O-Mocha // singer-songwriter

Toronto, Twitter & Hip-Hop

2011-06-09T23:13:00.003-04:00

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!!

2011-04-23T14:10:00.001-04:00

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

2011-02-18T04:18:00.000-05:00

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

2011-01-27T11:45:00.000-05:00

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～

Happy Holidays~!

2010-12-25T12:14:00.000-05:00

Just a quick entry to wish a very Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it!! :D My first Christmas in Japan has ended, but for all my friends and family back home in Canada, England, and the Caribbean who are still celebrating the holiday, I hope you're having a great time!! I love you guys~!!

Little Moments and Future Shows

2010-11-01T02:30:00.000-04:00

Hey all~ This time the gap between music updates is much shorter! The latest Full Circle track, entitled Little Moments, is now available for listening on our MySpace page! Once again we went a slightly different direction with this song, so I hope you enjoy listening to the sounds and words that come forth in this one! The lyrics to this song are especially dear to me, and the song itself was a long time coming, so I'm excited to finally put it all out there!

In other news, the month of November is looking up in terms of O-Mocha and Full Circle performance opportunities!! There are three performances planned for this month, so I hope that those of you who are in the Tokyo area will be able to come out and hear us sing! Have a look at the details below! :D

Friday, November 5th, 2010

FLAVA ~2010 Final Special~

at 27destiny (Shibuya, Tokyo)

〒150-0044

東京都渋谷区円山町２－４ジーカンスビル１Ｆ

TEL 03-3496-2727

DOORS OPEN at 11PM
2,500yen / 1 drink
With flyer, 2.000yen / NO drink
Get the web flyer here!

Live Performance by
Ayaka + Dr. PEACEMAKER featuring O-Mocha

For more details about the many performers going on stage that night, check out the official event page here!

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

PLANETOLOGY vol.56
@shimokitazawa CLUB ERA
〒155-0031
東京都世田谷区北沢2-34-5 プリマヴェール下北沢4F
TEL 03-5465-6568
open/start 24:00～5:00
entrance fee \1500/1D w/f \1000/1D

HIPHOP、R&B・・・and GOOD MUSIC

DJ
TAYAMA
SADOBEN
WATAKEN
CHIAKI
KAERU
CK-ONE
MISAKI

MC
PLANET GALAXY
D.I.C.E
LEFTY

SINGER
Yuki
Full Circle

Check out the mixi community here:
http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=1584918

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

"HODGEPODGE（ホッジポッジ）" - Live Music & Art

1:00pm - 9:00pm

Shibuya VUENOS TOKYO & LOUNGE NEO
〒150-0043 東京都渋谷区道玄坂2-21-7
第8矢澤ビル4F
TEL 03-5458-2551

HODGEPODGE is an art and music event hosted by GuitarFish Media trying to create the bridge between Japan and the world of music. Our goal is to have an international collaboration of musicians and visual artists from all over the world in hopes of creating this international hodgepodge. All genres and art work welcome. We want to raise funds and awareness to support local artists and musicians from in and around Tokyo. We also would like to expose our audiences to different genres and interests to other than that of mainstream medias.

**Live performance of bands, singers, & DJ @ VUENOS　(B1F/1F)
**Art exhibition and movie screenings @ Lounge NEO (5F/6F)

PRICE:
ADV: 1500yen + 1 drink ticket (500yen)　
[Door: 2500yen + 1 drink ticket (500yen)]

Many different performers and artists will be at this event, including bands, emcees, singers, and DJs, so there will be lots listen to!!

