit more. Don't limit yourself because of labels or phenomena or "omg what would zess think!?!?!". If you don't like visual kei anymore, look elsewhere. I guarantee you there's plenty of music in Japan alone to keep you occupied.

I really don't care whether my favourite band uses the small amount of money they make from CDs (which isn't quite a lot, considering a lot of the album sales money is used to pay other people involved in the process of making a CD, as someone already stated before me) to take their kids to the zoo or sniff coke from a prostitute's behind. The money they make because I spend it on them is theirs and they can do whatever they want with it, unless they're using it to support neo-nazi's or smth like that lol (then obviously I wouldn't put money into people who support that sort of thing). They put effort and time into making the music so I shouldn't feel entitled just because I bought that CD that they should do what I want them to do.
 
Just buy what you enjoy from a band. They released an album you didn't like? Too bad, then don't buy it. But don't start whining that you spent so much money on them and now they're "doing this to you and you feel so betrayed". A band does whatever they want musically (unless in specific cases with awful contracts or whatever but then again it's still up the band itself to decide to go major and in the process lose some of their individuality) and if you don't enjoy it you should just not support it.

Supporting the music you like/love is wonderful, but as many have noted already, buying all of the merch/CDs in the world does not mean you get to control the will or fate of the band. If the band is going to change styles, disband, or use their money snort cocaine from the dirty asses of prostitutes - that's simply beyond your control. It's a bit egotisitcal to think that you own a band because you own their CD, or to think that a band has to conform to your whims because you spent money on them.
 
You see, there's this wonderful thing called "free will" - so if you like it, feel free to support it - if you don't like it, you don't have to support it.

Haha that is undoubtedly one thing you see a lot among owld skewl fans.   I like old bands but I have enough sense to know that they're terrible and was an indie no name loser band that broke up after releasing their demo tape for a good reason. Now I like it though and I'll love it till the day I die but I'm not going to lie to myself or trap myself in a bubble thinking that old school VK was the be all end all of VK music.   A theory of mine is that, basically Goths love to bitch and moan about how true and gothic they are. I think a lot of old school fans are basically your traditional goth and are drawn to old school VK since it deals more with heavy gothic aesthetics. So combining old school VK with self conscious image centric goths you find yourself with the old school fans parading around that 90s VK was the best and most legit VK ever.     
Oh jeez, especially among VK fans is the worse.
 
I don't care for Gazette but I have a friend who is incredibly sweet and an amazing person who fucking loves Gazette like no other. If I disliked her simply because she liked a band I'm not fond of, I would be a sad person and missing out on a wonderful friendship.
 
A good example is the Kamijo / Jupiter teams that are forming. Seriously people? It's okay if you don't like Jupiter but other people do or it's okay if people like Kamijo and you don't. Who cares, listen to what you want and TEAM JUPITER! FUCK YAAAL JUPITER 4 LYFE >:U
 

Yes. The two artists that rolls off the tip of my tongue would be Kyoto Jazz Massive and their sideprojects and Monday Michiru. Even then, if memory serves right KJM collaborated with mainly Western vocalists since music in that vein (Future/Nu-Jazz, Broken Beat, Neo-Soul) had orginated mainly out of the UK. So because of that I think music from those genres tended to stay in the UK and spread out to the rest of Europe and not really venture much outside beyond niche circles. I do remember around 2007-2008 that for whatever reason P-Vine seemed to be the only label in Japan putting out releases in those genres and they were all from Western artists.
Random thought but I've been thinking it'd be really cool if Broken Beat stuff started to get mixed in with Post/Mathy Rock music. I mean those genres already have disjointed rhythms and beats so wouldn't that be like a match made in heaven?

チャラン・ポ・ランタン (Charan-Po-Rantan) mix up chanson and circus type music. They've been signed to Avex so maybe they'll spark some interest for more music in those scenes.
 




