Top 20 Music of 2013

2013 is already coming to its end. Another year already passed by and like every year end it's time to post my top 20 (2012, 2011) ! I think 2013 is the year I listened to music the least compared to other years. My computer died and my ipod too so i wasn't really checking new releases like i used too. Also, i was completely biased with Japanese rock music. Fortunately, i managed to attend many concerts this year and those are my best memories of 2013.
My top 2013 music is pretty much the girl power. Many female artists, a few boys, and a some cool bands ! I regret not listening to much Hip Hop music, I realised while doing this post that i can barely tell any Hip Hop song that i loved this year.

I hope you will enjoy my selection of 2013 ! (There is no particular order in this top 20)


John Legend - "Made To Love"
John Legend is one of my favorite artist. He released his brand new album "Love in The Future" last august and it's a gorgeous album. "Made To Love" is my favorite song from this album and i'm glad the song was chosen as a single. From the same album i also love the gorgeous ballad "All of Me".



Elliphant - "Music is Life"
I discovered the Swedish singer/rapper Elliphant last year with the song "Down on Life". With "Music is Life", Elliphant is bringing us to Jamaica with the reggae artist Ras Fraser Jr., a song that was recorded in both Sweden and Jamaica earlier this year and was released this July as her US debut single. Elliphant will tour in Europe starting january 10th in Paris, with dates in Cologne, Vienna, London, Stockholm, Hamburg and more. I really want to go to her Paris show, but unfortunately will not be able to free myself from work and that makes me really mad !



Capital Cities - "Safe And Sound"
"Safe and Sound" is probably the song I sang the most this year ! The American rock indie duo Capital Cities debuted with this song in february 2011 in the USA but the song started to spread after its release in europe on april 2013. I think I got to know this song thanks to a commercial, can't remember which one, but the song got stuck in my head since then !



Angel Haze - "Echelon (It's My Way)"
I have literally no reasons for liking this song so much, I just love it. I see a blonde Brooke Candy and Dog the Bounty Hunter in the music video and i don't hate it. "Echelon" is the lead single of  the 22 years old rapper upcoming debut album "Dirty Gold" (she actually leaked her own album on december 18 after a dispute with her record label). Bikers, fashion and rap, I'm sold.



Phoenix - "Entertainment"
The french band Phoenix made an awaiting comeback this year with their 5th album "Bankrupt!", "Entertainement" being the lead single released on february. I love that music video inspirated by Korean dramas, showing different stories throughout different historical periods, which make that video also quite confusing.



Janelle Monáe - "Q.U.E.E.N"
OH YES Janelle Monáe keeps being a flawless queen with her 3rd flawless album "Electric Lady". Released in May, "Q.U.E.E.N", featuring Erykah Badu,  is pure jam and i absolutely love the lyrics. Real talent true entertainer. Also to check out, "Prime Time" featuring Miguel.



Disclosure - "White Noise"
I can't stop replaying this song, I could go to a party with this only song playing on repeat all night. Disclosure is a British electronic duo composed of the brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence (1991 & 1994, so young !), after releasing a few EPs and singles since 2010 they finally released their first full album "Settle" this year. "White Noise" is a huge hit a stayed in the UK top 10 for 10 weeks. You should aslo check out "When a Fire starts to burn" and "You & Me"



M.I.A. - "Bring The Noize"
M.I.A. was the shit last year with the song "Bad Girl" and she finally released her 4th album "Matangi" on november 1st of this year. Produced by Switch and Surkin, the lead single "Bring The Noize" was revealed last june. "YALA" is also my shit  !



Plenty - "Player"
Let's calm down a little with the indie rock Japanese duo Plenty. I am a big fan of plenty, they are one of the few bands I listen to when I feel the need to escape myself from life, and go deep in my thoughts. I absolutely love the soft pure and acute voice of the singer, sometimes hard to tell for some who don't know much about the band if it's a boy or a girl. plenty released their magnificent second album "this" last may and is about the release a new EP on january 9th. To also not miss, "Song of Joy".