Visit the website or Facebook Event page for more info!
http://www.wix.com/guitarfish/hodgepodge

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=165979356747860

CONTACT
guitarfish.media@gmail.com

イベント詳細

HODGEPODGE はGuitarFish Media 主催の音楽及びファインアートの総合エンターテインメントイベントです。世界の様々なジャンルのミュージシャンやアーティストを招き、国籍、人種、年齢、ジャンル、などといった様々な壁を超え、どなたでも気兼ねなく、気軽に楽しんで頂く事を目的としたインターナショナルな企画です。金銭面や練習場所、自分の作品を披露するのにとても肩身の狭い思いをしながら活動するミュージシャンやアーティスト。そして他国に比べ、音楽やアートに対して未だ関心が低い日本。その中心の東京で活動する無名のミュージシャンやアーティスト達の活躍の場をもっと広げたい。また、世の中の皆さんに様々なジャンルに触れてもらい、主流のメディア以外にもすばらしいアーティストや作品がある事を知って頂きたい。こういった想いからこのHODGEPODGEを開催する決断を致しました。

当イベントは、２０１０年１１月２３日（勤労感謝の日）に、渋谷のVuenos Tokyoと同ビルのLounge Neoにて行います。１３時にオープンし、１４時からパフォーマンスをスタートした後、２１時までミュージシャンやアーティスト達によるライブパフォーマンスやアートの展示を行います。VUENOS TOKYOのメインステージにてバンド、シンガー、DJなどを含めた約２０組がパフォーマンスを行います。同時に同ビルのLounge Neo をアートのエキシビジョンスペースとし、様々なスタイルを持ったアーティスト達の作品を巨大なドーム型の壁とプロジェクターを使って展示します。

★チケットは激安です！★
前売り券：１５００円＋１ドリンクチケット(500円)
通常料金：２５００円+１ドリンクチケット(500円)

詳細はHODGEPODGEのHPをご覧下さい。
http://www.wix.com/guitarfish/hodgepodge

近日アップデートがあるのでお楽しみに！

お問い合わせ
guitarfish.media@gmail.com

iTunes Japan Debut~!

2010-10-05T22:52:00.003-04:00

It's been a while! After another months-long hiatus from blogging, I'm glad to announce my debut on the Japanese iTunes Store~!

We were lucky enough to be asked to contribute to this compilation album, Acoustic Autumn ~ Seasoning of Songs~ , which was recorded a couple of months back. From today on, Oct 6th (Japan time), it is finally on sale on iTunes!! This album features a selection of new artists bringing a fresh voice to various Autumn-themed songs by well-known Japanese artists.

If you have access to the iTunes Japan Store, please support the first professional foray of Full Circle!! Check out Acoustic Autumn ~Seasoning of Songs~ on iTunes! Each track is ¥１５０ or you can get the entire album for only ¥６００~

Singing a cover of ORIGINAL LOVE's 「月の裏で会いましょう」 gave me my first opportunity to sing with mellow, acoustic style music, so if you check out the album and/or my contribution to it (thank you! ;D), please be gentle with me!

More new music from Full Circle will be coming at you soon~ Until next time!

Full Circle ♥ Tokyo

2010-07-11T02:21:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a while! I've already been in Tokyo for over a month now (coming up on two months, actually), but this is my first blog post since arriving...! What can I say? My procrastination habits are still as present as ever.

But thankfully this doesn't extend to music! A-KICKS and I have a new Full Circle song completed~ Check out our new song Jump on the Full Circle MySpace! The song is at the bottom of the list at the moment (MySpace has some kind of bug right now, I can't change the song order!), so don't miss it!! We would love to hear some feedback for this new track, so don't be shy about commenting! ;D

Anyway, back to Tokyo! ♥ The first couple of weeks felt incredibly surreal, I think I was walking around in a starry-eyed daze. Now I think it's finally settled in that I'm here! I love this city, it's so interesting and there is so much more I want to see of it! Not to mention all the other people I still want to meet and reunite with! The 663A Tokyo (and Osaka) peeps I've connected with so far have been amazing, as always. I'm looking forward to getting some collaborations and performances going, hopefully within the next month or so!

Right now, 663A's latest party HOT JAM is going down in Toronto, and I'm sure everybody's kickin' it in UpperUpper gear!! いいな～ (I miss you guys~~!!!)

Until next time!

行ってきまーーーす！ (See you later, Toronto!)

2010-05-18T03:34:00.002-04:00

It's 3:30am and I should be sleeping, but I'm so keyed up and excited...! In less than 24 hours from now I'll be on Japanese soil for the first time!! This past Sunday was my farewell (and birthday!) get together, so I've said goodbye to many of my friends in Toronto... and now I'm ready to say hello to many others in Tokyo!

