IMARi ToNES -The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan-: Summer time and BandCamp!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Summer time and BandCamp!

Hello, this is Tak from Imari Tones.

It's summer time!
It's very hot here in Japan.

Because of the electricity shortage caused by the nuclear accident, all the Japanese people now trying not to use air-conditioner. It's officially hottest summer ever! But it's surprising how people trying to do away with Nuclear Power Plants. Yes something is about to change here in Japan! We really hope Christian situation in Japan also will change.

Today I want to give you 2 little annoucements.

1. Now all our songs & albums available on BandCamp

Have you ever checked "BandCamp"?
It's a very cool independent music website.
Many artists around the world now selling their music through BandCamp.
We love BandCamp too, and now all of our music catalog is available on BandCamp.

If you checked our history page earlier, you must have noticed we have so many songs & albums in our band history. Now all of them are available on BandCamp.

We love BandCamp, not only it sounds good, but also you can hear all the songs FOR FREE!!

It's our pleasure if you check our songs there.
(And it's great if you "like" or "tweet" our albums on facebook/twitter.)

Here you are!
http://imaritones.bandcamp.com/

2. A-Band Game

One nice little annoucement.
Our song will be included in a video game called A-Band by Flammable-Games.
I heard it is a music game like Guitar Hero.
I don't know if this is a big game by a big company, or a small project by up and coming artists like us, but we are totally glad and very proud to be included.

So check it out!
We will keep you posted about this.

http://www.flammable-games.com/
http://www.facebook.com/ABandTheGame

That's all for today!
We are playing monthly gigs in Japan this summer.
And let me tell you, miracles are happening in every gig!
We are giving out bibles and some people got to know Jesus through those events.
It's a great blessing to see God is working through our music.
We are very glad to work for God here in Japan!

Also we are working on a song for some internet video program.
We will let you know when it's done!

Riots in UK, ecomony in USA, and politics in Japan, now things are very tough all around the world.
But let's believe in God's guidance. He will make everything good! We can make a better world!

Thank you very much and God bless!

Tak "Tone" Nakamine
Imari Tones
"The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan"
http://www.imaritones.net/

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Bio, Bio, Bio...

IMARITONES BIO

Written by Phil Putnam

Of the long list of factors that make ImariTones stand out from the world around them, it is their drive, their reach that tops it all. An unapologetically Christian heavy metal band out of Japan, Tak, Hassy, and Jake have a passion to reach beyond their culture to make the music they love, and to reach beyond their music to bring Jesus into their culture. While drawing comparisons to legends like Van Halen, Rush, and Stryper with their hybrid of old school metal/glam/Brit/70's prog rock, they are one of very few bands in the world that can claim true originality. How so? They are the first Christian heavy metal band ever to come out of Japan.

"There are very few Japanese bands who say 'Hey, we're a Christian band.' A Christian band from Japan almost sounds like a joke, since most people in Japan are Buddhists, or Atheists," says Tak, founder, guitar/vocalist, and frontman of ImariTones. