5 Reasons to Visit JPU Records at HYPER JAPAN

1. Meet Eir Aoi!
Yep! JPU Records will not only be exclusively selling Eir Aoi’s official merchandise and albums, but every Eir Aoi CD sold at HYPER JAPAN comes with a token to meet the singer and get stuff signed! Purchases over £18.50 also receive a special postcard. We will be stocking several sizes of her “EIR AOI ROCK THE WORLD 2015” tour shirt, as well as Eir Aoi wristbands in blue, green and red.

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2. Get Dempagumi.inc’s album before it’s official release!
The otaku idol’s CD will get its official European release in August, but you can get it right now by visiting JPU Records at HYPER JAPAN! Why not come and grab their brightly coloured (and brilliant!) album and see them live in the same day! The girls will be the Festival Stage on Friday 10 July with JPU Tom for a special talk at 6:30pm, and they’ll then perform on the HYPER LIVE Stage at 10:45am on Saturday 11 July and close the HYPER LIVE stage on Sunday 12 July at 4:45pm. There’s also a chance to meet the band and get the CD signed on Saturday.

Here’s the full stage schedule for all the acts. (Save it! Very useful!)

3. Get Ling tosite sigure’s Best of Tornado CD before release date too!
Not only have we licensed Ling tosite sigure’s killer Best of Tornado album (featuring 14 tracks re-mastered by John Davis (Led Zeppelin, Royal Blood, the Prodigy)), but we will have it available to buy nearly a MONTH before its 7 August release date! The band will be in London on Saturday 11 July to join VAMPS and [Alexandros] at JAPAN NIGHT at inidgo at The O2. Alternatively, get the album right now on iTunes!

4. Friday is the re-release date of NIL from the GazettE!
That’s reason enough to come and visit us, isn’t it?! We’ll have the album, fresh off the press, along with the band’s other releases through JPU Records, as well as a selection of super rare singles and EPs from their indie days. Not to be missed for any hardened fan!

5. Meet the JPU Records team!
Not sure why anyone would want to, but if you do, you can! We’re not only there to flog you a couple of CDs or vinyl, but also to offer advice, recommend and suggest bands, and just have a bit of a chin-wag about music in general!

HYPER JAPAN is the UK’s largest celebration of Japanese pop culture and takes places from Friday 10 – Sunday 12 July 2015 at The O2 in London.

Japan’s Otaku Idols Dempagumi.inc to Release First International Album and Perform at HYPER JAPAN at The O2 This Weekend

Japan’s alternative idol group Dempagumi.inc has confirmed the international release of their album W.W.D.D. through London’s JPU Records, following their first UK performances at HYPER JAPAN at The O2 on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July 2015.

Described as “pop… played at hardcore punk speed” by Complete Music Update and “an insane mish-mash of styles… an explosion of joy and creativity” by MTV Iggy. Dempagumi.inc are already turning heads overseas, and now the otaku superstars break out of Tokyo’s Akihabara district to bring their music to an international audience for the first time.

When originally released, W.W.D.D. reached number three in Japan’s Oricon Album Charts, where the six all-girl unit has held huge headline arena shows, including the Nippon Budokan, National Yoyogi Stadium’s First Gymnasium, as well as appearances at Japan’s major rock festivals, despite their pop aesthetics.

A number of tracks on the album have been written by prominent figures in the Japanese rock industry, including Tamaya 2060% of punk group Wienners, NAOTO from popular hip-hop rock act ORANGE RANGE, and anime theme composer and video game music remixer Kenichi Maeyamada amongst many more.

W.W.D.D. on CD will include a 28-page full colour photo and lyric booklet and will be available first at HYPER JAPAN, ahead of its official retail release from 7 August 2015. Digitally, the album is out now on iTunes and will be made available from other digital download and streaming services shortly.

W.W.D.D. TRACKLIST:
01. Dempa na Sekai ~ It’s a dempa world ~
02. Dempari Night [video]
03. Dance Dance Dance
04. NEO JAPONISM
05. FD2 ~Raison d’etre Daibouken~
06. Chururi Chururira [video]
07. Mamonaku, Dempagumi.inc ga Ririku Itashimasu
08. Dear Stage e Youkoso
09. Bari3 Republic [video]
10. Fancy Hoppe U FU FU [video]
11. Lemon Iro [video]
12. Brandnew World
13. Irodori Sekai
14. Sakura Apparation [video]

Pre-order now directly from JPU Records, or purchase in advance at HYPER JAPAN.

