Fuji Rock's biggest lineup surprise? The debut of Tatsuro Yamashita.
Millennial rockers Vampire Weekend, funk outfit Vulfpeck and electronic act Fred Again.. are set to headline this summer's Fuji Rock Festival, according to an official announcement released Friday.
The nation's premier summer music festival showcasing international acts in Japan, Fuji Rock will be held from July 25 to 27 at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture.
Unlike previous years, where only headliners and a trickle of acts were revealed, this year's announcement featured a whopping 60 artists, ranging from overseas bands to domestic singer-songwriters. Other notable acts on the roster include Four Tet, Haim and Barry Can't Swim.
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Kyodo News
27-05-2025
- Kyodo News
'New Saga' Anime Adds Takehito Koyasu & Yoko Hikasa to Cast, Theme Song Details Also Revealed
By Koji Uchida, Animate Times - 21 minutes ago - 15:40 | All 'New Saga' anime has just announced that Takehito Koyasu and Yoko Hikasa are joining the cast! Along with this announcement, the details about the opening and ending theme song are also revealed. Messages from the theme song artists, 4s4ki and Mahiru Code, also arrived. TV anime "New Saga" is set to air from July 2025 while the availability for the global streaming is yet to be announced. New Character Information Ganias (CV. Takehito Koyasu) A male demon possessing exceptional physical abilities and immense magical power. With a ruthless personality, he treats human lives like trash. Yuriga (CV. Yoko Hikasa) A female demon who accompanies Ganias. Her combat prowess is formidable enough to give Kyle and his companions a tough fight. Due to her different values from humans, she occasionally makes inappropriate or out-of-place remarks without considering the situation. Opening Theme Song "Enja" by 4s4ki Lyrics: 4s4ki Composition/Arrangement: 4s4ki/NUU$HI Message from the artist This is 4s4ki, and I had the pleasure of creating the opening theme. As a huge anime fan, I had a lot of fun creating the music! For this song, I incorporated the story, morality, and characters' emotions from "New Saga" into the lyrics, while also projecting myself as an "actor" portraying these anime characters. I'm super hyped for the anime, and we really put a lot into the sound and melodies. So, I hope you can feel the speed, and the characters' strong will and sense of mission while listening for all the little details! The whole process was incredibly fun! Everyone, make sure to watch it!!! 【Profile】 4s4ki is a new-generation artist from Tokyo, bringing a fresh alternative pop sound to the world stage. She's a multi-talented creator who not only writes lyrics, composes, and arranges music, but also produces tracks using DTM (DeskTop Music) software and performs piano solo acts. While showcasing her diverse skills, she collaborates extensively with various musicians and creators, breaking genre boundaries and establishing new musical values. In 2021, she made her major debut with Victor/SPEEDSTAR RECORDS and performed at Japan's largest outdoor music festival, "FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL '21". In 2025, she completed her largest-scale solo tour to date, "4s4ki Oneman Live Tour 2025 '4444 Year ; C4'", covering six major cities across Japan and concluding with a final performance at Zepp Shinjuku. 4s4ki is recognized as one of the most promising female artists, transcending both national and genre boundaries. ■Official Website ■Instagram ■X ■TikTok ■YouTube Ending Theme Song "her" by Mahiru Coda Lyrics: Mahiru Coda Composition: Mahiru Coda / Yoichiro Nomura Arrangement: Yoichiro Nomura Message from the artist I'm Mahiru Coda, and I'm honored to be in charge of the ending theme. While reading the original work, I was drawn into the unique and exciting elements of this series. While we tend to focus on the main characters' strong drive towards their goal, I realized that the interactions with the women around them are also an essential part of the story. So, I decided to depict their love triangle from a female perspective. The meaning behind the title "her" is part of a poignant story that will spark your imagination. I hope that when you listen to the song, you'll feel as if you've been transported into the world of the anime. 