Tag: ‘Music’

Video: Rinpa Eshidan paints a half-pipe

30 Oct 2009

The illustrious Rinpa Eshidan art crew has re-emerged with a dazzling new time-lapse painting performed on a skate ramp.


+ IFO x Rinpa

Tiësto & Sneaky Sound System – I Will Be Here

20 Oct 2009

The Tokyo cityscape becomes the ultimate light show in this video for "I Will Be Here," the recent collaboration single by Dutch DJ Tiësto and Australian dance music group Sneaky Sound System. Directed by Masashi Muto.


+ Video

Video: HRP-4C robot sings with Vocaloid voice

07 Oct 2009

Outfitted with Yamaha's Vocaloid singing voice synthesizer software, the HRP-4C female fashion model humanoid robot developed by AIST earlier this year has been entertaining CEATEC Japan visitors with renditions of popular songs.


+ Video

In this video, HRP-4C sings a rendition of Hitoto Yo's "Hanamizuki."

Moonbell: Lunar music generator

31 Aug 2009

moonbell --

Moonbell is an automated music generator that plays musical scores based on lunar topographical data obtained by Japan's Kaguya (SELENE) explorer during its orbit around the moon from late 2007 to June 2009.

[Launch Moonbell in a new window]

Moonbell, which was developed in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has two playback modes: "Orbit Play" and "Free Scratch." Click the buttons on the bottom right of the screen to switch modes.

moonbell --

In Orbit Play mode, Kaguya traverses the moon in a circular orbit and music is generated based on the topography below. This screen displays Kaguya's orbital path, an altitude graph of the topography, and the corresponding musical notation map. Use your mouse to change Kaguya's location and orbit.

In Free Scratch mode, you can use your mouse to chart a path across the moon's surface. The corresponding music plays in a loop, regardless of how long the path is. The notes are visualized as different colors and patterns on the screen.

moonbell --

To tweak the audio output, click the "Preference" button on the bottom left of the screen. This opens the settings panel, where you can choose from 128 musical instruments for each track, change the playback speed, set the volume for each instrument, and more.

See the "About" page for a complete description of all of Moonbell's functions and controls.

[Link: Moonbell]

Video: Alva Noto – unitxt u_08-1

07 Aug 2009

German electronica artist Alva Noto's video for "u_08-1" shows an encounter with some possessed Tokyo vending machines.

[Via: @Mulboyne]

Space Shower TV station IDs

17 Jun 2009

Here are a couple of fun station IDs for Space Shower TV, Japan's largest cable/satellite music channel.


+ We love music, we love peace: Epic food label battle in the kitchen. Directed by Kouki Tange (Yellow Brain).


+ Guitar: Snapshot of family time in a curious household. Directed by Koichiro Tsujikawa.

Video: Japanoise robot does Detroit

14 May 2009

Here is some awesome turn-of-the-century footage of "Robo Alpha" (noise artist Government Alpha in robot disguise) rocking Detroit. (Best enjoyed at maximum volume.)

[Via: Awesome Tag]

Fact – A Fact of Life (Boom Boom Satellites Remix)

11 May 2009

Electro-rock duo Boom Boom Satellites have remixed "A Fact of Life" by screamo outfit Fact, and the video is a fiendish feast of Noh-inspired abstract dance.


+ Video

Robo-Shuchishin: New idol-pop trio

23 Apr 2009

A pair of Robonova-1 kit robots teamed up with "Chi" (Naoki Nokubo) of the defunct pop-idol trio Shuchishin for a special performance on Fuji TV's "The Best House 1-2-3" variety show last night. (Watch it.)

The new trio -- named "Robo-Shuchishin" -- performed "Shuchishin," the original group's self-titled hit single. Although the robot replacements sang off-key and sounded rather robotic, one of the little guys pulled off a surprise by taking its pre-show "break a leg" instructions literally (skip 1:20 into the video).