HAIM - "Falling"
HAIM is a indie pop/rock female trio from Los Angeles. The 3 sisters released their first album "Days are Gone" on september 2013, produced by Ariel Rechtshaid (Charli XCX, Alex Clare, Sky Ferreira...) and James Ford (Arctic Monkeys), their music is described as  folk-rock "with a few R&B/hip-hop stylings thrown in for good measure". The girls, who recently toured with the band Phoenix in europe, are actually hard to categorize, some are considering them as an another hipster throwback rock'n'roll band, but on this matter, their producer commented "They're great musicians so they pull off a captivating rock performance live, but what they're influenced by is so much more diverse than rock'n'roll". It's quite easy to be called hipster nowadays, but anyway, "Falling" is a song that I absolutely adore.



Paramore - Now"
The American rock band leaded by the orange haired singer Hayley Williams released a new album self titled "paramore" on april 9th. "Now" is the lead single released on january, receiving critical acclaim and moderate commercial success. In another mood, "Still Into You" is a song I loved dancing and singing to !



Lorde -  "Team"
Lorde is maybe the most successful and acclaimed newcomer of this year thanks to her huge hit song "Royals". I'll be honest, I am not  fond of the 17 years old singer, the less I read about her and her interviews, the better it is. But i won't lie, her album "Pure Heroine" is probably my favorite album of 2013. This is the kind of alternatif/minimalist pop I enjoy listening. "Pure Heroine" contain many must listen songs like, of course, "Royals", but i choose to put "Team" for this Top 2013 music post because we already can see "Royals" everywhere, and even though I love "Tennis Court" as much as "Team", the music video is way too creepy to make me embed it here. You should definitely also listen to "Buzzcut Season" and "Glory and Gore".



Seiho - "I Feel Rave"
The japanese DJ/electronic musician from Osaka released his album "ABSTRAKTSEX" last june. "I Feel Rave" is my favorite song from his album and it's actually thanks to the release of this song that I've got to know Seiho. Also to check out, "Clipping Music".



Twenty One Pilots - "Car Radio"
Meet my husbands, twenty one pilots. It's crazy how fast I became a fan of this american duo composed of Tyler Joseph (Singer/Piano) and Josh Dun (Drums). This two are weird, awkward, fun and talented boys, hard to not be at the least intrigued by them. They released their first full-lenght album "Vessel" last february under the Fueled By Ramen record (Gym Class Heroes,  Paramore, Fun.). The boys recently toured with Fall Out Boys and Panic at The Disco in the USA and will do an European tour starting January ! I am currently doing everything i can to be able to attend their Paris show on february 15th because i will never forgive myself if i'm not going ! Songs to also check out, "Holding on To You", "Guns for Hands", "House of Gold"



FKA twigs - "Water Me"
What a mesmerizing song and music video. Absolutely stunning. FKA twigs released her second EP on september 9th and the British artist catched everyone's attention with "Water Me". See also, "Papi Pacify" and "How's That".



Arctic Monkeys - "Do I Wanna Know?"
The British indie rock band released their 5th studio album "AM" on september 9th, making the fans go crazy and claimed as one of the best album of this year by many critics. Released in june, "Do I Wanna Know?" immediately gained its place in my *forever in replay* playlist.



Daft Punk - "Lose Yourself to Dance"
How to not talk about Daft Punk, the french robots finally released the very long awaited new album after many teasers that made fans go crazy. "Random Access Memories" is without a doubt in my top 3 favorite albums of 2013. The huge hit "Get Lucky" took the charts by storm and is on repeat in all the radios since its release. "Lose Yourself to Dance" is the following single from this brillant album, and my favorite song from the album. Also to not miss, "Instant Crush".



Two Door Cinema Club - "Changing of the Seasons"
The Northern Irish electropop/rock indie band won my heart and made me dance a lot to their "Changing of The Seasons" hit song. I randomly discovered them while watching the broadcast of a summer japanese festival they performed at this august. But after taking my time to listen more of their music I found out they are the one behind a song i have always loved "What You Know"! You should also take a listen to "Handshake".



MØ - "XXX 88"
Here is my most played and favorite song of 2013, "XXX 88" by the Danish singer MØ, produced by Diplo. Seriously, this song is so fucking good, many thanks to Diplo for striking again and for making me discover MØ. She released an EP named "Bikini Daze" in october, and I really can't wait to hear her debut album "No Mythologies To Follow" set to be out on february 14. Until then, you should also take a look at "Waste of Time", "Never Wanna Know", "Maiden" and "Glass".