Thanks to everyone who has shared their vibe with me, inspired me, taught me, and motivated me over the past year, two years, and even longer! I feel so happy that I can move forward with great people behind me and around me. Love you guys!!♥

Now's the time for Full Circle and 663A in Japan!!!

New Track!!

2010-04-11T13:18:00.002-04:00

Our newest Full Circle track is now available over at the Full Circle MySpace! This track had its debut performance in Toronto last month at Toika Lounge (although there were some technical difficulties, so only half of the vocals could be heard) and now it's fully mastered and ready to be heard online. The song is called Don't Say Goodbye has more of an R&B feel~ Have a listen, I hope you enjoy it!! ♥

Updates!!

2010-04-10T18:57:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I blogged, so here are some updates! Most obvious, of course, are the changes I've made to the layout here. I'm also in the midst of revamping the look of mine and A-KICKS' MySpace pages, so look out for that to be finished soon! As of yesterday, a combined Full Circle MySpace page is now available, as well as a Fan Page on Facebook!! If you have an account with Facebook, then please head on over and become a fan! ;D

As far as music goes, new Full Circle tracks are underway, and one in particular is especially close to completion. Now that it's April, and I have just over a month until I head over to Japan, I'm starting to get really hyped about making more progress in music! We have lots of songs that are partially done at this point, so I'm betting that once I'm in Tokyo with A-KICKS we will motivate each other to get things done.

In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for more updates here (I swear I'll actually post something), and head on over to the new 663A Blog to see what our fellow crew members are getting up to~!

Edit: Two recent collaboration tracks with DJ and emcee Dr. Peacemaker have been added to MySpace! (Nevermind that they've been finished for moooonths and were already available on his MySpace...! hahaha)

Let Your Backbone Sliiiiiiiiiide...into 2010

2010-01-09T14:22:00.009-05:00

Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had some great Christmas holiday and New Year celebrations!! 2009 went by pretty quickly for me, but I think it finally sunk in that the new year has begun... maybe because I just finished my first week back in classes at university haha~ So now it's time to buckle down again and get some work done!! I'm hoping I can soon extend this to recording music again as well, but for some reason sore throats and tonsillitis have been plaguing me on and off (more often than not, unfortunately) since way back in November...! In the meantime, I'll be writing lyrics and planning new songs so Full Circle's progress can stay on track~ And maybe A-KICKS will be laying down some of his vocals during this time too. ;D I really miss hearing his singing!! ♥

Anyway, as I said, the school year has begun again so projects and deadlines will be filling up the next few months... but before that happens, I think a little bit of partying is in order!! If you're in Toronto next Friday, check out this event, organized with the help of 663A!:

If you're a lover of music, dance, or downtown nightlife, come on out to Nocturne on Friday, January 15th and LET YOUR BACKBONE SLIDE! Celebrate the first month of the new year with a night of great vibes, cheap drinks, and hot music!

This event will help the graduating class of York/Sheridan Design (YSDN) to raise money for the upcoming 2010 YSDN Graduate Show. Please show your support by enjoying this all-night music party with us! DJs from Japan and Toronto will be spinning all the hottest dance music from Hip-Hop and R&B, to Electro and House, and more!

The Japanese-Canadian 663A music crew is lending a hand with this event, so expect the party to be full of hot DJs and freestyle dancing!

NOCTURNE NIGHTCLUB
550 Queen Street West (Queen W & Bathurst)
Friday, January 15th, 2010
DOORS OPEN at 9:00PM

Cover: $8 at the door
19+ (I.D. Required)

Resident 663A DJs and guest DJs will be spinning, including:
DJ eYe
Gimu-pon
DJ KiKEN
and AARON MOIR

For more updates and information, check out the event page on Facebook!

