WE LOVE JAPAN raises £5977.86 for the Tohoku Earthquake Relief effort →

ADAM ANT TO HEADLINE ‘WE LOVE JAPAN’ (Japan Earthquake Appeal)

19 March, 2011 by Tom Smith 4 Comments

Where: The Relentless Garage, Highbury, London.
When: Saturday 2nd April 2011.
Tickets: £10 http://www.hmvtickets.co/events/2718 £12.50 on the door.
The Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148982421830837

The UK music legend Adam Ant will headline a night of live music, comedy and karaoke at the Relentless Garage in Highbury on Saturday 2^nd of April in aid of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Joining him are some of the most promising London-based Japanese musicians will take part in the evening hosted by comedian and presenter Iain Lee of Absolute Radio. Japanese celebrities will offer their support at the event via exclusive video messages to show their gratitude as well as offer encouragement to those doing their own fund-raising activities.

Adam Ant will play a very special 45-minute electro-acoustic set at the event. The other talent performing on the night includes half-Japanese songstress iMMa, who, when not rocking her solo project, can be found on stage providing backing vocals for the BRIT award winning popstar Mika. There is also the cheeky all girl pop-rock outfit No Cars from Japan, experimental classical quartet Kuaigora, video game junkie MC and DJ act Akira the Don and more. Plus, some of the best tunes Japan has to offer from the pop, rock and dance genres will be DJed by Iain Lee and the Japan Underground team.

Additional to the main 600+ capacity room is the venue’s mini-bar which will be transformed in to a Japanese style karaoke booth, kitted out with the latest karaoke machine direct from Tokyo thanks to Onboard Karaoke, with a whopping 600,000 songs to choose from in English and several other languages. There will also be a purikura (Japanese photo booth) service available, raffles, auctions and other activities to make as much money as possible for charity.

All proceeds from the evening will go to the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund. The Japan Society has created this disaster relief fund to aid victims of the Tohoku earthquake. All the funds it receives will be distributed to organizations working to help people in the affected areas recover from the devastating effects of the earthquake and tsunami.

WE LOVE JAPAN is sponsored by:
HMV, MOMA, Manga Entertainment LTD, The Relentless Garage, We Love Anime, Uniqlo, NME, Japan Underground Onboard Karaoke, Cosplay Portrait, Namco Bandai and Play for Japan.

More on the artists performing:

Akira the Don: http://www.akirathedon.com/
A cult pop revolutionary pioneer. Akira the Don claims he was ahead of the game when he first launched his free mix-tapes online in 2004, and now, with collaborations with Lethal Bizzle and Andrew W.K., a passion for gaming and anime culture, and a forthcoming EP co-produced by the legendary Steven Hague of Pet Shop Boys and Blur fame, Akira’s back, and he’s very much the Don.

iMMa: http://www.myspace.com/iMMarock
iMMa’s music is an orgy of diverse rock delivered with tremendous self belief, and zeal. The half-Japanese vocalist, when not strutting on stage under her iMMa moniker, supplies backing vocals for flamboyant popstar Mika – we like to think his flamboyance is a direct result of hanging out with iMMa too much.

No Cars: http://www.myspace.com/nocars
Cute n’ zany all girl pop-rock direct from the land of the rising sun. Expect quirky songs about a few of their favourite things; food and sellotape. Oishii (Japanese for tasty), kawaii, and more than a little bit sticky. No Cars are always a bundle of fun.

Kuaigora: http://www.myspace.com/Kuaigora
“Ethereal vocals float above a sea of pianos, loop pedals and cellos in this Japanese singer songwriter’s mystical music landscape.” – Roundhouse. You haven’t experienced beauty until you’ve witnessed Kuaigora live. Classical instrusments from the east and west collide in an experimental and chilled exploration in sound.

March of the Playwrite: http://www.myspace.com/marchoftheplaywrite
The one part-Japanese, two parts-English working class rock trio recently released their debut EP and have their follow up record ready to drop in May before their tour of Japan, which includes Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya and busking for charity in-between.

Filed under Japan Underground Tagged with chairty, earthquake, fund raiser, Iain Lee, Japan, Japanese bands, Japanese music, tohoku

About Tom Smith
Some say he's fuelled on nothing but energy drinks, and that when he visits Japan, he spends the whole time engaging the ground in an all too familiar way. But what we do know is that his words on the country's entertainment and culture find their way into NEO Magazine on a monthly basis, while everything else finds its way here. Be it quirky news item from the Land of the Rising Sun, or a story so gruesome it'd be rude not to pass it on, you'll find it here along with his general posts about life, work and most importantly play. And yes, he has had articles printed in the likes of MCV, GamesMaster, 360 Gamer and more, thanks for noticing.