For chanson-acordion style there is 中山うり (Nakayama Uri):
 

 
 
For cabaret style there is 秋吉文絵 (Akiyoshi Fumie):

 

Klezmer-type music. I know of Asakusa Jinta, Death March Kantai and that other band whose name I can't remember at the moment, but those 3 are pretty much it.
 
Chanson and cabaret-type music, too. I can only think of Garage Chanson Show as a pure example. Maybe Kokusyoku Sumire too

NECRO'ING THIS THREAD
 
So yeah, Japan is in dire need of soul and neo-soul (I'm thinking mostly along the lines of Erykah Badu, Amel Larrieux, Jill Scott, Alice Russell, Bilal, Quadron, etc etc). There are quite a few soulful Japanese singers out there, but they usually fall into other genres and I shed tears everytime I think about it.

Hello everyone,
 
I'm Rocket. I'm kind of new to these forums. I used to be a lurker under the name shimokita-dreamer back around 2010 but only made a single post and it wasn't an introduction. My friend CAT5 persuaded me to re-join. So without further ado let me introduce myself a little below.
 
I'm a 25 year old male who has recently graduated university and is stuck in a transition period. More importantly, I've been into Japanese music since 2001 via games and anime. However, I hadn't really become acquainted to specific scenes until late 2003 when I discovered the Japanese music communities on Soulseek and the Japanese Music Room forums which have since been shut down. Some of my favourite genres include: Hip Hop, Electronic, Jazz, Post/Mathy-Rock and anything in between. Although I'm open to listening/trying out music in all genres and languages. I'm well aware that this is mainly a VK forum and while VK is not usually in my wheel house I am still open for listening to VK recommendations anyone happens to throw their way. Do know however that it will be very hard to sway me over to the VK side. It is possible though (I'm looking at you Southern Hip Hop). I also have a weakness for sultry female vocals and female drummers. 
 
Anyways, enough about me. It's been a while since I posted on a forum so I may not be too active trying to find my footing and all, but I hope over the coming days, weeks, years, and millenniums! I will be a familiar name. I aspire to be the Rocket in everyones pocket. 
 
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the warm wishes. I'm already starting to feel like I belong here. 
 

 
To see what I've been listening to lately, click here: http://last.fm/user/tombikordek
 
Sometimes I DJ on plug.dj as Under_A_Rocket
 
I used to be a gorilla on TT.FM as Saint Gori-san

Hello everyone,
 
I'm Rocket. I'm kind of new to these forums. I used to be a lurker under the name shimokita-dreamer back around 2010 but only made a single post and it wasn't an introduction. My friend CAT5 persuaded me to re-join. So without further ado let me introduce myself a little below.
 
I'm a 25 year old male who has recently graduated university and is stuck in a transition period. More importantly, I've been into Japanese music since 2001 via games and anime. However, I hadn't really become acquainted to specific scenes until late 2003 when I discovered the Japanese music communities on Soulseek and the Japanese Music Room forums which have since been shut down. Some of my favourite genres include: Hip Hop, Electronic, Jazz, Post/Mathy-Rock and anything in between. Although I'm open to listening/trying out music in all genres and languages. I'm well aware that this is mainly a VK forum and while VK is not usually in my wheel house I am still open for listening to VK recommendations anyone happens to throw their way. Do know however that it will be very hard to sway me over to the VK side. It is possible though (I'm looking at you Southern Hip Hop). I also have a weakness for sultry female vocals and female drummers. 
 
Anyways, enough about me. It's been a while since I posted on a forum so I may not be too active trying to find my footing and all, but I hope over the coming days, weeks, years, and millenniums! I will be a familiar name. I aspire to be the Rocket in everyones pocket. 
 
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the warm wishes. I'm already starting to feel like I belong here. 
 

 
To see what I've been listening to lately, click here: http://last.fm/user/tombikordek
 
Sometimes I DJ on plug.dj as Under_A_Rocket
 
I used to be a gorilla on TT.FM as Saint Gori-san

Hello everyone,
 
I'm Rocket. I'm kind of new to these forums. I used to be a lurker under the name shimokita-dreamer back around 2010 but only made a single post and it wasn't an introduction. My friend CAT5 persuaded me to re-join. So without further ado let me introduce myself a little below.
 