663A ♥ UPPERUPPER ♥ UNIQUE FLAVA

2009-10-19T18:55:00.011-04:00

I'm happy to say that some new music is nearly finished!! The songs will be added to MySpace and/or ReverbNation soon, so look out for updates~ And for those of you in Toronto, the first place to hear those songs performed live is at the next event... I hope to see you there! ;D

Here's the information (and crazily-awesome-juicy-brain poster by Gimu-pon!):

663A x UpperUpper, add a lil Unique Flava
and We Present you...
☆★ 663As HALLOWEEEEN Devil Night PARTY ★☆

663A is teaming up with UpperUpper (Japanese Vintage clothing styling group) and our brother promotion group Unique Flava to bring you the UNIQUE, the ONE and ONLY Special ...
☆★ 663As HALLOWEEEEN Devil Night PARTY ★☆
Featuring DJs, Selectors & Sounds from Japan as well as Local Toronto DJs!!

All Night Music featuring DJs, Selectors and Sounds from Japan as well as Local Toronto DJs, spinning the best dance music!! HipHop/R&B, Electro, House, Reggae and more!

Live Music Performance, Free Style Jamming with 663A Dancers, Costume contest, Drinks Special and more!!

☆★ 663As HALLOWEEEEN Devil Night PARTY ★☆

Located at NOCTURNE NIGHTCLUB
550 Queen Street West (Queen W & Bathurst)
Friday, October 30th (Devil Night)
DOORS OPEN @ 9PM
Advance Tickets: $10
@ Door: $15 without costume (SO MAKE SURE U DRESS UP!!!)

ALL NIGHT MUSIC & PERFORMANCE by 663A
O-Mocha
Dr. PEACEMAKER HIRO
YOSHI & FUSAKO

Dancers Performance
TIC (SIVA, Tokyo)
Minolizm
Monkey Jony
Keiko

663A Resident DJs
DJ eYe (OSAKA, JAPAN 大阪)
Minolizm (FUKUOKA, JAPAN 福岡)
DJ Kiken (Toronto, Canada)
NPcorona Selecta

JAPANESE REGGAE Selectors & SOUNDs
Luther Koichi (JAPAN)
KSK
Naoya

Guests DJs & Friends!
Public Universal Friends
Mike Klaps (blueprints)
Basil E
Aaron Moir (BD MAPLE, TORONTO)
Jaemin

More Info, Guestlists & Tickets
gim-gim.blogspot.com
upperupper.blogspot.com
email: gimuproduction@gmail.com
call/text: (416) 841-5386

or leave a msg on our facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/663A/139201224414

Double Whammy

2009-10-08T09:36:00.004-04:00

It's flu season, the H1N1 strain is making its rounds... and this is the time of year my immune system is most susceptible, so it's no surprise that I caught the flu recently. Oh, but I'm still surprised! My body decided that one bout of influenza wasn't enough so, instead, I caught two different types. Back to back! ...This kind of thing should just not be possible. Ever. And that's all I have to say about that.

In other, more relevant news, the next 663A music performance/party is being planned out! I'll post more details here once everything is ready to be advertised, but if you're in Toronto and looking to join us then mark October 30th in your calendars~! Dr. PEACE MAKER has returned from Japan for a few months, so definitely come out to see us performing together!! :D

As always, Full Circle songs are currently in the works, so I hope to have news of new completed tracks over the next couple of months as well~ I want to start finishing songs more consistently, and there are maaany songs to finish, so wish me luck!! Things should definitely pick up again throughout fall and winter~! I'll keep you posted!

Gimme Some Suga!

2009-08-02T14:11:00.003-04:00

...'Cause there are three new Full Circle songs up on MySpace! Suga, 光 (Hikari), and, err.. a song that is as yet untitled! While all three tracks are produced by A-KICKS (as usual ♥), they each have quite different sounds. We hope you enjoy them!!

In other news, I just noticed that MySpace increased their 6-song limit to 10 songs.... I really wish I'd noticed that before I removed three songs to make room for the new stuff! It's not a huge deal, I suppose, since I was able to add the older songs again... but now they're all at a play count of zero! Blarghargh!!! >:( Well, at least I only did it to my own MySpace... Aki's still has all the old play count statistics. :P

Anyway, the last thing I'll mention in this entry is the next (and final) Music Neighbour Music Event, hosted by 663A! (See, I really am remembering to advertise it!) It's happening in downtown Toronto on August 15th, at Nocturne Night Club, by Queen and Bathurst (550 Queen Street West). The doors open at 9pm, cover is just $5, and there are $4 drinks before 11pm! There are some awesome dancers, singers, and DJs lined up to perform, and the music will be non-stop all night! Music styles include Hip Hop, Electro, Drum n Bass, House, Reggae, Disco & Rare Groove~!

