91AV原创

 
 
The oneiric songs on Friday Night Plans’ latest album, “Blue Hour” — released by Spanish label Modern Obscure Music — work mostly with a palette of heavily effected vocals and acoustic guitar.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2026
The unmaking of Friday Night Plans
Once a rising star of sleek R&B, Friday Night Plans has spent the past few years dismantling the pop persona she built.
This year's Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival closed with an ensemble performance featuring two trumpets, a viola and, for the first time in 18 years, a pipe organ. One of 91AV原创 top organists, Mari Ohki, was brought in to play the instrument.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2026
A trumpet-led finale brings new spark to Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival
The festival’s 35th edition brought together musicians from across generations and continents celebrating collaboration and friendship.
Masayoshi Takanaka performs on his signature surfboard-shaped guitar during City Pop Waves at London’s Crystal Palace Bowl on Aug. 7.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Sep 17, 2026
City pop wasn’t really a genre. Until it was.
The internet’s city pop revival transformed a once-nebulous label into a global sound.
The music video for Tokyo Manaka’s “Brain Rot” features visuals inspired by the internet meme of “the Backrooms” paired with lyrics about social media addiction.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 3, 2026
How Vocaloid became the soundtrack to liminal spaces
Before “Backrooms” became a movie, the singing-synthesizer software Vocaloid was the hallmark of the liminal and the uneasy in Japan.
Comedian Daimaou Kosaka, performing under the stage name Pikotaro, became a global internet sensation when his song “PPAP” was released in August 2016.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2026
10 years on, Pikotaro was more than a viral novelty
The 44-second song was embraced worldwide and even helped break the ice between Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump.
Japanese rockers L’Arc-en-Ciel closed Summer Sonic’s 25th anniversary edition, playing a two-hour set for a rapt audience.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2026
Summer Sonic’s future is looking more Japanese
Ado, The Strokes, Jennie, Sakanaction and L’Arc-en-Ciel helped define a festival in transition.
Aespa, a K-pop girl group composed of (left to right) Karina, Ningning, Giselle and Winter, released “Kiss n Tell,” its Japanese-language minialbum, in July.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2026
Aespa delivers summer rhythms on ‘Kiss n Tell’
Released July 24, “Kiss n Tell” is a departure from the K-pop girl group’s signature heavy bass and electronic dance music sound.

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN