Toronto, Twitter & Hip-Hop

First off, I'm back in Toronto! I loved living in Tokyo so I'm already planning how to head back there~ It still feels a bit strange to be here in Toronto but while I'm here, I'll do my best to stay bright and motivated.

まず、トロントに帰ってきました！東京の生活は大好きだったから、そこに戻る方法をもう計画している～ここでの生活はまだちょっと変な感じですけど、ここで明るい感情とやる気を維持するために頑張ります。


I've started using Twitter! Not sure if I'll be able to keep it up (look at how frequent my blog posts aren't) but I figure it can't hurt to have another way for people to reach me and vice versa. So, if you're a Twitter user, please follow O-Mocha and Full Circle!

ツイッターを始めました！頻繁に更新をできるかまだ分からない（このブログをあまり更新しないからね）でも、もう一つの接触法は悪くないと思う。もしツイッターを使うなら、Ｏ－ＭｏｃｈａとＦｕｌｌ　Ｃｉｒｃｌｅをフォローして下さいね！


This week I had the chance to head into the studio to record a hook for a track by Toronto Hip-Hop artist E-Sober. The finished song, Italian Sam, can be heard through this post at the Dot Got It blog or the Youtube video below!

今週はスタジオでトロントのＨｉｐ－ＨｏｐのアーティストＥ－Ｓｏｂｅｒのトラックでフックをレコードしました。「Ｉｔａｌｉａｎ　Ｓａｍ］と言う曲はこのブログポストと下のＹｏｕｔｕｂｅのビデオで聞くことができます！









Lastly, I want to share this song that I've been overplaying for the past week. I can't get enough of it! Check out Chronic Intoxication (Nomak remix) by Nieve & Cook~

最後に、ここ一週間にいつも聴いている曲を共有したいです。何度聴いても良い曲です！Ｎｉｅｖｅ　＆　Ｃｏｏｋの「Ｃｈｒｏｎｉｃ　Ｉｎｔｏｘｉｃａｔｉｏｎ　（Ｎｏｍａｋ　ｒｅｍｉｘ）」をチェックして下さい！









Until next time!

それじゃあ、またね！

First PV!!

I'm happy to announce that I have recently completed, and just now uploaded Full Circle's very first music video~!! After releasing the song itself on MySpace and Facebook, and seeing that it received some lovely comments and positive reactions, I felt motivated to start a music video project! I figured it was time to finally use some of the motion design skills I've picked up over the years... I hope that it's paid off! Although the rotoscoping animation and motion graphics were created solely by myself, I couldn't have done it without the help of various motion graphics experts who provided useful After Effects video tutorials, tips and tricks, not to mention the other sources that offered a couple of the vectors (slightly modified, of course) that appear throughout the video: Aetuts+, Creative COW, Video Copilot's Andrew Kramer, Premium PSD, Keep Designing (love those clouds!), Ars Grafik, ffyunie on deviantArt, and Vecteezy. If there are any sources I forgot to name, sorry!

Anyway, please check out the video, give some feedback, and feel free to share the link with your friends~ Thanks!

君色想い

The latest Full Circle track is finally online at MySpace and Facebook!! Titled Kimi Iro Omoi, which in English means "thinking about your colour", it's a bossa nova style track that I hope everyone will enjoy! Other songs are still underway so hopefully another music update will be posted here soon... I'll keep you all posted!

ＦＵＬＬ　ＣＩＲＣＬＥの最新作をＭＹＳＰＡＣＥとＦＡＣＥＢＯＯＫでアップしたよ～！！ タイトルは「君色想い」でボサノバスタイルだからみんな楽しんでくれると嬉しいな！他にもまだせいさくとちゅう曲があるからできるだけ早くアップするね。

Until then, have a listen!

それまで、聞いててね！

Two Thousand And Eleven

The New Year season has come and gone, and now we're well into 2011... a fact that I have mixed feelings about, if I'm honest! The past year and change has brought to my life many new experiences, opened and perhaps closed many doors, and propelled me through transitions of varying degrees on many different levels. I feel like things are moving and changing; some very quickly, so quickly that I scarcely have the chance to grasp and comprehend them; and others at a snail-like pace that is frustratingly like watching a car accident occurring in slow-motion...

新年はもう終わって、２０１１年はもう始まった…しょうじき、それはいりまじった感情です。この１年くらいの間に新しけいけんがあったり、新しいきかいを生み出したり、好機を多分逃したり、さまざまなレベルと度合いで自分の人生も変化しました。物事が動いてると変化してるような気がする。目まぐるしいことも、こうつじこをスローモーションで見ているかのようにひどくゆっくりなことも…

Lots to think about! Lots of decisions to make! And perhaps not a lot of time to make it in... But all we can do is what we can with what we have, so that's how I plan to go forward this year! No New Year's Resolution, exactly... just a better sense of myself, what I want to do with my time, what makes me happy, and what keeps me (relatively) sane. ;P

考えることがたくさんあります！決めなくちゃいけないことがたくさんあります！あんまり時間がないと思うけど、自分の持っているものを使ってできるだけのことをします。それが今年のけいかく！それは新年のけついじゃないけどね、ただ…自分が何をしたいのかも、自分を幸せにするものも、おちついていられるほうほうも、自分のことをもっとよくりかいします。

Music is always there, no matter what happens. Lately I've been listening to some tracks from way-back-when, like this Four Tet Remix of Sia's "Breathe Me", which has lately been fitting my mood.

どんな時も音楽はいつもみんなのためにそこにあります。最近ちょっと古いな曲を聞いてる。この曲が私の気分に今は似合うそう。

	Sia - Breathe Me (Four Tet Remix) .mp3

One thing I will try to commit myself to, though, is stretching my Japanese more... "When in Rome," no? Although I can't do a perfect translation from English to Japanese, from now on I would like to make an attempt, at least! Wish me luck~

じゃぁ、これから私の日本語のちしきをもっと広がる！「郷に入っては郷にしたがえ」ってね！かんぺきなほんやくはまだできないけど、今からがんばります！おうえんしてね～