Kamikita Ken's Official Fanclub & DVD Release & Live Announcement!!!! (I'm supper excited at the moment)

I haven't been updating the blog for so long and suddenly, all these big news came out so I couldn't just sit back and write nothing!

ココロツドイ～Kamikita Ken's Official Fanclub

Ken-chan has finally created an official fanclub! I'm really happy that now this fandom has a name! ココロツドイ (Kokoro Tsudoi), which can be translated into "Where the hearts gather". 

Sounds just like Ken-chan <3 

ココロツドイWhere the hearts gather

Kokoro Tsudoi's member will have access to special news, presents and Ken-chan's novel! I'm sure it's gonna take me ages before I can actually understand everything he writes though! The member will also have priority for live ticket as well! 

Haven't applied yet so I don't know the process very well but I'll do it soon and might do a tutorial just in case anyone want to know. 

Head over here to join the fanclub 

生きゆく街に海をみる LIVE DVD Release

There is a DVD for April's concert!!!!!!

I was seriously shock when saw this on twitter! I've been complaining so much about how his voice sounds amazingly better singing live in comparison to recorded songs. All I wished for was a CD of his live performance, and now, we're going to have the DVD!!!!

Ken-chan barely reveals his face in front of the public. Except some occasions during live streaming, he made sure to cover his face somehow. However, this time, he's going to release a live DVD. To be honest, I'm not sure how he feels about this, but obviously this and the fanclub, are good signs for his career! 

There will be autograph sessions and mini-live for the DVD as well! 

生きゆく街に海を見る～Ikiyuku Machi ni Umi wo Miru～ 

Release date: 6th September 2017 

You can order it from Ken-chan's official Shop (international shipping is also available) or CdJapan

For the time being, I'm gonna replay the teaser over and over again! 

海を渡る者～Acoustic Live in September

海を渡る者～Umi wo Wataru Mono～A special acoustic live will be held on 1st September to celebrate the release of Ken-chan's first live DVD. 

And, finally...I'll be living in Japan once again pretty soon, and I'll be able to attend all these events so let's me know if any of you want to go to any of them, we can probably go together~

As always, please support the artist by purchasing original copy on KK's official Shop, CdJapan, AmazonJapan, or Itunes.

Visit KK's official site and Youtube channel for more information.

Wagakki Band live report!

I had a chance to attend Wagakki Band's live at Nippon Budokan a few days ago and it was amazing. (Sorry for my limited vocabulary as I'm sure I have used the same word for all the live reports)

New Year Party in Nippon Budokan

~Akatsuki no Utage ~

Many vocaloid and J-rock fans might have heard of Wagakki Band before. First of all, they have a great visual. Wagakki is means Japanese traditional musical instrument but guess what, they are a rock band! That's what make them unique. I knew Wagakki Band before knowing vocaloid and was in love with their verson of the famous Senbonzakura. At that time I actually thought Wagakki Band's one was the original until I found out about vocaloid. As I have said before, I don't like rock. I'm more on the ballad side of music but oh well, there are always certain exceptions, right? The main reason for me to like Wagakki Band is because of they combine the tradition and modern smoothly together. Japanese culture in general is something like that, so there is no way I wouldn't love a band who make use of both of Japan's traditional and modern culture. Beside, their music is very appealing. I love Yuko's voice so much I don't really care if they were playing rock or ballad or vocaloid.
Before attending the live, I love Wagakki Band as an artist, which means I only listen to their music.
I didn't know much about the member but

I love Yuko's voice (of course). If you had a chance to listen to any of their songs, you will know why many people fall in love with her beautiful voice. Her voice when singing live is a little soft, but only for rock songs which have pretty loud bgm. When singing a ballad or my favorite Yoshiwara Lament, my heart went doki doki so many time. Her choreography was also so charming for a moment I forgot that she is a singer.

