I was intending to make this rotation Top 10 Rock Songs, but I've been really busy this past week and haven't had time to prepare that. So I'm postponing it to my next rotation. On another note, it's my 30th rotation! =D Anyways, enjoy the songs and please remember to comment! Oh, and happy Easter!

- Haruhi



[artist] Joe Inoue/井上ジョー
[album] ME! ME! ME!
[genre] pop/rock
[language] Japanese
[release date] April 8, 2009

[01] CLOSER (Royal Vers.)
[02] 零時 ～TWENTY FOUR～
[03] 幻

I'm not sure if the album art is cute or creepy. O_o The music, however, is more easily judged. CLOSER is a strong start: an uptempo, hopeful rock anthem filled with electric guitars. Although it's not especially original, it's extremely well executed. The conversational lines thrown into the bridge give it a comical note. 零時 ～TWENTY FOUR～ is a little grungier, putting more edge on the guitars. It's confident, fun, and straightforward. 幻 is calmer and slower, replacing electric guitars with acoustic. The whole song just has a warm, tender feel to it. Joe Inoue's vocals transition perfectly from confident and flippant to smooth and heartfelt. Both are a pleasure to listen to. Three very impressive tracks.



[artist] F.T. Island
[single] I believe myself
[genre] pop-rock
[language] Japanese/English/Korean
[release date] April 22, 2009

[01] I believe myself
[02] TV Radio
[03] moonlight angel

Their upcoming single, featuring 3 songs in different languages, which I think has already released on iTunes? I'm not sure though, I just read that somewhere. I generally like their Korean songs better, actually I don't really like them that much at all, so I was hesitant to try this. I believe myself is a fairly typical, generic rock ballad. The guitar work is repetitive and extremely simple. Also, the part where "I believe myself" (I think that's what they meant) is sung sounds more like "I vee mysef". I think more of them take turns singing in this song, and it must be said that Japanese is probably harder for them, but vocally they're not at their strongest. This song hits mediocre. TV Radio is a fun poppy track in English. I can actually mostly tell what they're saying. The beat is summer-y and danceable, if somewhat cheesy and repetitive. Really, their guitar work seems to be limited to repeating a chord over and over. A cute, catchy track that sounds like something one of those Disney pop stars would sing. moonlight angel is their Korean track, sprinkled with English. Another ballad, which I think is better than I believe myself. But not by much. It's more expressive, although at times the vocals disappear beneath the somewhat overpowering guitar. Eh, this single didn't really impress me. I was expecting more.



[artist] David Choi
[album] Only You [Korea Special Edition]
[genre] Acoustic Pop
[language] English
[release date] April 8, 2009

[01] Always Hurt
[08] Our Song
[09] Only You

David Choi is always a breath of fresh air. He reminds me of Jason Mraz, but with less of that playful, quirky edge that Mraz has. Always Hurt is beautifully unadorned. The accompaniment is soft and simple, allowing his warm, melodic voice to shine through. The lyrics are sweet but sad: Can somebody please stop me, from falling for these girls. I don't wanna have to go through love again, cause it always, it always hurts Our Song picks up the pace a little. Personally, I didn't find it as powerful as some of his other songs, especially since his soft voice kind of gets lost beneath the percussion and piano accompaniment. Only You is a favourite of mine. It's melancholic, yearning, and heartfelt. Definitely try him out if you're a fan of acoustic music!



[artist] Jumper
[single] 눈이부셔
[genre] pop
[language] Korean
[release date] April 2, 2009

[01] 눈이부셔 (feat. 카라 강지영 [Kara's Kang Ji Young])
[02] 눈이부셔 (inst.)

So I know pretty much nothing about these guys. I Googled them and found out that they are a new duo produced by Andy of Shinhwa. I liked this song enough to look up their first single. First off, I hate Kara. I mean, I really, really hate them. So it kind of put me off that Kang Ji Young was featured in this song, but luckily she doesn't have a huge part or anything. Vocally, they're pretty good. Their voices are warm, full, and rounded, if a little too similar. There's not much contrast, which personally I think is quite necessary in a duo - for example, look at FTTS. Arrangement wise, a cute, poppy song with a catchy melody. I don't know why I uploaded the instrumental because I usually don't, but it's there if any of you want it.



