HOLIDAY tunes – Ukiuki Mode

V.A.

or YesAsia.com

DISC 1:

1. Aya Matsuura – Yeah! めっちゃホリデイ
2. DREAMS COME TRUE – go for it!
3. Every Little Thing – Dear My Friend
4. PUFFY – サーキットの娘
5. Shimatani Hitomi – 亜麻色の髪の乙女
6. Ryouta Mitsunaga – Always
7. access – 夢を見たいから
8. ZOO – YA-YA-YA
9. Tomoyasu Hotei – CIRCUS
10. SHAZNA – SWEET HEART MEMORY
11. Nami Tamaki – Reason
12. Makoto Kawamoto – ピカピカ
13. Kimmokusei – 二人のアカボシ
14. Rina Chinen – Wing
15. Hitomi Yaida – Buzzstyle
16. Original Love – 朝日のあたる道 AS TIME GOES BY
17. Mayo Okamoto – そのままの君でいて

DISC 2:

1. ORANGE RANGE – ラヴ・パレード
2. JUDY AND MARY – Over Drive
3. THE HIGH-LOWS – 青春
4. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION – ループ & ループ
5. hide with Spread Beaver – ever free
6. ULFULS – Asobou
7. Kaera Kimura – happiness!!!
8. CRAZY KEN BAND – あ、やるときゃやらなきゃダメなのよ。
9. Yosui Inoue – コーヒー・ルンバ
10. Hideki Kaji – ラ･ブーム ～だってMY BOOM IS ME～
11. PRINCESS PRICESS – OH YEAH!
12. Bakufu Slump – 旅人よ ～ The Longest Journey
13. LINDBERG – だってそうじゃない!?
14. UNICORN – すばらしい日々
15. Motoharu Sano – 約束の橋
16. JUN SKY WALKER(S) – つめこんだHAPPY
17. THE YELLOW MONKEY – バラ色の日々

From the label behind the “Holiday Tunes: Nonbiri Mode” comes “Holiday Tunes: UkiUki Mode”!

“UkiUki” is an expression of being excited and the songs featured in this 2-disc compilation features 34 full-length songs to make one feel excited!  Well, not sure if it would really but I can tell you that there are classic hits included in this compilation that did make me happy!

“Holiday Tunes: UkiUki Mode” features hits from the last 25-years which include classic hits such as DREAMS COME TRUE “go for it!”, PUFFY’s “Circuit no Musume”, JUDY AND MARY’s “Over Drive”, LINDBERG’s “Datte Sou Janai”, UNICORN’s “Atarashi no Hibi” and more!

But really, there are many songs on this compilation that will attract various audiences because it’s so diverse with many popular music hits and various music styles.

Personally, It’s hard to review compilations because the artists featured are subjective to those listening and whether or not they like the music as you get rock and pop music.

But for those who are familiar with ’90s and early 2000 J-Pop, you will no doubt find this compilation fun and enjoyable! And the fact that it’s not just artists from Sony but artists from various labels is pretty cool and for the most part, these songs are truly UkiUki mode tracks and perfect for spring and summer.

The CD comes with a lyrics booklet for each song and a slipcover case.

Overall, this compilation album has something for everyone but will probably appeal mostly to those who appreciate Japanese music hits from the last 20-years.

BUY THIS ALBUM from CDJapan.com:

HOLIDAY tunes – Ukiuki Mode

V.A.

or YesAsia.com

J-Rocker Densetsu [DJ Wa in No.1 J-ROCK MIX]

V.A.

or YesAsia.com

1. UNICORN – 大迷惑
2. BUCK-TICK – 悪の華
3. JUN SKY WALKER(S) – 歩いていこう
4. ZIGGY – GLORIA
5. LINDBERG – 今すぐKiss Me
6. Jitterin’ Jinn – プレゼント
7. PERSONZ – Dear Friends
8. THE MODS – 激しい雨が
9. REBECCA – フレンズ ～remixed edition～
10. PINK SAPPHIRE – P.S. I LOVE YOU
11. SHOW-YA – 限界LOVERS
12. Ann Lewis – 六本木心中
13. KOME KOME CLUB – Shake Hip!
14. ECHOES – ZOO
15. THE BOOM – 星のラブレター
16. Tamio Okuda – イージュー★ライダー
17. Bakufu Slump – Runner
18. Sharan Q – いいわけ
19. Seikima II – 蝋人形の館
20. Takashi Sorimachi – POISON ～言いたい事も言えないこんな世の中は～
21. Motoharu Sano -  約束の橋
22. FLOW – GO!!!
23. ORANGE RANGE – 上海ハニー
24. Kishidan – One Night Carnival
25. Chatmonchy – シャングリラ
26. Whiteberry – 夏祭り
27. PRINCESS PRINCESS – 世界でいちばん熱い夏
28. NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA – GLAMOROUS SKY
29. SIAM SHADE – 1/3の純情な感情
30. JUDY AND MARY – そばかす
31. Group Tamashii – 君にジュースを買ってあげる
32. Daisuke Shima – 男の勲章
33. T.C.R. Yokohama Ginbae R.S. – ツッパリHigh School Rock’n Roll (登校編)
34. RIZE – Why I’m Me
35. SHAZNA – Melty Love
36. Ryuichi Kawamura – Glass
37. LUNA SEA – STORM
38. GLAY – 誘惑
39. MONGOL800 – 小さな恋のうた
40. THE YELLOW MONKEY – SPARK
41. Tomoyasu Hotei – スリル
42. COMPLEX – BE MY BABY
43. HOUND DOG – ff

In Japan, you have several types of compilations available and for certain listeners who want mixes songs that last from 1-2 minutes or those who have a short attention span for listening to music, various labels have figured that they can easily market to this group.

