Indie Corner Week 20: JYONGRI

JYONGRI is a urban-pop singer, who debuted in 2006 under EMI Music Japan, a subsidary of Universal Japan. Her debut single Possession/My All For You made #16 on the Oricon charts. She had 9 singles, 2 studio albums, Close to Fantasy and Love Forever, and a best album “JYONGRI BEST TRACKS”, all within 4 years. In 2012, EMI Music Japan ended their contract with her. 

JYONGRI has since released many original songs on her YouTube and has been doing live performances in Japan. Currently, she isn’t signed with anyone.

JYONGRI’s music is mostly piano based, which she plays herself. She is know for her powerful ballads and vocals.

I highly recommend many of her “original” songs on her YouTube, such as “Unhappy”, “Here to Stay”, and “Cheers”. They showcase her style and her voice very well.  If you can find her older songs to purchase, I highly recommend the songs “Lullaby For You” and “Possession” as starters.

JYONGRI’s new digital single “Purple Cloud” was released on May 16, 2018. This is her first digital single since Free My Soul in 2012. “Purple Cloud” is a mellow song with an urban pop feel to it. It has a catchy beat which the Japanese and English lyric combination blends naturally with her powerful vocals. You can currently purchase “Purple Cloud” on iTunes. Please check out the video below!

You can check out her official website here. And follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. She also has a Spotify which you can check here!

Indie Corner Week 18: Boundary

Boundary is a three-woman rock band established in 2013 while its members were still in high school. With their simple and straightforward lyrics they aim to break the “boundaries” of what it means to be an all-girl band. This is made evident by lead singer Yuki’s powerful vocals, combined with a brilliantly choreographed melody and support from the other members, grab the listeners and intrigues them to keep listening. Their song “Timer” shows just how stage-setting Yuki’s vocals are. 

Boundary has released four singles: “Memory/ANSWER” (2014), “声” (“Koe”) (2015), “BABY” (2016), and “Happy End” (2017). They also released their mini-album, now, in January of this year..

Check out Boundary's official website here, and official Twitter. Also check out the music video for "Timer" below!

Boundary stars  Sakura (Drums/ Chorus)

Yuki (Guitar/ Vocals)

Fuuka (Bass/ Chorus)

Indie Corner Week 15: Dizzy Sunfist

Dizzy Sunfist is a three-member punk rock band formed in 2008. While they take inspiration from English singing punk bands Hi-STANDARD and ELLEGARDEN, the synergy that all three members have with each other makes them stand out from other punk bands and makes them rival other pop-punk bands in America from the mid-2000s. “The Dream Is Not Dead” is a shining example of this synergy that they have.

Thus far, Dizzy Sunfist has released two mini-albums, FIST BUMP (2013) and SUPER DELICIOUS (2014); one single, “THE DREAM IS NOT DEAD” (2017); and two albums, Dizzy Beats (2016) and DREAMS NEVER END (2018).

Check out their official site here , and their official Twitter.

Dizzy Sunfist Stars Moai (Drums)

Ayapeta (Vocals/Guitar)

Iyama (Bass)

You can buy their latest album DREAMS NEVER END here , and check out their song “The Dream Is Not Dead” below!

Indie Corner Week 14: sone+JitteryJackal

Formed in 2016, sone+JitteryJackal is a two-man EDM collaboration unit comprised of singer-songwriter sone, formerly from band ATLANTIS AIRPORT, and musician Jyune Kobayashi of Oyasumi Holograms and TAMTAM fame. sone has a very powerful voice, which is only reinforced by both Kobayashi’s majestic melody and the beats he creates for her. Their song “ジオラマ東京” (“Tokyo Diorama”) aptly shows off the extent of her vocal range.

Currently sone+JitteryJackal have two mini-albums, one released in 2016 and the second in 2017. They released their first full album, TALE TELLER, back in April of this year.

Check out their official site here, and their official Twitter

Buy their album, TALE TELLER, here, and check out their music video for “Tokyo Diorama” below!

Indie Corner Week 13: flue

flue is a three-member pop rock band that formed in 2014. What makes them stand out from other bands is the specific genre they classify their music as, which is “short pop-rock-tune”. All of their songs are about a min or two long, but their goal is to emotionally impact their listeners in some way through such short tracks. Their song “Secret ne Sararetto” is a great example of this method, as it gives off that “short but sweet” first impression that can hook listeners to the band, which in turn keeps the listener wanting more.

flue originally had a male bassist up until last year when he was replaced with a female bassist nicknamed Martin Kameyama. flue has one single ep, ”仕組まれたシクマンって言いたくなるよね” (“Shikumareta Sick man tte Iitakunaruyone”), and one album, No. 13, both featuring the male bassist. The new bassist can be heard on their recent mini-album flue, released this past April.

Check out flue’s official website here, and Twitter 

flue stars Panashizushi (Gutiar/Vocals)

Haruhi Flue (Drums/Vocals) 

Martin Kameyama (Bass/ Vocals) 

Check out their song “Secret ne Sararetto” below!