[artist] Jo Sung Mo
[album] Second Half
[genre] ballad
[language] Korean
[release date] April 9, 2009

[02] 이야기
[04] 너에게로 가는 길 (feat. J)
[07] 행복했었다 (Trumpet feat. 이주한)

This is Jo Sung Mo's seventh album, after three years of absence (partially due to military service). He was one of the first Korean artists I listened to, and he's extremely well known for his ballads. 이야기 doesn't disappoint. His voice is light and smooth, but rich with emotion. It's fairly bland arrangement-wise, but his voice shapes it into something memorable. 너에게로 가는 길 is a duet with J. I'm generally not a fan of her, and her thin, whispery vocals failed to impress me in this song. Her voice constantly sounds like it's wavering and is about to just peter out. Jo Sung Mo's voice, although wonderful, is not especially powerful. J only underscores this lack of power, unfortunately making an otherwise sweet acoustic ballad into a somewhat bland, flat song that never leads anywhere. I thought 행복했었다 might be upbeat since it mentions a trumpet featured, but it's another ballad. The accompaniment is a little overpowering pretty much everywhere but the chorus, which is absolutely stunning. The volume just picks up out of nowhere. The short trumpet solo is all right, but the long notes sounded unshaped. I love the chorus, but other than that this song didn't offer much.

Labels: David Choi, F.T. Island, Jo Sung Mo, Joe Inoue, Jumper

I was intending to make this rotation Top 10 Rock Songs, but I've been really busy this past week and haven't had time to prepare that. So I'm postponing it to my next rotation. On another note, it's my 30th rotation! =D Anyways, enjoy the songs and please remember to comment! Oh, and happy Easter!

- Haruhi



[artist] Joe Inoue/井上ジョー
[album] ME! ME! ME!
[genre] pop/rock
[language] Japanese
[release date] April 8, 2009

[01] CLOSER (Royal Vers.)
[02] 零時 ～TWENTY FOUR～
[03] 幻

I'm not sure if the album art is cute or creepy. O_o The music, however, is more easily judged. CLOSER is a strong start: an uptempo, hopeful rock anthem filled with electric guitars. Although it's not especially original, it's extremely well executed. The conversational lines thrown into the bridge give it a comical note. 零時 ～TWENTY FOUR～ is a little grungier, putting more edge on the guitars. It's confident, fun, and straightforward. 幻 is calmer and slower, replacing electric guitars with acoustic. The whole song just has a warm, tender feel to it. Joe Inoue's vocals transition perfectly from confident and flippant to smooth and heartfelt. Both are a pleasure to listen to. Three very impressive tracks.



[artist] F.T. Island
[single] I believe myself
[genre] pop-rock
[language] Japanese/English/Korean
[release date] April 22, 2009

[01] I believe myself
[02] TV Radio
[03] moonlight angel

Their upcoming single, featuring 3 songs in different languages, which I think has already released on iTunes? I'm not sure though, I just read that somewhere. I generally like their Korean songs better, actually I don't really like them that much at all, so I was hesitant to try this. I believe myself is a fairly typical, generic rock ballad. The guitar work is repetitive and extremely simple. Also, the part where "I believe myself" (I think that's what they meant) is sung sounds more like "I vee mysef". I think more of them take turns singing in this song, and it must be said that Japanese is probably harder for them, but vocally they're not at their strongest. This song hits mediocre. TV Radio is a fun poppy track in English. I can actually mostly tell what they're saying. The beat is summer-y and danceable, if somewhat cheesy and repetitive. Really, their guitar work seems to be limited to repeating a chord over and over. A cute, catchy track that sounds like something one of those Disney pop stars would sing. moonlight angel is their Korean track, sprinkled with English. Another ballad, which I think is better than I believe myself. But not by much. It's more expressive, although at times the vocals disappear beneath the somewhat overpowering guitar. Eh, this single didn't really impress me. I was expecting more.



