MUCC fans!

Rejoice!

*stops copying Sammeh*

Ok, thanks to lost_prelude over at JRockRevolution I found out that MUCC announced that they will also be performing at the Taste of Chaos 2008, from February to May, for all 46 dates.  I just checked their official site, it’s all true.  Two JRock bands in Taste of Chaos!

I will post more info once all of the dates and locations have been announced.
Stay tuned–don’t miss an awesome tour!

Versailles Instore Event/Talk Show

“Versailles will be at ZEALLINK in shibuya,Tokyo on Nov 25th .
It’s a talk show .

We will upload some photos for the people who cannot come along.

x versailles”
This message was taken from a bulletin they made with their official Myspace.

Even if you aren’t in Japan, or in Tokyo, or for whatever reasons that result in you not being able to attend, keep an eye out for the photos! ^^

D’espa Fans!!

Rejoice!!

According to an announcement just made to their fanclub the band will  be touring in America starting in Feb. on the “taste of CHAOS 2008″ tour throughout 46 United States cities!

That’s all the details I have right now.

But omg,  talk about your fangirl announcements!!

[Album Review]L’Arc~en~Ciel–KISS

L’Arc~en~Ciel formed in February of 1991 by Tetsu, who also chose the band name.

Hiro, the guitarist, left the band in 1992 and was replace by Ken. In the same year Pero, the drummer left, and was later replaced by Sakura in 1993. L’Arc released their first album, Dune, in 1993.Sakura decided to leave the band for personal reasons. After a short break was replaced by Yukihiro, and released the single, Niji.

After the release of Clicked Singles Best 13 in 2001, L’Arc~en~Ciel went on a hiatus with each member going onto their own solo project. Luckily for fans they came back three years later with a single, Ready Steady Go, and another new album, Smile. L’Arc also released some music under P’Unk~en~Ciel, similar to their former alter band D’Arc~en~Ciel.
Sites:
L’Arc~en~Ciel OHP

• SEVENTH HEAVEN: This song is an upbeat, almost poppy number, and sounds kind of like a few of Hyde’s solo works. The song itself is alright, I suppose, but would’ve been better stuck somewhere in the middle of the cd instead of right at the front.
• Pretty Girl: This song is another upbeat poppy song, and while I like upbeat and poppy I guess it’s just…feels out of place. This song puts me in the mind of David Bowie, and not the good Loving the Alien era bowie…oh no. The really sucky Jean Genie era Bowie. The chorus is straight forward. And repetitive. And repetitive.
• MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM: This song is full of fail on so many levels. It’s a very simple song, and sounds so much like some of the other pop stuff I’ve heard. And Hyde, dear, your voice should never ever, ever never, for the love of all that’s holy, go that high when you sing. Leave falsetto to those who know how to use it sweetie.
• Sunadokei: This song has the deep voiced gentle singing that I love Hyde for. The opening is great, but again the song sounds so much like so many other recent releases, that it’s easily lost. This has been heard so much recently that I knew pretty much where the melody was going before it went there.
• Spiral: Yay! An upbeat song that doesn’t sound poppy! This song is ok, not as bad as some of the others, though still not great. It’s melody change around the chorus is pretty good, but I know I’ve heard something similar recently, though I’m not sure by whom.
• ALONE EN LA VIDA: This song is pretty, and probably the first song on the album that I like. This song has a pretty good harmony, and the synthesized violins (or whatever that is in the back), don’t actually kill it, but add to it.
• DAYBREAK’S BELL: Ahhh here we go. I like the bassline in this song, and the flow of the vocals. It’s got some interesting harmonies, between keyboards and other instruments, though Hyde’s falsetto almost fails it.
• Umbie: This starts as a piano ballad, and as such it’s pretty good. The drum machine in the beginning even sound ok. This song has a nice deep feel to it, and is probably my favorite song on the whole album (that’s not saying much, is it?).
• THE BLACK ROSE: Again, another ok song. Not great, not bad. The brass instruments don’t fit in well, though.
• Link -KISS Mix-: We now return you to your regularly scheduled visukei suckage. This song wouldn’t be out of place in a Carpenter’s Album. Honestly.
• Yuki no Ashiato: Another weak ballad-esque song that even fails at that. The organ, or piano, or whatever that is, only drags this song further into the void that is suck. Hyde’s emotional vocals are about the only saving grace for this song.
• Hurry Xmas: This song has a very redeeming PV. It’s really the only reason I like it. Drunken Santa’s rock. The song itself is jazzy, and upbeat, but as a whole isn’t very good. The PV rocks, though. Yeah.

