>>RECENT RELEASES.
S.I.N - -OZ-
Visual Rock | Japanese



Quality kinda sucks, sorry. T_T Really screamy at first, then really melodic. Pretty typical fare, nothing that blew me away. Still, it was solid and I really like the verses that are actually sung.
Voyage - Shinhwa
Pop/Ballad | Korean



A nice ballad, but for the first few verses until the chorus, the accompaniment completely overlaps. Probably one of my favourite songs from Shinhwa's 9th album though, which I wasn't too impressed with. Worth a listen.
One - Epik High ft. Jisun of Loveholic
Hip-Hop | Korean





GO EPIK HIGH. This is from their new album, Pieces, Part 1. Featuring the soft vocals of Jisun, this is one of my favourite tracks. The beginning of the song reminded me of HSM for some strange reason. Buut, the rest of the song is great. Kind of different from the darker style of Epik High's 4th album, this song manages to be upbeat and catchy yet sad at the same time. Highly recommended.
Ignition - Epik High ft. Na Yoon Kwon
Hip-Hop | Korean




More Epik High for you. =) This song starts out with Na Yoon Kwon's vocals. I can't say I've heard of him, but he's got a pretty decent voice. This song didn't catch me as much as "One" did, but still a decent track. It's mostly rapped except for Na Yoon Kwon's verses, which works out to be a pretty nice balance.
Eight by Eight - Epik High ft. Dynamic Duo, Double K, TBNY
Hip-Hop | Korean



A more solidly hip-hop track, Eight by Eight is very much American influenced. The English lyrics sound a bit random (I swear I heard "skinny jean" in there) and it's not really my kind of song, but worth a listen.
Usan - Epik High ft. Younha
Hip-Hop | Korean




Okay, last Epik High song. Another of my favourites, especially since Younha is such an awesome vocalist and one of my favourite female vocalists. Nice piano accompaniment but the drums keep a solid, steady tempo. Younha's vocals are really what make this song for me. Recommended.
ワールド ワールド - Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Alt Rock | Japanese





Okay, this isn't as recent of a release, but I love this song and I don't think I ever got around to uploading it. It's from Ajikan's latest album, World World World. There's a ticking metronome in the background and it's a really mellow song, accompanied by just a guitar. It's only a minute or so long. Recommended.
Natsu・Koi - Ikimono Gakari
Soft Rock | Japanese




A band that I recently discovered and am really impressed by. Their male and female vocalists are both great, and this is probably one of my favourite songs by them. Try them out!
Echo - Loveholic
OST/Soft Rock | Korean




From their Dramatic & Cinematic album, a great song from a great band. I'm disappointed that Ji Sun's leaving them to go solo, but I support her. Her voice really shines through in this song, which is slow but for some reason calling it a ballad doesn't seem quite right to me. Highly recommended.
Mirage - Loveholic
OST/Soft Rock | Korean





My favourite song from this album. Lovely piano accompaniment, Ji Sun's vocals are lovely. It's a really calm but sad song with a great chorus. Highly recommended.
honey drop - Matenrou Opera
Visual Rock | Japanese





One of my favourite VK bands. I was so happy when I finally found this single, and it didn't disappoint. Great vocals although they're a bit whiny at times, random growling stuck into a very melodic song, and overall just a great song. There are some gothic influences; it's super catchy. &&& there's a random jazzy piano lick. Highly highly recommended for any VK fans.
Anydream - Rain
Pop/Hip Hop | Korean



Rain's submission for the Beijing Olympics. Below you'll find the contributions from Wang Lee Hom, and Jay Chou. It's not fabulous and definitely not one of my favourite songs by him, but it's decent. Maybe it's because this is a low-quality rip, but his voice kind of disappears below the accompaniment for the whole song. It's upbeat and relatively catchy.
千山萬水 (Quan Shan Wan Shui) - Jay Chou
Pop/Ballad | Mandarin



Radio rip, sorry. But it's all I could find, and I thought some of you would probably want to hear this. A nice, slow-tempoed song that shows Jay Chou's vocals well, but it didn't really blow me away or anything. Plus the verse that's super-high pitched kind of annoys me.
Dream of the World - Wang Lee Hom
Pop/Ballad | Mandarin




This song starts off in English and then switches to Mandarin. It's also a ballad, but I liked it better than Jay Chou's song. There's a prominent bass accompaniment and Wang Lee Hom's voice is lovely.
사랑 하는 일 - Sung Shi Kyung
Ballad | Korean



Latest Sung Shi Kyung single. As expected, a ballad. Pretty standard fare, but a decent listen. It starts to grow on you the more you listen to it. He does have a great voice, which I think is shown quite well in this song.
Welcome to my misery - FLOW
Rock | Japanese





If the song title made you think the song was sad, think again. A great upbeat track from FLOW's latest album, Isle. Very danceable and catchy with a great guitar part and a piano accompaniment that has varying prominence. A reminder of how much I love this band. Recommended.
Carry on - FLOW
Rock | Japanese





Another upbeat track from ISLE, this song is wonderfully executed. The way the vocals are arranged are just wonderful, with a great accompaniment. The song goes from a darker sound to the bright chorus. Great bass accompaniment, too.
>>MY PICKS
Lovers Again - EXILE
Pop | Japanese





I haven't liked EXILE's recent singles much, but I love this song. It's one of my favourites by them and is a gorgeous ballad that shows their vocals perfectly. Harmonizing is well done and the song has faint R&B influences.
Mannequin - Hwanhee (Fly to the Sky)
R&B/Pop | Korean





A solo track from Fly to the Sky member Hwanhee. Mannequin is a nice ballad that stages Hwanhee's deep vocals beautifully. I love Brian, but honestly I think that Hwanhee sounds a lot better singing solo. The song itself can get a little boring, but I'm highly recommending this just for Hwanhee's voice.
Electron Mailman - Kra
Rock | Japanese




I love how this song kicks off. It's a pretty laid back song and one of my favourite from Kra.
Eraser - SAT ft. Lee Min Woo
Hip Hop/Pop | Korean



I honestly don't know where I got this song from. XP I just found it on my computer and thought I'd upload it. It's a duet that doesn't offer much, but it's catchy and the female vocalist is pretty decent. Lee Min Woo underachieves in this song - he's a much better vocalist than this song shows, but I think it's a pretty old song, so he's probably improved since then. Worth a listen, but nothing spectacular.
Carving the Rock - YMCK
8-bit | Japanese




A very cute track from a very interesting band, YMCK. I can understand why it might not be everyone's kind of thing, but I really liked it even though generally I wouldn't listen to 8bit. It's a nice blend of sounds with soft, cute vocals.
Labels: Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Epik High, EXILE, FLOW, Fly to the Sky, Ikimono Gakari, Jay Chou, Kra, Lee Min Woo, Loveholic, Matenrou Opera, OZ, Rain, SAT, Shinhwa, Sung Shi Kyung, Wang Lee Hom, YMCK