This entry summarizes the release posts made over the last few weeks. I am really not impressed with how the US fall release schedule is shaping up. Every time I look at what’s coming up, I have to stifle a yawn. So this round-up is 99 percent Japanese.
Hajime Chitose is set to release a new double A-side single, titled "Anata ga Koko nite Hoshii/Miyori no Mori", on Aug. 22, so says Oops Music. The four-track release also includes the coupling tracks "Bojou Love is a many splendored thing" (could it be a cover?) and "Ushinawareta Monotachi e". Each track is associated with a TV tie-in, which I won’t go into detail. It’s been a little more than a year since Hajime released her previous album, Hanadairo.
Quruli streams its forthcoming new album, Tanz Walzer, for three days on its Myspace page, so says ITmedia News (via Oops Music.) From June 22-24, the complete album will be available for preview on Myspace before its official release on June 27. Although standard practice in the US, album previews on Myspace are not common in Japan. Of course, I hear the album has already been leaked on the Evil Sharing Networks anyway …
TOKIE, who’s played bass for RIZE, AJICO and LOSALIOS, has formed a new band named unkie, and they release their debut album on July 11, titled The Price of Fame. unkie also includes guitarist Aoki Yutaka (VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE, downy) and Kido Hiroshi (JUDE, Fujifabric). More details are available over at Bounce.com. The band’s web site isn’t quite launched, and a quick web search this morning didn’t unearth any sound clips. I’m really curious to hear what this band sounds like.
Not sure if anyone noticed one of the comments on this entry, but it announced the release of a new Shiina Ringo single in August. A few more details have emerged from Bounce.com.
The new single is titled "Killer Tune", and it hits stores on Aug. 22. The title track is not a cover of the Straightener song. In fact, the music was written by keyboardist Izawa Ichiyo with lyrics by Shiina Ringo.
Tokyo Jihen is set to release a new album later in the fall. The Bounce article mentions the material for the album was culled from demos made by the band. They embark on the "Spa & Treatment" tour in October.
I bet if I visit any number of J-pop forums, news of a new single by Utada Hikaru will be prominently featured. CD Japan sent an e-mail about it, and Bounce.com reported on it as well. So I may as well pipe in. The still-untitled, three-track single will include "Kiss & Cry", which was used in a promotion for a Nissan Cup Noodle, and it will be released on August 29.
Billboard.com reports Emmylou Harris is set to release a boxed set and a new album in the coming months. The article didn’t mention a release date for the new album, but if she’s still working on it, I don’t imagine it won’t see a release till early in 2008. The boxed set, on the other hand, has a Sept. 18 street date.
Unlike the 1996 career retrospective box Portraits, this new boxed set seems to have more in the way of rarities and outtakes. Harris mentions some outtakes from some trio recordings with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. I’m hoping there’s some leftover material from the Wrecking Ball sessions.
As for the new album, Harris says fans can get a both Emmylou Harris the songwriter and Emmylou Harris the interpreter. The album will be a mix of her own songs and interpretations of others.
the brilliant green is coming out of hiatus, so says Bounce.com. The trio is slated to release a new single, tentatively titled "Stand By Me", on July 3. On the same day, the title track will be featured as the ending theme for the drama, Tantei Gakuen. the brilliant green debuted 10 years ago, but for the last 5 years, the band has been on hiatus as members pursued side projects.
CD Japan had sent an e-mail a few weeks back about a new Hatakeyama Miyuki album coming in July, and at the time, I couldn’t find any information about it, not even on the singer’s web site. So I waited until something hit Bounce.com or Oops Music, which it has. Jesse Harris, who wrote Norah Jones’ Grammy award-winning hit "Don’t Know Why", produced the album, titled Summer Clouds, Summer Rain. The album, which hits stores July 4, also includes covers of Hank Williams, Billie Holiday, Neil Young and Marisa Monte.
I’m puzzled by Jones’ outrageous success, because her albums put me to sleep. As much as I enjoyed Hatakeyama’s cover of "Don’t Know Why" on Fragile, she too tends to get lulled by the adult contemporary/light jazz trap. The fact Harris is behind the console of this album doesn’t give me much hope it’ll be any better than Reflection. The only good tracks off that album were all stashed on the single "Ai ni Melody".
JPOPSUKI, don’t fail me now …
CD Japan sent an e-mail about it, and Kevin mentioned it in a comment. Bounce.com is also reporting it: Tokyo Jihen releases a new single on July 11, titled "OSCA". The Bounce articles indicates the band members will be more involved with the songwriting, while Shiina devotes her time to lyrics and vocals. The music for "OSCA", in fact, was written by guitarist Ukigumo. This new method of working should make the band’s third album quite interesting. It’s been a year and a half since Tokyo Jihen released its second album, Otona (Adult).