*click on pictures to see it full size
Latest Single: Prism
I started really really loving M-Flo around January. I had heard all of their songs before, but for some reason they just hit me hard and now I listen to them constantly. The group is made up of Lisa (vocal), Verbal (rap), and Taku (sound producer). Lisa's voice is beautiful and Verbal's rapping is really quite amazing. Unlike a lot of J-Pop artists, M-Flo's English is flawless. In all their fast songs, Verbal raps in English and Japanese...it's totally unique. If you don't like the overly Japanese styles of some J-Pop artists, then M-Flo would be perfect for you because they're really westernized, yet still incorporate that Japanese flair in their tracks.
Songs To Download:
1. Come Back To Me
2. Orbit-3
3. Come Again
4. Been So Long
5. Hands
6. Follow Me
Latest Single: Corazon
Da Pump is a group made up of four guys, Ken, Issa, Shinobu, and Yukinari. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of "boy bands" in Japan, they are the second most vibrant of all (Smap is, of course, the first). The first time I saw them was when the video "Com'on Be My Girl" was shown. They sing mostly "hip-pop" songs and their sound is different from a lot of the other J-Pop groups cuz they actually rap and dance well.
Songs To Download:
1. Rhapsody In Blue
2. Com'on Be My Girl!
3. We Can't Stop The Music
4. If...
5. Mo' Fight, Mo' Bright
Latest Single: Stay Away
Okay, so they might look a little weird, but their music is not the same as the way they look (if that makes any sense.) L'Arc~En~Ciel, meaning "rainbow" in french, is what you would call a "visual kei" group. The groups made up of (from left to right) Tetsu, Ken, Yukihiro, Hyde. Visual Kei music is unlike anything you've heard of before. It's not entirely rock, but it's not entirely pop...it's in a genre of its own. I hated visual kei groups before, but that was because I didn't like the way they dressed. Then, I saw L'Arc's video "Stay Away" when I was in Taiwan and I was totally hooked onto their music. Their video is probably one of the coolest videos I've seen and the song is great, too. They're my favorite visual kei group...Hyde is so cool.
Songs To Download:
1. Stay Away
2. Heaven's Drive
3. Honey
4. Natsu No Yuutsu
5. Dive To Blue
Latest Single: fukai mori
Do As Infinity (DAI) is one of those groups who, in my opinion, consistantly put out good songs. Every single song on their album "Break of Dawn" is good. It even has two bonus acoustic songs tacked onto the end if you have the first edition. They kind of give off a British rock vibe, yet they also sound pop-ish at the same time. This group is comprised of Van Tomiko (vocal), Nagao Dai (guitar/composer), and Owatari Ryo (guitar/vocal). I haven't gotten their newest album yet, but I've heard over half of the songs on there and can say that it is pretty good, but if you're just starting out, then I'd recommend buying "Break of Dawn" first, and if you like it, then buy "New World."
Songs To Download:
1. Tangerine Dream
2. Heart
3. Oasis
4. Another
5. New World
Da Pump Offical Site (in Japanese)
L'Arc~En~Ciel - Fourth Avenue Cafe
Do As Infinity
Do As Infinity Official Site (mostly in Japanese)
J-Pop/J-Rock Guide
M-Flo Official Site
**All the songs can be downloaded from J-Pop MP3 Searcher