 Wasabi's coolness. I have been following Wagakki Band for a year now and my reaction every single time watching their MVs is 'OMG Wasabi is soo cool. Such an ikemen <3 <3 <3'. While in the MVs, it is hard to see his drum techniques so I didn't really focus on that. But after the live, I know that Wasabi has wayyyy more than just his look!

Together with Kurona, who plays wadaiko (Japanese drum), these two drummers showed us the most passionate and hardcore (lol) drumming techniques  ever! I absolutely love their duet drum performance during the live.

Kurona may be the coolest man in the world while playing wadaiko but his characteristic is simply baka! And wayy tooo cute!

Asa-san's unique charms. For some reason I have been attracted to Asa-san since knowing the band. I think I finally know why after the live. He is amazing! His passion for music and the way he performs on the stage. And just recently I figured out he wrote Yoshiwara Lament, one of my favorite song on Niconico.

Wagakki Band isn't complete without Kiyoshi, playing the koto. He looked so different in hakama so I couldn't recognize him at first.

Shamisen, played by Beni Ninagawa.

Shakuhachi, performed by Daisuke Kaminaga (the fan and I call him Dai-san in short). My favorite Japanese musical instrument must be shakuhachi. And similar to what Dai-san said "I never thought playing shakuachi on stage in a rock band like this". But I strongly believe, without shakuhachi, Wagakki Band's music will sound very different. 

Machiya, the main guitar and second vocalist of Wagakki Band. The lyric of his solo song 郷愁の空 (Kyoshu no sora) is touching that I would have busted in tears if I didn't go to the concert with my friends. Beside he was the only one who goes on stage with bare feet. 

I love how the whole Budokan stadium turned into Wagakki Band's purple, and the encore chant that their fans known by heart. The last song, Senbonzakura was like a peak. A perfect way to finish such a wonderful live. I think many people know Wagakki Band through their version of Senbonzakura. That maybe why when that song was performed, the audience seemed to be a little more excited than other songs.

Thank you for such an unforgettable night! As Yuko-san said, 'Wagakki Band will always be this 8 people'. And please, don't forget that although the fan base might not be large enough, there are many fans waiting for Wagakki Band in Australia and Vietnam too!

P/s: I wish I could get the fan or keychain too but they were sold out so only got the must-have in all live in Japan, towel!

All stage photo is provided by CoFesta.

Kamikata Ken's Release tour ヒトスクイ ~Report~

I'm absolutely in love with Kamikita Ken's voice and music! (I'll call him either KK or Ken-chan in my post to make it short)
I know it's not a big deal to some people but for me, I don't usually buy singles or albums, I only buy them when I want to support the artist. Now everything is available on the internet (thanks to all the generosity of internet users <3), you don't need to pay but still get what you want. So the decision to buy live ticket, goods and two albums is equal to my tiny little support I can give him. As a token of my appreciation! I came across KK in the same way with other utaites. Maybe because I personally like this kind of voice so I immediately get attracted after a few songs. Then because I always focus more on the lyrics and most of his songs are extremely meaningful to me, I became his fan. Similar to Sekai no Owari's songs, I can relate to the music KK wrote (not all, ofc!). I'm planning to translate as many as I can of his songs.
Should get back on track, the Release tour!
It was unexpectedly amazing. The live was held at a small live house which approx 350~400ppl can get in. I never thought there were more than 300ppl coming for the live and yet, it was way more than that! I stood right in the middle at the back area (that is usually a little higher than the front). Thanks god the girls in front weren't too high to block my view, and yes, I got a full view of him. I love his voice so much when listening to the records and he even sounded better performing live. The problem with many utaites (from my friends' p.o.v) is that they don't always sound as good in real life. But KK's voice the other day was too powerful. I have been to quite a few live performances since coming to Japan so I know how noisy things can be. From the audio systems to the crowd's voice/cheer/scream, which make it hard to hear the singer's voice sometime. However, I think anyone who went the other day would agree that KK's voice was super clear. Ken-chan, how could you manage to sing much much better live??? The moment he sung Kokorone心根 my heart melted. Never imaged he would sing that 2.33 song (my fav) live, then continued with Yuragi ゆらぎ, the song that makes me fall in love with his music. Both my heart and ears melted by then! I think my tears busted out a little. The two songs that hurt me the most, the two most beautiful songs, the two that give me a lot of support were sung together! You have such amazing sense of music Ken-chan!
When I told mom that Ken-chan sounded not the same but even better than his Cd, mom was like 'He might lip-sync'. 'Lol no way, he messed up quite a lot'. A simple live house with very few setups, an unprofessional singer who sometime forgot the lyrics or unable to start a song properly. But more than anything was a man who went after his dream. A man who wrote powerful songs that have been supporting me since I knew about him. I'm sure I wrote this somewhere but I love people performing with the brightest smile! Well, when you sing emotional songs you can't really smile, but you can still feel if they enjoyed what they were doing or not through a live performance, somehow.
Thank you for writing songs with healing power. They are not super cheerful, but they are too realistic they hurt sometimes. At the moment all I can do is attempt to translate your songs into English with my poor language skill. It's suck that I prob unable to come to the next live because I'll go back to Melbourne and uni exam will be very close by then. But I'll always support you, in all the possible ways.

