Release news
Nothing’s Carved In Stone releasing new album “Mirror Ocean” on February 14.
Mirror Ocean (album cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Rock band Nothing’s Carved In Stone is releasing a new album on February 14! Titled Mirror Ocean, this will be the group’s 9th studio album. It will contain 10 original previously unreleased songs and commemorate their 10th anniversary, as the band was formed in 2008.
The album is being released in 2 editions: a CD version and an analog vinyl version. The vinyl version will include a CD with the same content. The two versions will have different jacket art. The band has also announced tour dates for the release, kicking off in March and continuing through May.
SCANDAL new album “Honey” out on February 14th!
Honey (very limited edition cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
All-female rock band SCANDAL is releasing their eighth album Honey on February 14th! The album will include their most recent singles “Koisuru Universe” and “Take Me Out”, along with 8 other songs for a total of 10 tracks. The album artwork will be directed by the duo AMIAYA, who are involved in the Tokyo fashion scene. SCANDAL has also announced dates for their “Honey” tour, starting in March and running through May.
Hisaaki Hogari’s “LAMP & PENDULUM” wide release on Feb 7!
LAMP & PENDULUM (album cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Songwriter, musician, and producer Hisaaki Hogari is releasing his third independent album on February 7th! Titled LAMP & PENDULUM, the album had a limited release online on November 20, 2017 and was available only from the Pure Heart indie label’s online shop. This release contains 8 songs total, featuring the voices of Annabel, Arai Akino, Sakana Hosomi, rionos, and ROCKY CHACK. All songs are written, arranged, and produced by Hogari. The songs can be previewed on Sound Cloud here: https://soundcloud.com/hogaloid-doze/sets/lamp-pendulum-album-preview
RIRI debut album out on February 14!
RIRI (album cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Teenage R&B singer RIRI is releasing her first major label album, eponymously titled RIRI, with Sony Music. The album comes out February 14th. It will contain 4 original songs and 6 previously released tracks (1 of which is a remix version) which have been collected from her prior EPs, for a total of 10 songs.
RIRI’s debut has been long awaited by her fans. The talented teen won a grant from Asics at the age of 13 in the form of 3330,000 yen to develop her singing career, and in 2016 released her first EP. She was featured at SXSW last year.
Kanda Sayaka releasing vocaloid cover album “Musicaloid #38” in March!
Musicaloid #38 (limited edition album cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Singer and actress KANDA Sayaka is releasing a cover album of vocaloid songs on March 7th! Titled Musicaloid #38, the album will contain 12 songs, all selected by Sayaka herself.
Sayaka might be best known as the daughter of MATSUDA Seiko. An actress in her own right, her singing career has largely been overshadowed by her mothers’ until her breakout voice acting/singing role as “Anna” in the Japanese version of Disney’s hit animation Frozen. Musicaloid #38 is her first solo release since 2011’s Liberty, and her first release of any vocal album since 2016, when she released TRICK as part of the group “Trustrick.”
RAMI new album “Reloaded” out on January 31!
Reloaded (limited edition cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
RAMI, best known as the former singer for the all-female metal band Aldious, is releasing her second solo album at the end of this month! Reloaded will contain 10 tracks total, all previously unreleased. This album comes 1.5 years after her come-back solo debut Aspiration. RAMI left Aldious in 2011 when she went on hiatus for health reasons, and has been actively touring again since 2016.
BAND-MAID new album “WORLD DOMINATION” out on February 14!
WORLD DOMINATION (album cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Fans of hard rock and moe will be rejoicing at the news of BAND-MAID’s new album, appropriately titled WORLD DOMINATION. Following their rising popularity and successful world tour in 2017, they’ll be releasing the album on February 14th, 2018. It will contain 14 tracks total. Only the song “Daydreaming”, a B-side from their “Choose Me” single, has previously been released; the other 13 songs are original.
Niiyama Shiori best album “Shiori-goto” out on January 31st!
Shiori-goto (album cover)
Courtesy of Amazon Japan
Singer-songwriter Niiyama Shiori is releasing her first best-of album next month! Titled Shiori-goto, the album to commemorate her 5th anniversary as an artist will include 14 tracks total, among them all 10 of her major singles since “Yureru YURERU” in 2013. It also includes “Dakara sa ~acoustic version” which was her indie debut single. Among the tracks which are not singles, some are B-sides and some are covers. “Ito” is a cover of a Nakajima Miyuki song. “Snow Smile” was included on Shiori’s third album. All songs have previously been released.
Hiroshima Ayako releasing mini-album “Rainbow” on January 26.
Rainbow (album cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Singer-songwriter Hiroshima Ayako is releasing a new EP 6 years after her last album! Rainbow will contain 6 original songs; Ayako’s most recent singles, released in 2013, will not be included on this disc. The artist, who also plays guitar and piano, has been touring and performing for many years, and most of the songs on this release have been performed live in the past.
Scroll down below the track list to see videos of Hiroshima Ayako performing songs from the album live.
Skygraph debut mini-album “Lost Pages” out on January 17!
Lost Pages (album cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Progressive/djent metal band Skygraph is releasing their first mini-album on CD next month! Titled Lost Pages, the debut effort includes their first two digital singles, “Wings” and “Glass Skylight” among 7 total tracks. The EP debuted digitally on Amazon Music in June this year, but is now coming to CD on January 18th. In the meantime, the band has been garnerning attention online and through their live performances this year, including a tour through China and Japan.
Scroll down below the track list to see playthroughs and song samples on their YouTube channel.
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