I hope lots of people can come out and enjoy the final party in the Music Neighbour series!! :D

Slackerific

2009-07-11T13:30:00.011-04:00

I can't believe how long it took me to post another entry here... A lot has happened since the last entry! (But I'll try to cut the rambling short. :P)

First off, there are a handful of new Full Circle songs in the works! I had some hardcore recording sessions back in May, and A-KICKS has been busy mastering those tracks since then... so definitely look out for some new additions on MySpace in the next couple of weeks! Sadly, my song-writing has slowed down in the past while, but I'm working on getting my productivity back up to speed. I'm also gonna get my ass in gear and finish an album design for the first Full Circle mini-album! More information on that later~

663A has had three music performances since the last entry as well (March, May, and June--I'm such a slacker, I didn't even advertise them here!!), and the next Music Neighbour event is coming up in about a month. The format of the upcoming show will be slightly different to that of the previous parties, but I think it will work out well! ....As long as I don't have to dance. Ahem. This time I'll actually post about the event beforehand. Really.

My going-to-Japan-as-soon-as-possible plan has been foiled yet agaaaaain~!! But the good news is that I've been saving up money for the past couple of months (yes, I have a job finally! ♥) and I'll have my degree by the time I've saved up enough to leave Toronto. Which means... I'll be completing my final year at university starting this Fall. I'm not crazy about returning to school... but completing my degree now will make things a lot easier for me in the long run. I've gotta bite the bullet!

Anyway, this is a lot of text. Clearly, I don't know how not to ramble... I'll post another entry again soon! In the meantime, feel free to overplay this song, as I have been doing...:

Black & Gold - Sam Sparro

New Full Circle Track!

2009-02-12T15:55:00.003-05:00

Finally, a new song has been completed! Please head on over to my MySpace page and listen to "Be My Boyfriend", the new track from myself and A-KICKS~! We hope you enjoy it!!

Also, my first fully Japanese song, called "My Sweet Baby", is available on ReverbNation (or through the extra player on MySpace), along with most of the Full Circle and AOA songs that were previously featured in the main MySpace music player.

A-KICKS and I are hard at work, so more Full Circle tracks with both Japanese and English vocals will be coming your way within the next few months!!♪

Two Thousand And Nine~~!!

2009-01-08T14:34:00.006-05:00

So it's the New Year!! For some reason it feels slightly surreal that it's 2009 already... maybe because this is the last year of the "two thousand"s. Next year we'll be saying "twenty-ten", and all this "two thousand" business will be over... awww. ;P

Anyway, my New Years' was uneventful, unless you count being sick an adventure. And I realized after more than two days into the new year that I completely forgot about making a resolution, too...! But now I figure that since the resolution I made last year was decided in May... I may as well make this year's resolution in May too! (This might just be an excuse... but I can live with that.)

Unfortunately 2009 has started with a set-back for me: I no longer have any idea when I can go to Japan. At first the hold up was all document-related but now, especially with the current CAD to JPY exchange rate, it's clear that money is the main issue. So, I've got to put more effort into building up my savings!!

On that note, dear reader, please feel free to make a donation to my Mochatastic Money Basket! Be as generous as you like; I promise I won't refuse your money. >:D hahaha

Enjoy 2009, everyone! There'll be some new music updates before too long, I swear~ ;D

Wow~

2008-12-16T23:00:00.007-05:00

Kylie Minogue's 2007 album, X, has been on repeat in my iTunes for the past 3 days. I don't know what it is about it! But I've become hooked on the songs (all but one song, which happens to be a bonus track anyway...) and I'm just glad I randomly decided to check out some of her recent music again. Her songs have some really good flow--I'm feeling even more inspired to make interesting music!