Charli XCX - "What I Like"
And let's finish this top with my girl crush and favorite artist of the year, CHARLI XCX. With her major-label debut studio album "True Romance" released on april 12th, the British singer delivered one of the most good and solid pop album of the year in my opinion. The music is good and the girl is flawless, the 21 years old girl is looking fabulous and is one of the artist to absolutely take a look at, i'm pretty sure she's going to grow big and i can't wait to hear her new musics. She recently toured with Paramore and was on tour from june to september across North America, Canada and England. I choose to embed "What I Like" for this post but i suggest you to absolutely listen to "Nuclear Season", "You're The One", "You (Ha Ha Ha)", "Cloud" feat Brook Candy, "Just Desserts" feat Marina and the Diamonds, "End of the World" with Alex Metric. You can also check out her lastest music "Superlove" filmed in Tokyo on the sidebar of my blog !




Tell me your top 2013 !!

Merry Christmas ☆☆

❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆ ❄ ❆

AYAMO x Candy Stripper

Candy Stripper

interlude

"HYPER" Galaxxxy sweater ★ H&M white skater skirt ★ Galaxxxy badge ★ Nike free run+ 3 sneakers

M.I.A. x VERSUS VERSACE

M.I.A. teamed up with Versace's Versus label and designed this collection inspired by the fake Versace sold on the streets by pop-up street shops and flea market vendors .

The singer commented: "When I was approached by Versace, it seemed like a good idea to take that and reverse the cycle. Versace designs have always been bootlegged, now it's Versace bootlegging the bootleg for the bootleggers to bootleg the bootleg. This is to keep that cycle going." 

Donatella Versace added "I love the energy of the street, so when M.I.A. suggested we use bootlegs of Versace, I thought it was such an incredible idea. The collection is everything that I love about the new Versus Versace - it's fast, loud, unafraid, and brings together the worlds of music and fashion."

You can shop the collection right now at Versace's website

Photography by Jamie Martínez

Tokyo Crazy Kawaii Festival: AMIAYA, moumoon, SPYAIR and Anna Tsuchiya !

I am back with the second part of my weekend at the Tokyo Crazy Kawaii Festival that took place in Vincennes (Paris) from september 20 to 22.
One of the big good point of this festival was the music line-up ! 3 Days of outdoor live concerts !

Line-up day 1: » Bijo ♂ MEN Z » Kumisolo » AMIAYA » DJ livetune
Line-up day 2: » moumoon » SHONEN KNIFE
Line-up day 3: » Bijo ♂ MEN Z » SPYAIR » Anna Tsuchiya

I unfortunatly didn't managed to see DJ livetune, Kumisolo and SHONEN KNIFE. But i had an amazing time at the concerts of AMIAYA, moumoon, SPYAIR and Anna Tsuchiya ! It was my first time seeing those artists live, and for most of them (exept Anna) it was their first concert in France/Europe !
The weather was really good and the audience was receptive so i think both the artists and the fans had a great time !

☆AMIAYA ☆

Karina

The first show I saw was AMIAYA ! The singer KARINA opened the show with "Take me Higher", a catchy dance/pop song. Then AMIAYA came on stage. As you might know i love those twins ! I've been following them since their modeling days and i am very happy to see that they are working hard in their music career, and i think the result is quite good !
I love their songs but i was a bit worried about how could their live performances look like. They don't really dance and don't have a special visual concept so i was wondering how they would catch the audience. To my surprise, they are DJing live ! I knew AMI and AYA had DJs activities a few years ago but I didn't know they were still into it. The whole thing is sure not "amazing" but i think it really nice and I really enjoyed it. The sisters were both at the opposite side of the long table with their sound materials and were switching from singing and DJing. They performed most of their songs including "Play That Music", "Magic Color", "Dio" and my personal favorite, "Starline"
They were wearing really cute Kimonos, yellow and pink (sorry I forgot which one was AYA/AMI, they really are perfect twins). After two songs they dropped the Kimonos for more fashionable outfits, from their brand Jouetie i suppose. 