P/s: Ken-chan, you should know the phrase "I don't always write fun songs" is wrong...totally wrong, because it's more like "I write fun songs on rare occasions"

TIMM 3rd day~ OLDCODEX~

(taken from my personal tumblr)

*Oldcodex is a rock band with Suzuki Tatsuhisa as the vocalist (Free! and Utapri’s fan should know who is Tatsun!)  and Yorke. as the painter (yup, the painter in a rock band!)

The 3rd and also the final night at TIMM 2015 was OLDCODEX! I’m Tatsun’s fan, so ofc when they said I could go to Oldcodex’s live I seriously was like ‘OMG, BANZAI. Tatsun here I comeeeeeeeeeee’. Rock is definitely not my thing, altho I said if the lyrics are meaningful, i don't care what the genre is…but still, rock hurts my ears too much so (.><.). I know Tatsun as a seiyuu (voice actor), and I listen to some songs by Oldcodex (Free! op for 2 seasons). Anw, the live went wayyyy better than what I’ve expected. The seiyuu Tatsun, the singer Tatsun, the rocker Tatsun….all of those are def the Tatsun that I love <3

Favorite quotes from Tatsun during the performance
“There are buyers from oversea up on the 2nd floor today. I don’t ryl know what’s going on and how thing’s gonna work, but anw, we are here to do what we always do, MUSIC. THAT’S IT”
“There are songs that only we can perform, there are paintings that only us can create, and there is this view in front of me, with you guys there! Have no ideas how we all do it but it’s so FREAKIN FUN! That’s why you guys are our treasure!”
“I don’t care if it’s rock, pop or anime song, music is music, as long as we can do it, nothing else matters”

Anyone who went to a live performance would know that the bgm is super loud. Unless they sing a very slow-pace ballad song, the bgm is so damn loud, and its even worse when it comes to rock. I also went to Scandal/ androp’s live, tbh I hardly heard Scandal’s voice when they were singing. But Tatsun’s voice was so strong and powerful you (or at least I) could hear it clearly despite the bgm. Well, Tatsun is a seiyuu, so obviously his voice has to be strong, right?!!! I was so swayed by the way he sang, the way he poured all his heart into each songs and they way he shouted at the top of his lungs. With that tiny body (he looks too skinny irl, pls eat more Tatsun!), he was able to heat up the crowd with his music and passion! *if I continued here I’ll mostly go on with my voice fetish for Tatsun so yea, move on to the next point*