Kylie - Wow [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

Kylie - In My Arms [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

Kylie - 2 Hearts [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

Lift The Fog Up

2008-12-04T00:48:00.005-05:00

Here's yet another song I've fallen in love with recently. Shing02 is one of the first emcees whose lyrics really affected me. His writing is often expressive, eloquent, and full of metaphors, which really helps to inspire me both musically and personally... and one day I'm damn well gonna see him perform! ;P

Check out the music player below to listen to Lift The Fog Up, by KK + Shing02 (remixed by the absolutely awesome Eccy). If you're curious about the lyrics for this song, they are available on Shing02's website in both English and Japanese. All his other lyrics are here, for those of you who are even more curious (but maybe that's just me haha). Enjoy~~

Lift The Fog Up(Eccy Remix) - KK + Shing02

Thanks 663A!

2008-12-02T23:24:00.004-05:00

663A's MUSIC NEIGHBOUR event on Saturday November 29th was great!! Lots of people turned up, and the response to all the performances was amazing. Thanks to everyone who attended and, of course, to Gim, Kumy, Issei, Mayuu, Yuko, Miri, Hitomi, and the many other people who helped to organize the event and kept people entertained that night!!♥

In other news, there are some new music-related projects in the works, which I'll elaborate on later... also,I'll soon be adding a brand new track to MySpace! Stay tuned~ :D

Music Neighbour Performance!

2008-11-19T20:21:00.006-05:00

Coming up on November 29th is 663A's next music showcase, MUSIC NEIGHBOUR! I, along with many other talented people (including deejays, singers, emcees, and dancers) will be performing at this admission-free event. Look out for SoL, DJ MaA, Navarrow, Kumy, Yuko, and many others!

For more information, check out the Facebook event page or my upcoming shows info on MySpace. If you're in Toronto that weekend, I hope you can make it! :D

EDIT: Toronto emcee MASIA ONE (www.masiaone.com) is going to be the special guest on the 29th!! Another great reason to come out to this event, if you can!

Make Me Sweat

2008-11-01T16:26:00.003-04:00

If any of you fellow Canadians have been watching the first season of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, you may recognize the song that I've recently taken a liking to. Make Me Sweat by Basement Jaxx—one of my all-time favourite music artists—first came to my attention a few weeks ago when SYTYCD couple Kaitlyn and Izaak performed a Benji Schwimmer routine. That song really stood out! There's hardly a song by Basement Jaxx that I don't enjoy, and this one is definitely no exception~ Have a listen! :D

Make Me Sweat - Basement Jaxx

It's Decided!

2008-10-08T22:22:00.004-04:00

Although I haven't been able to push completely through my music block just yet, A-KICKS and I have decided what to name ourselves!: Full Circle is our duo name! It "only" took us 6 months to think of it haha. ;D

Apart from that, AKA KOROSHIYA is over in Japan now and planning some great music projects, and A-KICKS is composing great tracks, as always... so I'm hoping some of that inspiration will trickle over to me too! The motivation is there, but I need something to kick-start it some more. Let's see where this month takes me!

I Lost My Shoes!

2008-09-15T21:03:00.017-04:00

Okay, so they were never really my shoes... they were actually up for auction on eBay. But still! I had formed an attachment to the orange kitten heels over the last days of the auction... only to be outbid at the last minute. haha~ Truthfully, I'm not surprised; this was my first time bidding in an auction, so I'm in the minuses on the auction-savvy scale.

I could go on and on about this (I actually just backspaced a paragraph elaborating on my kitten heel woes), but I'd rather get to the music stories! So! So... well, there's not too much to tell, actually. It seems that I've fallen into a creative rut in the past 2 weeks..! Hopefully I can get that sorted soon, though. I'd love to get some more tracks closer to completion! (Including a certain Japanese track...)

But, congratulations to Navarrow, AkA Koroshiya, Dr. PeaceMaker, and Shige for getting some exposure for their Sweet Girl track! And even more congratulations to A-KICKS for getting some great composing projects in Hiroshima!! Hopefully there'll be even more developments to mention soon--look out for news in the next month or so! Until then, Imma keep pushing myself~ Wish me luck. ♥

Time flies when you're sick.