I'm a 25 year old male who has recently graduated university and is stuck in a transition period. More importantly, I've been into Japanese music since 2001 via games and anime. However, I hadn't really become acquainted to specific scenes until late 2003 when I discovered the Japanese music communities on Soulseek and the Japanese Music Room forums which have since been shut down. Some of my favourite genres include: Hip Hop, Electronic, Jazz, Post/Mathy-Rock and anything in between. Although I'm open to listening/trying out music in all genres and languages. I'm well aware that this is mainly a VK forum and while VK is not usually in my wheel house I am still open for listening to VK recommendations anyone happens to throw their way. Do know however that it will be very hard to sway me over to the VK side. It is possible though (I'm looking at you Southern Hip Hop). I also have a weakness for sultry female vocals and female drummers. 
 
Anyways, enough about me. It's been a while since I posted on a forum so I may not be too active trying to find my footing and all, but I hope over the coming days, weeks, years, and millenniums! I will be a familiar name. I aspire to be the Rocket in everyones pocket. 
 
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the warm wishes. I'm already starting to feel like I belong here. 
 

 
To see what I've been listening to lately, click here: http://last.fm/user/tombikordek
 
Sometimes I DJ on plug.dj as Under_A_Rocket
 
I used to be a gorilla on TT.FM as Saint Gori-san

Hello everyone,
 
I'm Rocket. I'm kind of new to these forums. I used to be a lurker under the name shimokita-dreamer back around 2010 but only made a single post and it wasn't an introduction. My friend CAT5 persuaded me to re-join. So without further ado let me introduce myself a little below.
 
I'm a 25 year old male who has recently graduated university and is stuck in a transition period. More importantly, I've been into Japanese music since 2001 via games and anime. However, I hadn't really become acquainted to specific scenes until late 2003 when I discovered the Japanese music communities on Soulseek and the Japanese Music Room forums which have since been shut down. Some of my favourite genres include: Hip Hop, Electronic, Jazz, Post/Mathy-Rock and anything in between. Although I'm open to listening/trying out music in all genres and languages. I'm well aware that this is mainly a VK forum and while VK is not usually in my wheel house I am still open for listening to VK recommendations anyone happens to throw their way. Do know however that it will be very hard to sway me over to the VK side. It is possible though (I'm looking at you Southern Hip Hop). I also have a weakness for sultry female vocals and female drummers. 
 
Anyways, enough about me. It's been a while since I posted on a forum so I may not be too active trying to find my footing and all, but I hope over the coming days, weeks, years, and millenniums! I will be a familiar name. I aspire to be the Rocket in everyones pocket. 
 
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the warm wishes. I'm already starting to feel like I belong here. 
 

 
To see what I've been listening to lately, click here: http://last.fm/user/tombikordek
 
Sometimes I DJ on plug.dj as Under_A_Rocket
 
I used to be a gorilla on TT.FM as Saint Gori-san

Hello everyone,
 
I'm Rocket. I'm kind of new to these forums. I used to be a lurker under the name shimokita-dreamer back around 2010 but only made a single post and it wasn't an introduction. My friend CAT5 persuaded me to re-join. So without further ado let me introduce myself a little below.
 
I'm a 25 year old male who has recently graduated university and is stuck in a transition period. More importantly, I've been into Japanese music since 2001 via games and anime. However, I hadn't really become acquainted to specific scenes until late 2003 when I discovered the Japanese music communities on Soulseek and the Japanese Music Room forums which have since been shut down. Some of my favourite genres include: Hip Hop, Electronic, Jazz, Post/Mathy-Rock and anything in between. Although I'm open to listening/trying out music in all genres and languages. I'm well aware that this is mainly a VK forum and while VK is not usually in my wheel house I am still open for listening to VK recommendations anyone happens to throw their way. Do know however that it will be very hard to sway me over to the VK side. It is possible though (I'm looking at you Southern Hip Hop). I also have a weakness for sultry female vocals and female drummers. 
 