【Profile】 Mahiru Coda is a singer-songwriter with roots in jazz and hip-hop, known for her unrestricted and free-flowing sound. She writes and composes all of her own music. In 2021, she made her debut as a singer-songwriter with her first EP "California," released under Warner Music Japan. In September 2023, she released her first full album "22 Deluxe Edition" on CD. Then in December 2024, she digitally released the EP "STOP ME." Beyond her work as a musician, Mahiru is also active in various fields as an actor, TV personality, and fashion icon. ■Official Website ■Instagram ■X ■TikTok ■YouTube About 'New Saga' Synopsis "It's over... finally... at last..." In a world where humanity was pushed to the brink of extinction by the "Great Invasion," a massive war waged by the demon race. Amidst the chaos, Kyle, a young man, loses his irreplaceable loved ones and his hometown. Rising as a magic swordsman to seek revenge, he engages in fierce battles and ultimately defeats the Demon King. However... The price of victory is far too steep, leaving Kyle on the verge of death, his body battered and broken... At that moment... Enveloped by the light of a crimson gem, Kyle awakens to find himself in his hometown—a place that should have been long destroyed! Having traveled back in time by four years, Kyle reunites with his lost family, friends, and lover. Armed with the memories and experiences of his past life, he embarks on a second chance determined to prevent the same tragedy from unfolding! Now, a "New Saga" to save the world begins! Cast Kyle: Yuma Uchida Seran: Hiro Shimono Lise: Fairouz Ai Urza: Asami Seto Sildonia: Minami Takahashi Milena: Kaori Maeda Zentos: Hiroki Yasumoto Miranda: Riho Sugiyama Go: Rie Hikisaka Gazas: Tetsu Inada Ganias: Takehito Koyasu Yuriga: Yoko Hikasa (C)2025 阿部正行・アルファポリス／強くてニューサーガ製作委員会
Japan Times
21-02-2025
- Japan Times
Fuji Rock's biggest lineup surprise? The debut of Tatsuro Yamashita.
Millennial rockers Vampire Weekend, funk outfit Vulfpeck and electronic act Fred Again.. are set to headline this summer's Fuji Rock Festival, according to an official announcement released Friday. The nation's premier summer music festival showcasing international acts in Japan, Fuji Rock will be held from July 25 to 27 at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture. Unlike previous years, where only headliners and a trickle of acts were revealed, this year's announcement featured a whopping 60 artists, ranging from overseas bands to domestic singer-songwriters. Other notable acts on the roster include Four Tet, Haim and Barry Can't Swim.
Japan Times
05-10-2024
- Japan Times
Ginger Root expands on effervescent retro sound
American artist Cameron Lew's appreciation for pop culture from Japan's Showa Era (1926-89) helped shape the music he makes under the name Ginger Root. With his new album 'Shinbangumi,' he wants to emphasize that's not all the project is about. 'I feel like everyone wants to dilute and simplify what you do, and I think the buzzword that came to mind was 'city pop,'' says Lew, 28, over a call from California. 'I wasn't upset about that or anything, and I am very influenced by that genre of music. But I feel like as a musician, I grew up on a bunch of other stuff that led me to city pop and gave me the vocabulary to dissect why city pop is so important to me.' Released last month, 'Shinbangumi' highlights Lew's varied musical inspirations and worldview. The glimmering pop echoes of Japan in the 1980s — which came to the spotlight on preceding EPs 'City Slicker' and 'Nisemono,' collections that helped him gain a following around the world — remain. Now they are joined by songs nodding to the nerviness of Devo, the loose rock-pop of Hall & Oates and even Haruomi Hosono's '70s explorations of exotica to create a project that digs even deeper than what came before. 'Since it's an album, there's a bigger room to furnish,' Lew says. 'Instead of putting the same piece of furniture all over, I really wanted to decorate this big bedroom I was gifted. I wanted to play interior designer and show all the facets of what Ginger Root is and hopefully will be.' | The new release comes after a whirlwind year for Lew. When I last caught up with him, he was weeks away from performing at Fuji Rock Festival 2023. That set — modeled after a retro Japanese TV show, complete with cameraman scurrying across the stage and skits between songs — was a highlight of the music festival and one Lew says he'll never forget. 'And then I spent some (time) in Japan over the summer. That was my first experience with Japanese summer — so very hot, very sweaty. I enjoyed it,' he says. Upon coming back home, Ginger Root had its first headlining tour in Europe, followed by a U.S. jaunt in December. Then Lew returned to Japan and seriously started thinking about what would come next. 'I talk a lot in interviews where (with) the previous EPs, I wanted to make a movie with a record or a visual story with the record but couldn't quite have it. I thought this one was my one shot.' Bolstered by support from American record label Ghostly International, which released 'Shinbangumi,' Lew got to work creating every element of the project, from the songs themselves to an accompanying music video for each number. This, however, proved to be a tough undertaking, with Lew writing on Instagram upon the album's release that 'this record has been the most mentally exhausting and physically taxing project so far.' 