Dempagumi.inc online:
http://dempagumi.dearstage.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dempagumi.inc
https://twitter.com/dempagumi
https://www.youtube.com/dempagumiinc

JPU Records Online:
http://jpurecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/JPUrecords
https://twitter.com/JPUrecords

the GazettE to Re-release NIL, STACKED RUBBISH and DIM in the UK and Europe

Japan’s ‘visual kei’ veterans the GazettE will release their first three major-label albums in physical and digital formats in Europe through London’s JPU Records, ahead of the release of their hotly anticipated eighth album DOGMA.

Breakthrough album NIL (Nameless Liberty Underground) saw the group emerge from Japan’s underground visual kei scene and become one of the biggest, most influential names in the genre. When released in 2006, the album reached number four in the Oricon Weekly Album Chart and the tour surrounding it brought the GazettE in front of 20,000 fans for its finale at The Nippon Budokan, the country’s most revered venue. NIL will be available from 10 July in the UK and soon after in the rest of Europe.

Follow up album STACKED RUBBISH gave the band their highest chart position to date, reaching number three in Japan’s album chart in 2007 and redefined visual kei in the process. The album experimented with elements of R&B, jazz and blues, and incorporated into the band’s existing heavy, aggressive and dark sound. The results crossed boundaries, even countries, as the GazettE embarked on their first world tour, including a show at a packed out O2 Academy Islington from word of mouth alone. STACKED RUBBISH will be available from 14 August 2015, and had several tracks available to buy in advance from iTunes right now, including fan favourites Filth in the beauty (one unofficially uploaded video of the song has over five million hits on YouTube), high-energy anthem HYENA and the moody theme from Korean horror flick APT; Chizuru.

The last of this year’s re-releases will be DIM, an album described as having riffs as “heavy as the soul of Dracula” and sounding like “Slipknot playing Powerman 5000 covers” by AllMusic’s Alexey Eremenko. Leading up to its release, the GazettE performed a guerrilla gig outside of Shinjuku Station, the world’s busiest transport hub. Police had to pul the plug on when several thousand fans turned up to the secret event. DIM includes the group’s first single to reach number two in the charts, LEECH. The album will also be released on 14 August 2015, with several tracks available now from iTunes.

The CD editions of the albums include the original photo and lyric booklets, as well as all-new booklets containing new images and the lyrics translated into English and Romaji.

NIL TRACKLIST:
(Release: 10 July)
01. THE END
02. Nausea & Shudder
03. Bath Room
04. Maggots
05. Namaatatakai Ameto Zaratsuita Jounetsu
06. D. L. N
07. SHADOW VI II I
08. BARETTA
09. Cassis
10. SILLY GOD DISCO
11. DISCHARGE
12. Taion
Pre-order on CD.

STACKED RUBBISH TRACKLIST:
(Release: 14 August)
01. ART DRAWN BY VOMIT
02. AGONY
03. HYENA
04. BURIAL APPLICANT
05. GANGES NI AKAI BARA
06. REGRET
07. CALM ENVY
08. SWALLOWTAIL ON THE DEATH VALLEY
09. MOB 136 BARS
10. GENTLE LIE
11. FILTH IN THE BEAUTY
12. CIRCLE OF SWINDLER
13. CHIZURU
14. PEOPLE ERROR
Pre-order on CD or from iTunes,

DIM TRACKLIST:
(Release: 14 August)
01. 「HIKARI」
02. THE INVISIBLE WALL
03. A MOTH UNDER THE SKIN
04. LEECH
05. NAKIGAHARA
06. 「ERIKA」
07. HEADACHE MAN
08. GUREN
09. 「SHIKYU」
10. 13STAIRS[-]1
11. DISTRESS AND COMA
12. 「KANSHOKU」
13. SHIROKI YUUTSU
14. IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS
15. 「MORO」
16. OGRE
17. DIM SCENE
Pre-order on CD or from iTunes.

