Tessa Violet has been cranking out a wide range of new music during the pandemic, but I seem to have lost the majority of my postings about her since it began. I can’t make up for the 20 or so postings I have lost with a single entry, so expect to see her listed here again very soon! First off, 2 versions of her song Games (2nd studio version, then first and only punk variation), out of the 3 studio and at least 4 live variations I have seen so far. I had to add Bored after that, since she sang that on pretty much all of her twice a week (and often more frequent) Pandemic webcasts since she wrote it a little more than a year ago. And lets face it, there is no song that expresses the mood of every one trapped at home during the previous 16 or so months than that one. And then for perspective one of my favorite songs from before the Pandemic, I Like The Idea Of You. It has been a hell of a couple of years, but I am very grateful for artists like Tessa, who just kept working their asses off even when in isolation, to help keep the rest of us from going batshit bonkers!
She Knows Tech is an organization of women professionals in the music industry, and if that immediately makes you think secretaries, receptionists, and gophers, you completely missed the point. The She Knows Tech Summit is a multi-day all-female line-up conference to celebrate International Women’s Day, which takes place on March 8th. The Summit happened this year from March 5th through the 8th, and brought together a new generation of multifaceted producers, artists, songwriters and music professionals. Their goals include:
1) To provide a platform for women to give and receive training in music technology.
2) To highlight female-identifying professionals in the music technology industry as role models.
3) To create a safe space for open discussion in closing the industry’s gender gap.
This year some of their members created music live from their homes and studios, which was hosted at the Spitfire YouTube Channel. That link will take you to their full playlist, but I wanted to share a few of my favorites here. The first tune is from Dominique, her song Use Me, a very tasty role reversal. The second track is from Ling Ling, and I love the fact the skyline behind her is also something she created electronically. I thought I recognized several of those buildings, and if so they came from different cities. Next we have dolltr!ck with her song Destiny. The final video is one of their promotional spots, telling you a bit more about the organization.
I thought it was time I posted again about TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA, since they continue to release song after amazing song. All of these were uploaded to You Tube in 2021, in celebration of this year’s Together Again tour and their new album SKA=ALMIGHTY. The first track is Mede Tashi Song feat. Muro Tsuyoshi, posted on June 11th and currently sitting at just shy of 160K views. That’s followed by I want to meet you Feat. Hasegawa blank paper uploaded in March, and we finish up with a live version of Paradise Has No Border recorded at the Great Conjunction 2020 event. If the crowd looks a little less dense than you were expecting it’s because the show happened on December 3rd of 2020, so it is set with Social Distancing seating (not that anyone is actually sitting down), and the audience are all wearing masks.
Wagakki Band continue to create amazing music using their blend of traditional Japanese instruments (the literal translation of the word Wagakki) and modern rock tools. The first track is Aria of Life, their theme song for the Anime series Mars Red, while the second, Starlight, is the theme for the Japanese TV drama “Ichikei no Karasu”. Their music certainly lends itself to TV and Movie production with its unique sound, so they have been getting a lot of work in between recording albums and doing world tours.