Anyways, enough about me. It's been a while since I posted on a forum so I may not be too active trying to find my footing and all, but I hope over the coming days, weeks, years, and millenniums! I will be a familiar name. I aspire to be the Rocket in everyones pocket. 
 
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the warm wishes. I'm already starting to feel like I belong here. 
 

 
To see what I've been listening to lately, click here: http://last.fm/user/tombikordek
 
Sometimes I DJ on plug.dj as Under_A_Rocket
 
I used to be a gorilla on TT.FM as Saint Gori-san

Hello everyone,
 
I'm Rocket. I'm kind of new to these forums. I used to be a lurker under the name shimokita-dreamer back around 2010 but only made a single post and it wasn't an introduction. My friend CAT5 persuaded me to re-join. So without further ado let me introduce myself a little below.
 
I'm a 25 year old male who has recently graduated university and is stuck in a transition period. More importantly, I've been into Japanese music since 2001 via games and anime. However, I hadn't really become acquainted to specific scenes until late 2003 when I discovered the Japanese music communities on Soulseek and the Japanese Music Room forums which have since been shut down. Some of my favourite genres include: Hip Hop, Electronic, Jazz, Post/Mathy-Rock and anything in between. Although I'm open to listening/trying out music in all genres and languages. I'm well aware that this is mainly a VK forum and while VK is not usually in my wheel house I am still open for listening to VK recommendations anyone happens to throw their way. Do know however that it will be very hard to sway me over to the VK side. It is possible though (I'm looking at you Southern Hip Hop). I also have a weakness for sultry female vocals and female drummers. 
 
Anyways, enough about me. It's been a while since I posted on a forum so I may not be too active trying to find my footing and all, but I hope over the coming days, weeks, years, and millenniums! I will be a familiar name. I aspire to be the Rocket in everyones pocket. 
 
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the warm wishes. I'm already starting to feel like I belong here. 
 

 
To see what I've been listening to lately, click here: http://last.fm/user/tombikordek
 
Sometimes I DJ on plug.dj as Under_A_Rocket
 
I used to be a gorilla on TT.FM as Saint Gori-san

Hello everyone,
 
I'm Rocket. I'm kind of new to these forums. I used to be a lurker under the name shimokita-dreamer back around 2010 but only made a single post and it wasn't an introduction. My friend CAT5 persuaded me to re-join. So without further ado let me introduce myself a little below.
 
I'm a 25 year old male who has recently graduated university and is stuck in a transition period. More importantly, I've been into Japanese music since 2001 via games and anime. However, I hadn't really become acquainted to specific scenes until late 2003 when I discovered the Japanese music communities on Soulseek and the Japanese Music Room forums which have since been shut down. Some of my favourite genres include: Hip Hop, Electronic, Jazz, Post/Mathy-Rock and anything in between. Although I'm open to listening/trying out music in all genres and languages. I'm well aware that this is mainly a VK forum and while VK is not usually in my wheel house I am still open for listening to VK recommendations anyone happens to throw their way. Do know however that it will be very hard to sway me over to the VK side. It is possible though (I'm looking at you Southern Hip Hop). I also have a weakness for sultry female vocals and female drummers. 
 
Anyways, enough about me. It's been a while since I posted on a forum so I may not be too active trying to find my footing and all, but I hope over the coming days, weeks, years, and millenniums! I will be a familiar name. I aspire to be the Rocket in everyones pocket. 
 
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the warm wishes. I'm already starting to feel like I belong here. 
 

 
To see what I've been listening to lately, click here: http://last.fm/user/tombikordek
 
Sometimes I DJ on plug.dj as Under_A_Rocket
 
I used to be a gorilla on TT.FM as Saint Gori-san

I can definitely get behind some new TAMTAM material.