Revolution – The Shoegaze Revival Compilation

Talk of a shoegaze “revival” tends to rub some folks the wrong way.  “Shoegaze never really went away” is what purists will say, while others cite the long-awaited release of My Bloody Valentine’s M B V in 2013 as the moment that the shoegaze ball got rolling at a steady pace again.  It’s a topic of debate, but whatever the case may be, one undeniable fact is that shoegaze is a thing and a lot of people are doing it really well all over the world.  To showcase that very fact, on February 11th North Wales-based indie label Ear to Ear Records in collaboration with Indonesia’s Gerpfast Kolektif will release Revolution – The Shoegaze Revival, a global compilation album including tracks from a whopping 30 shoegaze bands from 16 different countries.

Talk of a shoegaze “revival” tends to rub some folks the wrong way.  “Shoegaze never really went away” is what purists will say, while others cite the long-awaited release of My Bloody Valentine’s M B V in 2013 as the moment that the shoegaze ball got rolling at a steady pace again.  It’s a topic of debate, but whatever the case may be, one undeniable fact is that shoegaze is a thing and a lot of people are doing it really well all over the world.  To showcase that very fact, on February 11th North Wales-based indie label Ear to Ear Records in collaboration with Indonesia’s Gerpfast Kolektif will release Revolution – The Shoegaze Revival, a global compilation album including tracks from a whopping 30 shoegaze bands from 16 different countries.

The mammoth comp features some of the best bands the shoegaze world has to offer – including Japan’s very own Spool, Ether Feels, and Magao – and will be available for FREE DOWNLOAD via Ear to Ear’s Bandcamp page.  To whet your appetite until the actual release day, 15 tracks are currently available for a listen at said page.  Two hours of brilliant tunes in the form of one release await you in February and if you are a fan of the genre, new or old, you should probably start getting excited.

Here is a full list of the bands that will be taking part:

shoegazecomp2

Also there’s this neat teaser video put together by DKFM’s Greg Wilson:

Muso Planet volume 7 coming 11/1!

Muso Planet will be out one week from today on Saturday, November 11.  It’s our first issue in a while and as always, will feature some really cool bands from all over the world.  The band list is as follows:

Dead Leaf Echo (USA)
magic love (Japan)
JAGUWAR (Germany)
Puna (Peru)
Man in Rug (New Zealand)
CHICAGO TOYS (Chile)
Divided (Czech Republic)
rev rev rev (Italy)

[kiirorecords & JAPAN SHOEGAZER FESTIVAL V.A]

Over the last month or so the anticipation of this year’s Japan Shoegazer Festival has been building.  This year’s edition of the event has reverted back to it’s previous two city format, with the first leg taking place in Osaka and the second in Tokyo.  This year’s Shoegazer Festival features a whopping thirty artists (twelve in Osaka and eighteen in Tokyo) and a ton of DJs, shaping up to be the biggest events in the fest’s history.
A couple months ago event organizer and guitarist of annual headliner Lemon’s Chair, Masashi Imanishi announced a that a special promotion with net label Kiiro Records would take place at this year’s festival.  Around that time Kiiro Records, whose catalog consists largely of free-to-download pop releases, put out its most recent shoegaze compilation titled Forever Shoegaze.  While details were completely unknown at the time, it was assumed that some sort of collaborative release was in the works.  Today the details were announced via Imanishi’s blog.

People who attend the event will receive a free copy of the Japan Shoegazer Festival-exclusive compilation, kiirorecords & JAPAN SHOEGAZER FESTIVAL V.A.  The full track list of the limited edition CD-R was released today as well.  Though it does include some songs that have appeared on previous Kiiro Records comps, it marks the first physical release by the label.  It’s a pretty nice bonus for folks who are able to attend what has to date been a really enjoyable day of music.  One can asuume that when the Japan Shoegazer Festival concludes, this release will make its way to Bandcamp as well.  The track listing for the CD is as folows:

01. SAPPY / 天国のフィーリング
02. adgreen. / mieko maiko 
03. The Feedback Radio’s / smile 
04. HUSH / Dumb
05. kazuma / I am waiting last summer 
06. penguin airways / heatdown
07. PARASOL/ Sometimes 
08. 17歳とベルリンの壁 / サーチライト 
09. Cuicks / warp to the next door 
10. daisyblue / early wing 
11. ヨシオテクニカ / 夜汽車で見た古い夢 Old dream takes somewhere 
12. magao / 海へ沈む
13. magu / 轟音少女はうつむかない 
14. なゆたのつぶて / 星座
15. the Jinn’s / din
16. nina likes light blue skirt / Wednesday
17. cosmos / 素晴らしい世界

To check out more of Kiiro Records’ releases visit their Bandcamp page.

 

Kiiro Records’ New Compilation “FOREVER SHOEGAZE”


Japanese net-label Kiiro Records has released a new compilation titled FOREVER SHOEGAZE.  The label, which has released a lot of great comps in the first half-year or so of its existence usually focuses on “listenable pop music”, but this time around (as the title would entail) it is all shoegaze.  The comp features 11 Japanese bands and 4 foreign artists.

As with all of Kiiro Records’ releases, FOREVER SHOEGAZE is 100% free to download via their Bandcamp site.  It’s been a highly anticipated release and the allotted free downloads have gone quite quickly, so if you see the “700 yen” tag, don’t panic.  Just scroll to the bottom of the Bandcamp page and click on the mirror to the free download.

While you’re at it check out some of the other releases they have thrown together.

http://kiirorecords.bandcamp.com/album/forever-shoegaze

Muso Planet volume 6 Now Available! 第6号配布中!!

Here it is!  Muso Planet volume 6 is now available for download.  We had a slight content change at the last minute but are pleased with the way the issue turned out.  Thank you to everyone involved!  The issue can be downloaded here.
Featuring:

★Sounds Better With Reverb☆
★Barcelona Indie Label Siete Senoritas Gritando☆
★A Review of 2014 In Latin America☆

And the tracklist:
1. Flying Vaginas (Italy) – “Happiness and Flour”
2. Loomer (Brazil) – “Road to Japan”
3. the.city (Japan) – “Fall”
4. Ummagma (Ukraine) – “Risky”
5. Surfer Rosa (France) – “dead in your life”
6. AERO_fALL (Russia) – “Off The Beam My Dreams”
7. Sounds of Sputnik (Russia) – “Astronomical Summer”
8. Luna Ghost (Australia) – “Future End”
9. Miners (Australia) – “Soft Focus”
10. Sexores (Spain) – “Shinigami”

Muso Planet Volume 6 Coming 6/30! 第6号は6月30日に発行予定!

Muso Planet volume 6 will be released on the June 30th! We discuss shoegaze music in Australia with Jimmy from Sounds Better With Reverb and take a look at Spanish Indie Label Siete Señoritas Gritando. Jairo takes a look back at Latinoamerica Shoegaze in the first half of 2014, while looking at releases in the region during the Internet era.
With features on and free music from:
Ummagma (Ukraine)
AERO_fALL (Russia)
Sounds of Sputnik (Russia)
Luna Ghost (Australia)
Flying Vaginas (Italy)
Loomer (Brazil)
Miners (Australia)
Surfer Rosa (France)
the.city (Japan)
Sexores (Spain)