'With the touring and one-off radio performances, that has been tough to juggle,' Lew says. 'Some people have a team who prep the visuals or handle the production side of touring, but 95% of it (is) me. And I can't wear all these hats at the same time. It's things like designing the merch while editing the music video after taking a radio interview. I never had to juggle that much before.' Leveling up presented no shortage of challenges for Lew, and making it that much harder were realities of the global music landscape that he describes as 'the devil and hell of short-form content and algorithmic stuff.' He felt pressure — from the label but also himself — to 'reform (my) content, videos and music to serve the algorithm, to try to get noticed more.' 'Mentally, it was exhausting. I would make this thing I felt really proud of, and once it went up, numbers-wise it was doing terrible,' he says. 'That did a number on my psyche. It made me feel, wrongfully, like, 'Oh, this sucks.'' Lew adds he's getting better at dealing with these realities, which are nonetheless 'terrifying,' and even admits he had a mental breakdown during this period. That bleeds over to 'Shinbangumi,' making it an especially personal work. The videos released so far tell the story of Lew's character losing his job due to not wanting to make the same thing over and over again, and instead going independent. 'The whole story can be boiled down to the joy of creation and having people alongside you while you're creating.' On the music front, Lew embraces the thrill of expanding Ginger Root's sound. The sparkle of city pop still comes through, but so do the pop charms of Paul McCartney and Electric Light Orchestra, along with contemporary groups such as Texas rock band White Denim and London pop act Kero Kero Bonito. This mish-mash of influences gets to a truth at the center of Japanese city pop and results in music not stuck to any one side but rather reveling in all interpretations. 'The Japanese music that I've been heavily influenced by was influenced by Western music,' Lew says. 'It's funny — I'm being influenced by basically their remix as well as the source material. I'm nodding to the original version and nodding to the Japanese one, too.' 'Shinbangumi' includes a first for Lew that shows his commitment to Japan — an original song in Japanese. 'Kaze' draws inspiration from Hosono's pre-Yellow Magic Orchestra days, specifically the exotica of 1975's 'Tropical Dandy' and his work as part of the collective Tin Pan Alley. 'I think there's a soft spot in my heart for his organic music — real instruments, one take, you can hear the noise and creaks and the hiss,' Lew says, noting that he likes how his Ginger Root project has similar room for rougher touches. Besides being a nod to Hosono's influence, 'Kaze' also offered a challenge for Lew to write in Japanese, a language he has been studying for nearly four years. 'It was a really fun creative exercise in the sense of, (for example), with the cadence of Japanese, I have to change it to suit the lyrics or intonation or timing. It helped shape the rhythm and vocals and lyrics but also the instrumentation,' he says. 'It was fun to take myself out of writing from an English perspective and write from a Japanese perspective.' Japan itself has been especially receptive to Ginger Root. Following the Fuji Rock appearance, the project has enjoyed more attention in the country. You can find Ginger Root songs in karaoke booths across the country and at times playing inside Family Mart outlets. Lew has had the chance to appear on Hosono's radio show twice and, in a particularly surreal moment, ended up at the musician's birthday party ('He was the first one to leave his own birthday party — incredible'). Lew flew out to Japan earlier this year just for press, which involved interviews with journalists and radio stations across the archipelago, and also made time for a Tower Records in-store DJ event, among other activities. 'I've never done a meet-and-greet in the United States. ... The fact I did a meet-and-greet in all major markets on the Japanese tour is insane,' he says. 'I'm super grateful that they've accepted me.' That has extended to his live performances in Japan. Ginger Root is slated to tour the country in January, and tickets for the group's Tokyo show have already sold out. It will serve as the climax to the 'Shinbangumi' tour, which Lew believes will set the project up well moving forward despite the challenges. 'What's great is I'm not completely lost,' he says. 'There's a lot of things I want to do with Ginger Root, and I think this time with 'Shinbangumi' is going to help shape the answer of what's the best thing to do next.'
