AN CAFE – Hikagyaku ZiprocK: the Review

Hikagyaku ZiprocK is An Cafe’s first full length album in over four years. A lot has changed in the ‘Jrock’ landscape in those years, but this album shows that AN CAFE hasn’t changed a bit. If you liked them before, you’ll love the new songs. Similarly, if they irritated you before, we highly doubt any of the new offerings will win you over (but do listen to ‘O No Saki Ga Ienai’ just for the ‘lulz’.)

The album is  a mixture of styles. They have their ‘Harajuku’ high-tempo disco stuff with tracks ‘ROMAN’ and ‘Love Me Tender’ (our favourite on the whole album – and one of the European version’s three bonus tracks), Jpop-meets-Jrock with ‘Utsukushi Hito’, ‘Bee Myself Bee Yourself’, there’s some goofy chiptune fun with ‘Gendai Soldier Now’ and even a fair few ballads included too. Perhaps the most surprising element, at least for us, was the heavier approach on a few tracks. Just check out the video at the bottom of this review – that’s a little more ‘grr’ than we’re used to! And we’re liking it! Even if they do balance it out with a scary / cute girl-Miku.

Summary: Existing fans will love it. As for us, we’ve never been the biggest An Cafe fans (sorry Cafekko), and although ZiprocK certainly has its moments, it also has plenty more irritations. But that’s just us. 6/10

Hikagyaku ZiprocK is due for release in Europe from Friday 13 December (and 6 January 2014 in the UK, according to Amazon) and boasts three bonus tracks and an extra booklet with translated lyrics. Don’t forget the boys are also on tour in 2014. Click here for all the dates.

01. Juryoku Scandalous
02. ROMAN ~Let’s make precious love~
03. Hachimitsu+Lemon=?
04. Utsukushi Hito
05. Gendai Soldier Now.
06. O No Saki Ga Ienai
07. Shomi Kigen 2010.01.04
08. Itai Onna ~NO PAIN,NO LOVE ? JAPAIN GIRLS in LOVE~
09. Inazuma no Senritsu
10. Bee Myself Bee Yourself ~Jibun Rashiku Kimi Rashiku Umareta Story wa Hajimattenda
11. Kiminomachi ~5 person sing along ver.~
12. Itsumo no Kiss de / MaT [European Bonus Track]
13. Love Me♡Tender / Paku x2 Pakuchi [European Bonus track]
14. Merry Making ~Anti-aging ver~ [European Bonus Track]

Order from Amazon: Special European Edition, Japanese Limited Edition.

An Cafe Back with New Album and Fourth World Tour!

Time to get the pink fluffy stuff off the shelf and restock on glitter; An Cafe are back, and they may just be playing in a town near you. Between February and March 2014 the man-boys will embark on the European section of their fourth ‘world’ tour, this one entitled ‘LIVE CAFE TOUR 2014 – NYAPPY GO AROUND THE WORLD IV ~kawaii Cafekko AISHITERU~’. BUT! That’s not all! to show all the Cafekko (the name of their fans) out there just how much they AISHITERU you, they’ll be dropping their spanking new album this month; Hikagyaku ZiprocK.

More on that below, for now here are those tour dates:

21.02.2014　Zeche Carl, Essen [Germany]
22.02.2014　LKA Longhorn, Stuttgart [Germany]
25.02.2014　Szene, Vienna [Austria]
26.02.2014　Proxima, Warsaw [Poland]
27.02.2014　Club 202, Budapest [Hungary]
01.03.2014　Backstage Halle, Munich [Germany]
02.03.2014　Lido, Berlin [Germany]
04.03.2014　Ninkasi Kao, Lyon [France]
06.03.2014　Trabendo, Paris [France]
07.03.2014　O2 Islington, London [UK]
09.03.2014　Volta Club, Moscow [Russian]
11.03.2014　Tavastia, Helsinki [Finland]

Hikagyaku ZiprocK is the ‘Harajuku Dance Rock’ act’s fifth full-length album and is due for release across Europe this December courtesy of Gan Shin.
Tracklist:
01. Juryoku Scandalous
02. ROMAN ~Let’s make precious love~
03. Hachimitsu+Lemon=?
04. Utsukushi Hito
05. Gendai Soldier Now.
06. O No Saki Ga Ienai
07. Shomi Kigen 2010.01.04
08. Itai Onna ~NO PAIN,NO LOVE ? JAPAIN GIRLS in LOVE~
09. Inazuma no Senritsu
10. Bee Myself Bee Yourself ~Jibun Rashiku Kimi Rashiku Umareta Story wa Hajimattenda
11. Kiminomachi ~5 person sing along ver.~
12. Itsumo no Kiss de / MaT
13. Love Me♡Tender / Paku x2 Pakuchi
14. Merry Making ~Anti-aging ver~

You can order it now on CD from Amazon by clicking here. If you can’t wait until the European release date, the Japanese Limited Edition is also available by clicking here.

In the meantime, here’s Miku as a girl:

An Cafe Prepare to Nyappy Once Again in Europe

An Cafe are not only back from hiatus, they’re also conducting a European tour this November which includes a date at the O2 Academy Islington in London! Tickets for the show, taking place on Wednesday 7 November 2012, go on sale from 9am today and are available from Ticketweb, with tickets for the whole European tour available from the tour agency’s homepage; Twisted Talent.

The full tour title is  LIVE CAFE TOUR 2012, NYAPPY GO AROUND THE WORLD Ⅲ ～TADAIMA o(≧∀≦)o OKAERI o(≧∀≦)o～

On the tour’s title, the group comments;
“We came up with this title because we want to say ‘TADAIMA (I’m home)’ to all of you who had been waiting for us for such a long time, and ‘OKAERI (welcome back)’ for all of you who will return to our show, the place we have fun together.

“We promise that we will have a fun-filled, more-pop-than-ever, NYAPPIEST gig for you! Hope we all can have the NYAPPIEST time. We will welcome you at the venue o(≧∀≦)o”

Kanon x Kanon: The Euro 2011 Tour Finale Interview

On Friday 18 November 2011, visual duo Kanon x Kanon (pronounced ‘Kanon Kanon’) concluded their debut European tour with a performance at the O2 Bar Academy in Islington, London. The pair had been to Europe and the UK previously, but with their respective other projects; gothic Lolita cello-vocalist Kanon Wakeshima had performed a charity performance at Hyper Japan in London, while Kanon, the male bass-player of the popular oshare kei group An Cafe had been to Europe and the UK on several occasions with the band.

We caught up with the twosome in London for a chat about miracles, double decker buses,  and their plans for 2012… and is that a hint from Kanon that An Cafe will be back next year? Read on and find out.

In the meantime, Kanon x Kanon’s digital EPs are available now in the UK, more information on these is available on our site by clicking here.

For live photos from Kanon x Kanon’s London live performance, check out JPU buddy Kevin Gilvear’s gallery of the evening by clicking here, and also by viewing our slideshow at the end of this interview.

You’ve both played and visited Great Britain before, please tell us about your impressions of it.

Kanon says:
“I love the buildings and architecture here, they’re so cute! I could walk around British towns all day long and never be bored.”

Kanon says:
“Double decker buses!
They are cool.”

What can we expect in 2012 from Kanon x Kanon?

Kanon says:
“We want to visit more places and maybe release some new songs, but we’re doing things at our own tempo.”

After touring with the all-boy company of An Cafe, how do you find touring with a girl?

Kanon says:
“Aaaaaaah…. touring with the An Cafe guys is great!
I miss touring with the boys…”

And how’s life on tour with a boy for you, Ms. Wakeshima?

Kanon says:
“Yes.
It’s ok. :)”

The internet has been rife with rumours that An Cafe will be back in the summer of 2012, are these rumours true?

Kanon says:
“An Cafe is still on hiatus…
But there’s always a chance that we’ll get back together.”

And what are your plans for your solo career, Kanon Wakeshima?

Kanon says:
“I’ve been conducting my solo shows in Japan for the past few months. They’ll run for four consecutive months in total, and the final date of the tour will happen when I return to Japan. The tour is produced entirely by myself and the songs I play are my new songs, which I also produced. I’m hoping that these songs will go towards my next album.”

Tonight is the final date of your Kanon x Kanon x Kanon Euro Tour 2011, what have been the highlights?

Kanon says:
“I had some technical problems with my DJ set in Moscow. It was the first date of the tour and I was worried I’d have problems for all the dates. But now the tour is over I feel relieved that there wasn’t any major problems.”

Kanon says:
“For me, the biggest highlight was visiting new countries for the first time and having the people welcome us with so much energy. Their energy gives me the power to continue. Thank you all so much.”

On this tour, Kanon Wakeshima allowed fans to request anime themes for her to cover. Did some of their choices surprise you?

Kanon says:
“Yes! Pandora Hearts! I’m surprised people outside of Japan know this anime, it’s kind of niche in Japan. So I was wondering how they know it.”

Kanon says:
“‘Moonlight Densetsu‘ from Sailor Moon! There were so many requests for this song. I was also surprised, like Kanon, at how European people watch and learn about anime. There was lots of requests from K-On!, it made me think ‘hmm, is K-On! popular in Europe?'”

Were there any anime songs that Kanon secretly requested for Kanon Wakeshima to play?

Kanon says:
“Yes! You can guess my request, you saw it when you arrived.” [when I got to the venue, I caught Kanon playing around with Miku Hatsune stuff – Tom]

Which Japanese artists do you think we should keep an eye on in 2012?

Kanon says:
“Tom H@ck! He worked on a lot of the music from K-On! and these songs have become so popular in Japan. He’s a great musician and a great guitarist. I think 2012 will be a big year for him.” [He also works heavily with the visual kei group SuG – Tom]

Kanon says:
“Hmm, I’m not really into current pop music so I’m not sure… but idol groups have become popular again, so maybe they will continue to be strong next year.”

It’s almost the end of the year, do you have any new year resolutions for 2012? And did you achieve your  resolution for this year?

Kanon says:
“Yes, I accomplished this year’s resolution. And next year I will be very busy, so my resolution is to work hard.”

Kanon says:
“I can’t remember my resolution from last year…
But for 2012 I want to make miracles!”

Do you have any final messages for fans in the UK?

Kanon says:
“As always, thank you for your support UK! I will try my best, both in Kanon x Kanon and in An Cafe, if we decide to start again. Eitherway, please support me.”

Kanon says:
“Tom, thank you for always supporting me. And thank you to the people of Great Britain too, of course. I’m thinking of creating some new and exciting for next year, so I hope people will enjoy it.”

Here are some images of Kanon x Kanon’s London show, courtesy of Kevin Gilvear.

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