2008-09-01T10:39:00.018-04:00

This post is pretty long overdue because I managed to get myself sick again (thanks for giving it to me, mum! haha)... so now this post is just in time to catch the first day of September! It's a little depressing that it's "already" September, and yet I still feel like I have to wait forever to get where I want to... but anyway.

Last Saturday, on August 23rd, was 663A's third BBQ Jam party. This one was a little different to its predecessors and included a fashion show and dance showcase. I'm not actually much of a party person, so I wasn't aiming to attend the shindig initially... but I was asked to model for the fashion show for a friend's original t-shirts, so I couldn't refuse. :P Here are a couple of pictures from that night:

I look kinda giant in this one...!

Otherwise, lately I'm just aiming to work on music, as usual~ This past week hasn't been too good for that, since I'm sick, but I hope I can make some progress this week despite that. Let's see what happens!

Another new track!

2008-08-13T15:39:00.004-04:00

Last week saw some hardcore recording and mixing from both myself and from A-KICKS, and the result is a new song called "Separate Ways"! It's a more jazzy, R&B type of song, and the track was produced by the ever-talented A-KICKS (thank you sooooo much~♥♥♥!! your tracks are always amazing). Head on over to my MySpace to listen to it! We're always working on new music, so there'll definitely be some more new tracks again soon~ :D

SUNSHINE

2008-08-06T09:10:00.004-04:00

A new track is complete! It's another eclectic house track, entitled "SUNSHINE". Please check out my Mochalicious MySpace and listen to it~ Once again, this song was composed and mastered by A-KICKS, and it sounds amazing! There is version two of this song in the works, which will include AKA's rhymes, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes~~!! Keep your eyes peeled, there will be more songs completed soon. :D

On another note, Dr. PeaceMaker headed back to Japan two days ago!! By now he should be having a great time with everyone there (especially Hanaaaa~!!) so I'm more excited than sad that he had to leave Toronto. (But I still cried a little at the airport.. hahah) Good luck until we meet again Hiro~!!!

Change in Plans...

2008-07-18T14:25:00.008-04:00

It's probably nothing new to hear that I'm planning to live in Japan for at least a year. This past spring I applied for one of the documents I'll need in order to get my passport and visa and originally I estimated that I would only have to wait until August to leave Toronto. But then August became September... and now it looks like it could be October, or November... maybe even after that! It sucks, because there are people in Japan who I want to see a.s.a.p. but it looks like the soonest possible time isn't really soon at all...!

But there's good news! Recently (today) I aced a job interview! Money is definitely something I need in order to reach my goal, so this is great. Better yet, I start on Monday! So, at least while I'm waiting to get all my documents processed I can make a fair amount of money. I'm sure I'll need it, since I'll have to live off of my savings for a while after moving to Japan--I don't expect to get hired there right away, even though I'll probably be looking for jobs as soon as I arrive.

The only thing is that I'll be working 6 days a week and finishing at 9pm every weekday night... so I'll have less time to make music while I'm working... -_-;;

But I'm aiming to keep my motivation and creativity up, and continue making new music~~! I'm extremely serious about it and I really want to be successful so there's no time to waste! I'll definitely be working on music during every spare moment. Wish me luck! :D

P.S.: We still don't have a name for our duo! Noooooooo~~!!!

AUGUST EDIT: I ditched that job already. Haha, it's a long story...

がんばらなきゃ！

2008-07-10T16:57:00.008-04:00

As the title implies, I have to try hard! I'm pretty pumped lately and feel like there's a lot to do~ First, and most of all is recording music. The mic stand I was using to record actually belongs to AKA... and now, sadly, it's almost completely fallen apart at 663A!! But it's all good. The other day I picked one up for myself from Long & McQuade. And, although I was expecting to pay upwards of $40 or $50, luckily the stand I bought was only $30. Not too shabby!

So, now that I have a stand, I've been recording all this week~! This isn't the first time I've recorded something since A-KICKS left Toronto... but this is the first time that I'm getting some good results haha! My recording attempt back in late May was, uh... well you don't want to hear it, trust me.

In any case, the first song I started to record is just about finished! So I hope I can post that here when it's completely done. My producer and I (haha) have been talking about making a Japanese version of this song too... and that would be awesome!

And in other news... the Name Game is still going! And I'm really bad at it! We totally lucked onto the name AOA for our trio with AKA-kun, but for this duo... I got nothin'. Any suggestions?

What's in a Name

2008-07-01T22:42:00.007-04:00

Because we have quite a number of songs together (both finished and planned), and we're aiming to shop our demo around to some record companies, A-KICKS and I are currently brainstorming as to what the name of our duo should be. The songs we've done with AKA KOROSHIYA are submitted under our trio group name AOA, but for these duet tracks we want to classify them under a separate entity.

I put together lists of ideas using a few different methods:

mixing the letters of our stage names together (this turned out to be harder than I imagined...),
combining our real names (but I'm told that DANIMITSU is ダサい)
putting together letters from the names of music styles that we like

That last idea isn't exactly a bad one but what I came up with for it was by far the worst of all my creations, maybe because we both enjoy so many different genres. To mesh them into a name leads to ridiculous results. Well, at least when I do it.

Looking for inspiration on the internet, I found that there are a few resources that attempt to help music groups and bands in this task by providing lists of names that have been suggested by other internet users. Sounds good, right? But there was pretty much no help there. On the other hand, if I ever create a metal band...

By the way, Happy Canada Day! (or what's left of it)

Limits & Laughter

2008-06-27T17:28:00.007-04:00

So, on Wednesday I recorded a short vocal part at the end of a song that includes Dr. Peacemaker (deejay and emcee) and AKA KOROSHIYA, as well as two other performers. I figured that it's been almost a week since my voice came back, and I haven't really been coughing so I should be good to go... but while recording, I discovered that my vocal range isn't the same!! I can't get some of those high notes that I could before... so I guess my voice still has some warming up to do...

Also in the last couple of days I became unsatisfied with some new lyrics (and flow) that I put together for some new music tracks... but thankfully, last night I made some decent progress and things are getting back on track!

As far as the flow is concerned, I always want to pay attention to the little details early on. Often the recording stage is when some of those nuances can be figured out as well, but somehow I don't feel right about going into a recording session with only the basic idea of how it will work. Does that make sense? haha

On a completely different note... it looks like A-KICKS is being missed! (albeit with his former spelling... haha) I really love facebook sometimes. Sorry I stole your photos, Gim!

Music galore~!

2008-06-23T20:13:00.004-04:00

So, it's been over a month now--1 month, 1 week and 5 days--since A-KICKS headed back to Japan from Toronto... but music production hasn't slowed down at all! He's been composing music on a daily basis, and already has some new tracks ready for vocals. It's definitely inspiring to collaborate with such a hardworking person, and he's definitely rubbed off on me lately; I finished song lyrics for a few of those new tracks, so now all that remains is the recording!

But I should mention: I got a summer cold a little over a week ago, and it made my voice disappear for a few days...! So I'm still warming up my singing voice again.

Hopefully this won't take too much longer, especially since there are music gigs to perform in! I had to miss out on singing at last night's (another performance/freestyle event at Grace O'Malley's in downtown t.o.), but I'm looking forward to the next one in two weeks~

Plus, these BBQ Jam events should be hella fun too (check them out if you're in the t.o. area!):

Beginnings

2008-06-19T23:59:00.006-04:00

Welcome to Mochalicious! I go by the stage name O-Mocha and I'm an amateur singer-songwriter currently based in Toronto, and soon moving to Tokyo, Japan. This is going to be my space for sharing random musings, documenting recent happenings... and, most of all, for writing about my musical progression. I'll do my best to keep this up-to-date, and I hope you'll join me on my journey~ よろしくお願いします!

Until I make my first true contribution here, please feel free to migrate over to my Mochalicious MySpace music hub and listen to the music I have put together in the past few months alongside amazing singer/producer A-KICKS (♥!!) and emcees AKA KOROSHIYA and SWAY a.k.a. O-Jah Maru. Most of the tracks on my MySpace were completed this past May, but we've all been busy working on new music since then so there will definitely be new song additions over the course of the next few months. Keep your eyes peeled!