Cofesta Day 2: Tokyo International Music Market Showcase Live 2013

After the grand Reception Party the night before, it was finally time for the actual Tokyo International Music Market! 

 
Photo from : http://www.cofesta.jp/2013/jp/event/event-detail.html?eid=195&cid=&aid=

“ With the aim of promoting Japanese music in overseas markets, the 10th Tokyo International Music Market (10th TIMM) will be held this year. Over 40 Japanese organizations and companies will be present with exhibition booths, and they will be joined by over 70 invited buyers from around the world. The event will also feature great live showcase performances by 20 Japanese artists. We hope you will enjoy these three days full of exciting music and encounters.”

Website: http://www.timmkt.jp/english.php

Tokyo International Music Market is basically a Music talents and group marketing platform. Different record labels send artistes that they would like to promote to TIMM to be marketed to a group of international buyers. This is basically a networking session in the mode of a concert. We were very privileged to be allowed entry into the TIMM concert and post concert party and you'll know why soon xD 

We're not allowed to post videos of the performance so you guys just have to bare with what's already on YouTube and try to imagine hehe. 

The only photo I can show from the concert because it is the preview screen LOL. Below is the list of performers in order of appearance!

1. Yuko Suzuhana w/ Japanese traditional instruments : I really like their mix of strong vocals mixed with traditional instruments! It’s not common to see people playing traditional instruments these days much less young people xD I like how they make it cool! Yuko Suzuhana also have a very good voice.
   
2. Mayu Wakisaka : Mayu Wakisaka probably stands out the most amongst the crowd because of her choice of language for all her songs. All her songs are in english, and it’s the nice, proper kind of english She is a musician that writes songs too and she possess a very clear and soothing voice.
   
3. Little Glee Monster : Nice voice and very energetic performances. The group is very young but they sing with a strong, low voice xD I think they were goign for a more Americanise and hip hop sort of style. ANd they sang live too! Commendable!
   
4. Ito Kanako : I’m sure she doesn't need any introduction =) She has sung many songs that have appeared in video games and anime!

1. Sunmyu :  A very cute girl group. They were going for the very summery and fresh look
   
2. Alice10Ban/Steam girls: Kamen Jyoshi : Another girl group XD This time more of the electronic, rock andvisual kei sort of style. I must admit I find their whole style and masks very scary x_x;;; However they did have the most interest/impressive performance. At one point they even brought out an inflatable boat, had one of the girl got onto it and then went through the crazy crowd xD Super high!
   
3. Yui Matsushita : Sweet and girly performer. She had a lot of fans cheering her on.
   
4. Dempagumi.inc : They came on stage with pastel colours costumes. White based top and pink high waisted umbrella skirt. They also performed with gymnast ribbons which I thought was an interesting touch. Their voice were a little too high for my ears though @_@’

1. Shishido Kavka : She’s so cool! She plays the drums with such vigour and I think she can totally endorse some shampoo brand xD
   
2. Buffalo Daughter : I was very surprised by their music, it’s something i’ve never been exposed to before. Wikipedia sums it up better than me “ The band's style, always a variety of different sounds and genres, evolved slowly but surely into a more cohesive and restrained melodic style”
   
3. Moumoon : The vocalist look so cute <3 She has a very nice and clear voice
   
4. The MAN  : A pure instrumental group consisting of Alto Sax, Tromborn, Trumpet, Baritone Sax, Flute, Drums, Bass, guitar and Keyboard. Having them in the concert adds a nice diversity  =)

1. CREAM : I was very excited to see CREAM in the list! A performer I know and like! Love Minami's strong vocal as Americanish singing style. Staxx T’s rapping goes so well with her too!
   
2. Unison Square Garden : A group that teenager girls will like ^_~
   
3. So' Fly : Pretty girl and rapper guy xD! Their music was very catchy and their performance was engaging
   
4. Okamoto's : A band that has a mix of pop and rock

 

1. Kaname Kawabata : Part of the duo group CHEMISTRY, this guy is now running solo. The crowd was screaming before he even came out xD 

 

Then after 4 long hours, yes 4 hours (maybe even 5!! I can’t remember!) , it was time for the post concert party! This was probably the highlight of the evening because we got to MEET THE ARTISTE! If only Fujita Maiko was amongst them u_u. The next best thing was the food! We had to miss dinner due to the concert and even though the organizers were thoughtful enough to feed us sandwiches and Onigiris during the concert, nothing beats real food.

It was quite embarrassing to ask for photos but I was like hey “YOLO! If not now then when ?! “ And so I managed to scour these!! 

First photo was with Itou Kanako! Any Stein's Gate fan jealous yet xD ?? She was very nice and I even got to tell her I saw her at Macau Comic Festival last year xD 

And then CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Minami was very nice and spoken absolutely perfect English! I managed to tell her how much I liked their song “RUNAWAY” and how I looped it for many days =x

I also highlighted to them that I found out about them because a friend of mine shared their video (CLICK HERE for RUNAWAY PV) on facebook =x Please, Japanese record label watching this ( if any at all –_-) , please please learn to tap on the English SNS sites to promote your content. The profit might not come directly from CD sales but they really help to get word about your artistes out to a bigger audience =)

Then we got to meet Mayu Wakisaka! She spoke perfect english too and was very nice and bubbly. She even gave us a little souvenir of CD and pendant! I really like her songs, they are very soothing to listen to and all in english so I highly recommend it to you guys!! Follow her on Youtube!

Then I managed to take a photo with the first badn that played! They were the one with the tradtional instruments ^^ They were very friendly too, pity our language barrier was too heavy to overcome LOL

Then I decided to camwhore with Alodia and Ashley since we hardly have any photos together. While we were in the midst of doing it , the saxophonist from THE MAN, who just happened to be around, very nicely volunteered to help us take this photo instead! And do you see his teammate photobombing us at the back XD??!?! So funny larh! 

After we finished our photo, Alodia courageously asked for a photo with him too. She volunteered to help Ashley and I take the photo ^^;

Poor guy was in the middle of his food but he very politely obliged. His plate is in his left behind his back xDDD

With Unison Square Garden, the female Singaporean student ambassador was very excited about the vocalist =x

And yesss, I know I look so awkward in this picture. Look so #foreveralone |||oTL Angie looks very funny too hahah, she initially wanted to just stand at the side but the cameraman (who was with USG) kept asking her to move in front and then she got stuck in this semi squat+front position while I’m like so far right I might as well crop myself out LOL!

There were many other performers in the party but I didn’t get the chance to take photo with them so X_X;;; Okay, this marks the end of the blog entry for me. Hope you guys had fun reading it!

Ooooh randomly, just wanna say I also managed to caught Kyoukai no kanata on TV late that night! It was episode 4 and it looked so interesting and pretty I ended up following it after I returned from Japan xD Now I’m so into the fandom xD AHHHH all my KnK FEELS ~~~ <3