While “Mix” does not mean a full out remix and a perfect blend of tunes in a compilation, most of the time, they are just clips of music from various groups and artists on one CD and typically from the same label.

Sony sub-label One Nation has recently released a compilation featuring popular rock hits from the last 20-years from popular artists and bands in “J-Rocker Densetsu [DJ Wa in No. 1 J-Rock Mix].

While I am not entirely sure what DJ Wa did in terms of mixing these tracks, I will say that if it’s song selection, you do get a good number of tracks from popular artists and bands but at the same time, you have some major omissions as well.

You can have LUNA SEA and GLAY, but without X JAPAN, BOOWY, The Blue Hearts or L’Arc~en~Ciel, the compilation does seem a bit limiting.

Fortunately, you do find bands such as BUCK-TICK, LINDBERG, JUDY AND MARY, THE BOOM, SHARAN Q, REBECCA to more recent music from FLOW, RIZE and ORANGE RANGE and artists like Mika Nakashima.

Granted, this is a Sony release and although you have artists from various labels, I am surprised that Sony-based bands such as KI/OON Records L’Arc~en~Ciel didn’t make the cut, nor did Sony’s ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION and The Brilliant Green and opted to go for actor Sorimachi Takashi’s “POISON” and choices such as Ryuichi Kawamura’s emotional hit “Glass” definitely slows down the pace of the compilation.

But still, I do recognize the many hits that are on this compilation album. There are a good number of them and while I’m sure compilations are subjective to the listener and many would have different choices of songs that represent an artist or band, I suppose these compilations are rather hit and miss.

It’s important to note that in the series of these mix compilations, also available are three “DJ Wa in No. 1 J-Pop Mix” albums and also a “DJ Wa in WHAT’s IN? 20th Mix”.

Once again, it all depends on you as the listener if these mix compilations are for you. If you are into the full-length tracks, obviously this one is not for you. If you are into mixes that are perfectly mixed especially when connect one song to the other, this not for you. This is a straight up, compilation album featuring short versions of songs together in one CD. And it’s also great if you want to familiarize yourself with bands and artists from the last 25-years.

The CD insert features lyrics and also band/artist profile information and a small flyer for the website and information on related compilations.

Overall, “J-Rocker Densetsu [DJ Wa in No.1 J-ROCK MIX]” was a good compilation CD for me as I have grown up listening to nearly every song on this album and I also have a short attention span that sometimes shortened versions of the songs are good enough for me to listen to, especially during work hours. But it all depends on the listener and if the tracks listed are your type of bands and music!

BUY THIS ALBUM from CDJapan.com:

J-Rocker Densetsu [DJ Wa in No.1 J-ROCK MIX]

V.A.

or YesAsia.com

7 Days

“E”qual

or YesAsia.com

1. My name is…
2. Intro~Prologue (“E”qual Feat. Jack Herer)
3. I.C.E.B.E.R.G. (クエルボ O’clock) (“E”qual Feat. Adya)
4. Baby, Baby (“E”qual Feat. JAY’ED)
5. Dress code (“E”qual Feat. YA-KYIM)
6. “E”d up from the feet up
7. You gotta be like that
8. 7 Days
9. Skit~Message
10. The Rock Diamonds (“E”qual Feat. BALLERS)
11. Let’s go (“E”qual Feat. HI-D)
12. The sky is the limit
13. M.O.S.A.D. is forever (“E”qual Feat. TOKONA-X, AKIRA, 來々)

Before listening to “E”qual’s “7 Days” album, I received some advice, listen to what the artist has to say.

So, listen I did and I have to say that I enjoyed what “E”qual had to say and how he did it.

With the BEATS. The “7 Days” album was composed entirely by “E”qual. This allows “E”qual’s voice, lyrically and production-wise shine. With that being said the album has a consistent feel to it and held my interest for the most part.

The highlight of this album was the beats.

“E”qual has variety in the beats that he composes. Those beats helped him and company deliver their lyrics and kept me interested and listening for the next track. They were quite a few tracks that I returned to for seconds and thirds but the tracks “I.C.E.B.E.R.G.”, “Baby, baby”, “7 Days”, “Message”, “The Rock Diamonds” and” The Sky is the Limit” were among the ones that caught me beat wise and lyrically.

“E”qual definitely wants you to move and bump this in your music players. His attention to production and lyrics are testament to that. There is enough variety in his subject matter to not make you feel like you are listening to the same songs over and over again.

“7 Days” comes with a CD insert booklet with 20-pages featuring lyrics, liner notes and production credits and two pages of photos featuring “E”qual.

In the future I look forward to “E”qual’s take on the more conscious sides of life.

So, if you are looking for some Japanese Hip Hop with the added bonus of hearing one production style and an album that doesn’t sound like a beat sampler, listen to “E”qual’s “7 Days” album.

Hopefully, E’qual’s beats and lyrics will keep you motivated to bob your head.

BUY THIS ALBUM from CDJapan.com:

7 Days

“E”qual

or YesAsia.com