[artist] David Choi
[album] Only You [Korea Special Edition]
[genre] Acoustic Pop
[language] English
[release date] April 8, 2009

[01] Always Hurt
[08] Our Song
[09] Only You

David Choi is always a breath of fresh air. He reminds me of Jason Mraz, but with less of that playful, quirky edge that Mraz has. Always Hurt is beautifully unadorned. The accompaniment is soft and simple, allowing his warm, melodic voice to shine through. The lyrics are sweet but sad: Can somebody please stop me, from falling for these girls. I don't wanna have to go through love again, cause it always, it always hurts Our Song picks up the pace a little. Personally, I didn't find it as powerful as some of his other songs, especially since his soft voice kind of gets lost beneath the percussion and piano accompaniment. Only You is a favourite of mine. It's melancholic, yearning, and heartfelt. Definitely try him out if you're a fan of acoustic music!



[artist] Jumper
[single] 눈이부셔
[genre] pop
[language] Korean
[release date] April 2, 2009

[01] 눈이부셔 (feat. 카라 강지영 [Kara's Kang Ji Young])
[02] 눈이부셔 (inst.)

So I know pretty much nothing about these guys. I Googled them and found out that they are a new duo produced by Andy of Shinhwa. I liked this song enough to look up their first single. First off, I hate Kara. I mean, I really, really hate them. So it kind of put me off that Kang Ji Young was featured in this song, but luckily she doesn't have a huge part or anything. Vocally, they're pretty good. Their voices are warm, full, and rounded, if a little too similar. There's not much contrast, which personally I think is quite necessary in a duo - for example, look at FTTS. Arrangement wise, a cute, poppy song with a catchy melody. I don't know why I uploaded the instrumental because I usually don't, but it's there if any of you want it.



[artist] Jo Sung Mo
[album] Second Half
[genre] ballad
[language] Korean
[release date] April 9, 2009

[02] 이야기
[04] 너에게로 가는 길 (feat. J)
[07] 행복했었다 (Trumpet feat. 이주한)

This is Jo Sung Mo's seventh album, after three years of absence (partially due to military service). He was one of the first Korean artists I listened to, and he's extremely well known for his ballads. 이야기 doesn't disappoint. His voice is light and smooth, but rich with emotion. It's fairly bland arrangement-wise, but his voice shapes it into something memorable. 너에게로 가는 길 is a duet with J. I'm generally not a fan of her, and her thin, whispery vocals failed to impress me in this song. Her voice constantly sounds like it's wavering and is about to just peter out. Jo Sung Mo's voice, although wonderful, is not especially powerful. J only underscores this lack of power, unfortunately making an otherwise sweet acoustic ballad into a somewhat bland, flat song that never leads anywhere. I thought 행복했었다 might be upbeat since it mentions a trumpet featured, but it's another ballad. The accompaniment is a little overpowering pretty much everywhere but the chorus, which is absolutely stunning. The volume just picks up out of nowhere. The short trumpet solo is all right, but the long notes sounded unshaped. I love the chorus, but other than that this song didn't offer much.

Labels: David Choi, F.T. Island, Jo Sung Mo, Joe Inoue, Jumper

Welcome to Fashion Scans, an mp3 rotation that features Korean, Japanese, and Chinese music as well as the occasional English song. Fashion Scans was created in October 2007 and is run by Haruhi with contributions from Carmi.

Please send all affiliate requests to Haruhi. Carmi is currently open to requests.

Files are for sampling purposes only, I am not responsible if you keep them for longer than the 24-48 hours permitted. Please support the artists by purchasing their CDs.

phase down | aqueous transmission | quietus | SnakeRoot | Dong Bang World | you start it | Ongoing Melody


If you would like to be affiliates, send me an e-mail at ungathering@hotmail.com.

link in: