HYPER JAPAN is the UK’s biggest celebration of Japanese culture, cuisine and entertainment and will be taking place at their new home of The O2 in Greenwich, London on 10th–12th July 2015.
With the return of Hyper Japan comes a whole bunch of musical guests and performers, including the UK debut of Dempagumi.inc. Here’s the first of our guides to who’s appearing over the course of the weekend…
Dempagumi.inc
The Tokyo-based idol act originally formed in 2008, performing daily in Akihabara before releasing their debut single ‘Mirror Magic?’ in December the same year. In 2010 they made the jump to a major label and are currently on the roster for MEME TOKYO.
Dempagumi.inc push a very hyper-kinetic J-pop which is gathered under the loose tag of ‘denpa’ – a term that could translate in cultural terms as ‘completely bonkers’. The result of this is the speed-pop of songs songs such as ‘Denden Passion’ and ‘W.W.D.’. If you can imagine Momoiro Clover Z cranked up to 11 you’ll get the general idea.
With the release of new album WWDD, the Dempagumi team have gathered together chart-topping singles including ‘Sakura Appareshon’ and ‘Demparty Night’ and continue their rapid rise as Queens of the idol scene.
As well as performances, keep your eyes open for the HYPER Gallery – a variety of art themed around the performers of DearStage which includes a display of six mannequins displaying the actual outfits worn by Dempagumi.inc members. HYPER Gallery is located on the first floor of Building Six, next to the HYPER Theatre.
Schedule:
Friday 18:30 Special Talk Festival Stage (Area 2)
Saturday 10:45 HYPER LIVE Stage (Building Six)
Sunday 16:45 HYPER LIVE Stage (Building Six)
Meet & Greet: Saturday (Morning Session)
Meet & Greet: Sunday
More info:
http://dempagumi.dearstage.com/
Meanwhile Dempagumi.Inc’s latest album WWDD is available via UK iTunes:
TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE
A 5-piece idol outfit signed to the Avex label, TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE launched in 2010. They produce serviceable J-pop tunes that have a smooth, stylish edge to them, evident in singles such as ‘Limited addiction’ and ‘Liar’.
They’ve been compared to former female Avex groups such as dream and SweetS, the latter providing inspiration when TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE covered ‘Love like candy floss’.
The outfit are keen to move away from their idol roots to become artists in their own right. Their first single release in 2015, the evocative ‘Stay with Me’ features lyrics penned by TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE member Yamabe Miyu.
Their most recent release featuring the lush beats of ‘Never ever’ also features as the new ending theme for popular anime series Fairy Tail.
Schedule:
Saturday 12:45 HYPER LIVE Stage (Building Six)
Sunday 12:45 HYPER LIVE Stage (Building Six)
Meet & Greet: Saturday (Morning Session)
Meet & Greet: Sunday
More info:
http://tokyogirlsstyle.jp/
Eir Aoi
Hailing from Sapporo, Eir Aoi got off to an early music career interest by forming her own band while in school. Since then, the powerful singer has clocked up an impressive resume of releases since her debut single ‘MEMORIA’ in 2011.
She’s provided theme music for a number of classic anime titles, including Sword Art Online, Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, Fate/Zero and also gave us the opening theme to Kill la Kill in the shape of the rock-infused ‘Sirius’.
Schedule:
Friday 13:45 HYPER LIVE Stage (Building Six)
Saturday 13:45 HYPER Live! Stage
Meet & Greet: Friday
Meet & Greet: Saturday (Morning Session)
More info:
http://www.aoieir.com/
Die Milch
Embracing a unique baroque pop approach, Die Milch is the brainchild of founder Coco who cites the likes of Malice Mizer and violinist Emilie Autumn amongst her inspirations. At the same time, there’s a lot of classical touches to Die Milch’s material, evident in the powerful ‘Rosaria’ which showcases Coco’s dynamic vocal range for a tune bolstered by strings and harpsichord.
Fashion also plays a big part of Die Milch’s style, hence the Gothic Lolita approach to dress and style. The result is a visually eye-catching performance guaranteed to win new fans for their return UK visit.
As well as their appearance at Hyper Japan, J-Pop Go are also promoting Die Milch’s only other UK show at The Islington on 19th July (tickets via seetickets or see the Teatime Treasures stall at Hyper Japan).
Schedule:
Friday 15:30 Festival Stage (Area 2)
Saturday 11:00 Festival Stage (Area 2)
Meet & Greet: Friday
More info:
http://diemilch.com/
Heisei Kotohime
An idol act who embrace both contemporary J-pop as well as classic Japanese music traditions, Heisei Kotohime are an outfit who first performed back in 2012 in Akihabara as a quartet. Now reduced to a trio featuring Satsuki Miyu, Kato Yui and Momoya Mami, Heisei Kotohime perform with modern versions of the koto (Heisei-koto), based on the traditional Japanese string instrument.
Heisei Kotohime combine singing, dancing and performance and have issued 3 singles to date. They’ve also gathered a loyal fanbase who call themselves Eihei – special guardsmen who protect royal family members or, in this case, hime or princesses.
Ahead of their Hyper Japan appearance, Heisei Kotohime have also filmed a special video for UK audiences.
Schedule:
SATURDAY 11:45 HYPER LIVE Stage (Building Six)
Sunday 14:45 HYPER LIVE Stage (Building Six)
Meet & Greet: Saturday (Morning Session)
Meet & Greet: Sunday
More info:
http://www.heiseikotohime.com/
Other music treats for the weekend include Hibiki Ichikawa and Akari Mochizuki, May J, TOMOCA, VANIRU and ONE NOT’E. Saturday night also brings JAPAN NIGHT – a special concert performance bringing along the combined musical talents of VAMPS, LING TOSITE SIGURE, [ALEXANDROS] and OKAMATO’S.
Tickets to Hyper Japan start at £13 per day/session available from http://hyperjapan.co.uk/tickets/