L’Arc~en~Ciel–KISS.rar
Rating: 3 out of 10.
Sounds like: Ass. Ok, no. It has it’s moments, but overall, I’m not sure the boys in L’arc know what they sound like anymore, and quite frankly, I don’t either. There are too many different sounds on this album to really qualify as any one sound.
Listening Level: I would recommend this for everyone. Mostly because everyone should at least be familiar with L’arc.

Happy Birthday Hide-zou!

We may be in a mess from the big jump into independence, buuuuuut~
that doesn’t mean we will miss wonderful Hide-zou’s birthday!

Happy birthday Hide-zou!
I hope your day is off to a great start. ^^

See Rina, told ya we wouldn’t miss it! ^^

[single review] Awoi–naku naranai uta

Awoi is a 4 peice from Osaka. Consisting of Otogoi on vocals, Sho. on Guitars, Saki on bass, and Hiro on drums, this band has a unique style. Their new single, Naku naranai uta, is a mix of screaming, screeching vocals and soft, crooning singing.

Otogoi has a very intersting voice, reminiscent of girugamesh’s Satoshi at times, and MUCC’s Tatsurou other times. His lyrics are interesting and to the point, it usually isn’t a problem to figure out what he’s talking about.

Sites:
Awoi OHP
Awoi LJ Comm (this comm has tons of information and even member diary entry and song translations).

Now, on with the single.

The first song on this single, Suzumushi, sounds very much like a young Girugumesh. With driving guitars and drums, the bass fits in here well, though isn’t a visible as it could be. The vocals alternate between screaming growls and Tatsurou-esque singing. The ending of this song always tricks me into thinking that I’m listening to it over again.

The second song, Kokode Tozashite, is a bit darker in sound than Suzumushi, and once again is similar in sound to Girugamesh. The screaming and growling happens alot less in this song, and the vocal harmonies add depth. The instrumentals aren’t brilliant, but they fit well, and let Otogoi’s vocals shine through.

The third and final song, Ikiru Tame no Uta, is very punk sounding and again, has very simple, straight forward instrumental parts, which allow the vocals to shine a bit.

Awoi–Naku naranai uta.rar
Rating: 6 out of 10.
Sounds like: Girugamesh if their vocalist was Tatsurou.
Listening Level: I would recommend this for a beginner Jrock fan. If you like growling and singing in your vocals, and simple yet good instruments then Awoi is for you. They are rock with an edge of punk.

Howdy everyone!

Hi there! Welcome to Independent Label a site for all that is J rock and other Asian music!

You’ll remember us from Jrock && The Visual Kei, which is currently on hiatus. Much in the same vein as the previous blog, we intend you keep you up to date on releases, concerts, and other happenings in the J music world.

Please excuse the current mess, as we organize ourselves and get started.

There will be a few changes from JRandVK, namely, for me anyway, rotations. Instead of a bi-weekly rotation, I’m going to be doing weekly (or more then that depending on what’s happening) album reviews. I’ll also continue doing podcasts, but these will be more music focused then news focused.

Each review will have three categories, somewhere near the end of the post.  They will be rating (on a scale of 1 – 10, how I felt the album/single shaped up), Sounds like (which other artists I think this band sounds like), and Listener Level (this was suggest on JRandVK and I never got around to implementing it.  Basically, what level of fan might like the music, also what overall genre they are.).  All of these things are my opinions.

Remember support the artists, and enjoy your stay here at Indie Label.

Under Construction

Independent Label is currently under some heavy duty construction.

Just thought I would edit a little note in.

Back on JRockrae, well, I didn’t have much in the way of projects, it was just work, work, work.
I’m really getting into Indies bands, and love helping them with promotion–even though the bands won’t ever know of some girl called Jenn, that does her best to help them out–so, I would really love to start my own little Indies Project.

I’m unsure of how often it’ll be, maybe just once a month…

Think of it this way, there’s a chance of it being a win-win situation, you win by learning of new bands to love, I win by helping them out.

One more thing, now being in Independent Label, I would really love to try being a bit more pro, as accurate as possible, with news and information in right away.

Everyone, thanks for coming over.
Lets do our best!