Ling tosite sigure to Release Best of Album and Perform at JAPAN NIGHT at London’s indigo at The O2

Japan’s breakthrough guitar act Ling tosite sigure (凛として時雨) will release their first ‘best of’ album internationally through JPU Records on 7 August, following their performance at JAPAN NIGHT at London’s indigo at The O2 on Saturday 11 July 2015.

Entitled Best of Tornado, the 14-track album features songs spanning the trio’s 10+ year career, from their early self-released album and EPs to their recent chart topping album still a Sigure virgin and last year’s i’mperfect. Each track has been brought back up to date by being brilliant re-mastered by Metropolis Studio’s John Davis (Led Zeppelin, Royal Blood, the Prodigy).

Ling tosite sigure first came to the UK as part of The Great Escape, an experience – which included being played on the Radio 1 Rock Show – was so central to the growth of the band that photos of their time in England have been used exclusively in the album’s booklet. Since then, the group’s international following has continued to grow, further strengthened when latest tracks abnormalize and Enigmatic Feeling became the opening themes for series one and two of Production I.G’s hit anime series PSYCHO PASS. Additionally, abnormalize’s official music video has impressively accumulated near to five million views on YouTube.

Best of Tornado will be available in the UK and Europe from 8 July 2015 digitally from Amazon MP3 and iTunes, and available on CD in the territory from 7 August 2015. Pre-order now.

Best of Tornado TRACKLIST:
01. JPOP Xfile [video]
02. Telecastic fake show
03. abnormalize [video]
04. illusion is mine [video]
05. Souzou no Security (2015 mix)
06. DISCO FLIGHT
07. moment A rhythm (short ver.)
08. Beautiful Circus [video]
09. I was music [video]
10. Azayaka na Satsujin (2015 mix)
11. Telecaster no Shinjitsu (2015 mix)
12. nakano kill you (2015 mix)
13. Enigmatic Feeling (2015 mix) [video]
14. Missing ling
15. Boukan

SCANDAL Becomes First Band to be on the Cover of British Magazine NEO

SCANDAL, one of Japan’s most powerful all-girl rock bands, will feature on the cover of issue 138 of NEO Magazine in the UK from 12 June 2015, following the successful conclusion of their first world tour, their latest music video Image passing one million views, and the release of two international albums in the last six months through London’s JPU Records.

It’s the first time a band has featured on the cover of the British anime, manga and Asian pop-culture publication since beginning ten years ago under publisher Uncooked Media. Fittingly, SCANDAL has also has their music used in hugely popular anime as Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist and the latest Pokémon film.

The issue of NEO boasts an extensive six-page interview with the band, including exclusive photos from their sold out show at the O2 Academy Islington, as well as the group’s first time sight-seeing in London, including their homage to musical heroes The Beatles whilst visiting Abbey Road Studios, and rock legends Oasis in recreating the cover of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?. Two full-A4 posters are additionally included.

Editor Gemma Cox comments; ”NEO 138 is truly an issue dear to our hearts, as it’s the first time in our decade-long history that we’ve featured a Japanese band on the front cover. Asian music is one of our passions at NEO, and we could not think of a better band to celebrate this with than SCANDAL, the all-girl group currently taking the world by storm! Powering through the charts with their latest album releases, HELLO WORLD and UK-and-Europe-exclusive GREATEST HITS, there was never a better time for us to speak to the girls than during their brief stop in London as part of their tour. We hope SCANDAL-fans and music lovers enjoy our extensive coverage in NEO 138.”

SCANDAL’s latest studio album HELLO WORLD is their eighth to be released, and reached number three in Japan’s Oricon Album Chart when it was originally released in Japan from Epic Records, owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was SCANDAL’s first album to be released in the UK through independent label JPU Records Ltd. at the start of 2015, and was followed up by an exclusive compilation from the British label entitled GREATEST HITS, which sold out of initial print before release date in May 2015.

Issue 138 of NEO Magazine is available from magazine stockists from 12 June 2015, as well as its homepage www.neomag.co.uk/magazine.

NEO 138 is also available digitally from Google Play, Amazon, Pocket Mags, the iOS App Store and from www.neomag.co.uk/digitalmag/issue/138.

www.scandal-4.com/

www.facebook.com/scandalofficial

www.jpurecords.com/