I don't know if it's because it was their first live outside Japan but I wish they would interact more with the audience, make us sing more, make us clap our hands, make us jump, scream at the mic to really set up the mood. I was in the front row so we were having fun but I don't know how the audience reacted behind me. And maybe it's also because it was an overseas show and they couldn't bring too much staff, but I think maybe some dancers could be nice to make the stage a little bit more lively. Not that it bothered me, but i am a fan so I might be biased, but having some dancers around might be better to make an audience that do not know who AMIAYA are a little more receptive and lively.

AMIAYA had a meet & greet with fans after their live. Those who bought their album/single could meet Ami and Aya, for a signature and a picture ! I really wanted a picture with them but i had no money to buy the CDs so i just watched the meet and greet *ugly sob* But I was basically just in front of them during the whole thing because it was really chill-out with no security and barely any staff, so they smiled and waved at me time to time because i was taking pictures with my phone.
Oh, and before the concert i went to the toilet and i bumped into Ami and Aya, we shared the mirror for a make-up re-touch ! So close ! I was so surprised, i think they realized that I was a fan haha, my face was priceless.

My camera battery died just before the show started, i only took those bad quality pictures above with my phone, do thank you to my friend Camille for these close-up pictures:

☆moumoon ☆

Next is moumoon ! moumoon is without a doubt my favorite live show from the festival ! I did not know much about them but now i will definitely keep an eye on them ! moumoon is a jpop/rock duo composed of Kosuke Masaki (Guitar) and the wonderful YUKA (singer). The songs are really catchy and they sound really good live. YUKA is always smiling and has a very good contact with the audience. They enchanted the whole audience and it was very easy to sing along with YUKA and everyone was clapping their hands and dancing especially during (click for fancams) "Spark", "Sunshine Girl", "Bon Appétit", "Dreamer Dreamer", "Moonlight", "Love is Everywhere" and their new song "Love before we die". A great live !

☆SPYAIR ☆

The J-rock band SPYAIR was probably the most awaited concert from the festival ! Like ONE OK ROCK or UVERWORLD, SPYAIR is one of those j-rock bands who has a lot of fans overseas. I am not one of those fans. I actually don't know many songs from this band but of course i have heard about them a lot and saw some music videos. The energy was great and the band, especially IKE (singer), was great with the audience. They interracted with the audience many times, make us sing some "woohoo", jump and clap our hands, not hesitating to come closer to the fans in the front row, IKE even jumped in the crowd ! I think the fans had an amazing time and for the non-fans like me it was also a good time. I enjoyed the first 20 minutes of the concert in the 3rd row and then went to the back to watch the show quietly with my friends (fans from the front rows were on fire). SPYAIR then had a meet & greet session with the fans. The mood was the opposite of AMIAYA's meet & greet. Security men everywhere, japanese and french management staff everywhere and we couln't approach them. The good thing is that some fans had the chance to meet the band outside the festival during their free time and from all the fan-accounts I've heard, they are sweethearts ! I actually met the members of SPYAIR outside the festival too, we walked next to them before entering the festival one morning, but my friends and I did not recognized them at first so we didn't talk.That's quite a big fail.

☆Anna Tsuchiya ☆

The final act of the festival was Anna Tsuchiya ! Anna Tsuchiya is extremly loved by the j-music community in France and she has a lot of supporters. I left the SPYAIR live show just before the end to go to the meet & greet of Anna. It was the end so there wasn't much people, she had to go backstages to change and get ready to perform, but she stopped at every fans asking her for pictures. Despite her staff pushing her to leave and telling the fans to move away, Anna stopped at every fans with such a big smile.
 I was really surprised by her kindness. And she is a gorgeous woman. She was so cute in her floral dress. I was quite mesmerize by her being so close to me so i didn't take much pictures of this moment.
Anna Tsuchiya then closed the festival with her concert. Many workers and artists from the pop-up shops inside the hall of the festival left their booth to go outside and watch Anna Tsuchiya. My favorite moments were of course when sang her most popular songs like (click for fancams)" Kuroi Namida", "LUCY", "Rose" or "Carry On". She already came a few times in France but it was my first time seeing Anna so i was really happy, and the Nana fan that I am was really excited !

Thank you for reading !

Do not re-post the pictures without proper credits, thank you !