However, Oldcodex isnt only about Tatsun. A band can’t be completed with out drummer (Yamagata Ryo), bass (Nakamura Taizo), and guess what Oldcodex has a painter too! At the start I questioned what would Yorke. be doing on the stage….like, he will paint…yea so what? Why would you need a painter up there anw?? But after that live, I come to understand the reason. Yorke. simply does what he wants, to express himself through art with (Tatsun’s voice) and Oldcodex’s music. All the paints Yorke. painted had something ryl, idk how to describe since I’m not an artistic person, but they were amazing. Bold and wild, and the contrast between light and dark by his choice of colors. And Yorke. was super cute! Who would have imagined a person, wearing sunglasses, fairly long hair and fringe, in that hip-hop clothes would be so soft and cute <3. Together with Tatsun and the band members, he kinda completed the picture! There is no concrete definition for neither art nor passion!

The fans were…uhmmmmmmmm <3 <3 <3. Like Tatsun said, they are Oldcodex’s pride! You would immediately understand what have a group done seeing their fans. From my observation, all Oldcodex has been doing are simply throwing passion and courage into their fans (like real hard!!!! lol). I know I’m bias bc of Tatsun but you have to see how their fans act!!! As we sat on the guest floor, the fans simply took everyone up there as buyers (from oversea). Tatsun told the fans to turn back when the performance finished so that ppl on the guest floor could see what Oldcodex’s pride look like! And they did, turned back with the most beautiful and loudest cheers ever! After taking a photo w the fans I got too high and screamed ‘I love Tatsun!!!!!! You guys are the best’ like three or four times! That’s something I would never do in when I’m together with some acquaintances….and yet, Oldcodex was able to make me do it!

I’d never forget the ~90mins in side Zepp DriverCity livehouse where I got to see real music and passion! 本当にお疲れ様でした。

TIMM 2015 1st day～SEKAI NO OWARI～

(taken from my personal tumblr)

Went to Zepp DriverCity 3 nights in a row as I was given this wonderful chance to watch live performances of Sekai no Owari (sekaowa), Scandal/androp, and OLDCODEX. I’m sorry as I wont write any report on Scandal and androp bc tbh I wasnt really impressed, but more like I aint their fan so…sorry abt that.

Ok, so first day was sekaowa…….one word AMAZING. Cant remember how many times did I scream inside my head くそ、何これ?? すごい過ぎ、ヤベー
I know abt sekaowa a while ago while watching music station. My honest opinion was ‘weirdo’ but their music isnt bad tho its not my style. That was around 2012～2013, when my Japanese was pretty bad (it still is now). Later on when I listened to their songs once again earlier this year….and yup I understood bits and pieces of the lyrics so obviously I fell for their music. I will write more abt their music in the next post so that this one wont end up too long to read.

Back to the story, their live at TIMM 2015. Sekaowa is famous for their unique visual. They turned the live house at Zepp into a haunted house, in which Love kept referred as ‘their mansion’. They also had 2 stage concepts, the western vs Japanese Halloween decoration. The visual alone was enough to showed you how much effort they put into making their fans happy. Fukase’s voice was….idk how to describe it but it isn’t much diff from how he sounds like in their recordings. But more than that, what ryl filled my heart were their warm and bright smile. Saori-chan, Nakaji, Fukase…well not too sure abt Love bc of that freakin MASK (lol), but maa, I believe his smile was as bright as other members. Only people who love what they are doing can smile like that. I have noticed myself saying ‘When people enjoy themselves, they have the power to empower others. And those people have the brightest smile!’ The way they enjoyed themselves up on that stage shouted out ‘hey you guys, we are doing what we like so damn much, and we want to give you at least just a little courage to keep on trying until you can find what you truly enjoy!’ Idk how others interpret it but seriously I was abt to cry. If i went to the live alone, I would have cried so bad for sure. 

And the fans…wtf was that encore chant huh???? Guys dont make me burst into tears pls. 

I just found out that they were doing a live in Taiwan that afternoon before TIMM…お疲れ様でした。 

Also, happy belated birthday Nakaji! 

I wish for you guys' success and pls pls step out of Japan…and Asia too since…yea im in Australia (;o;)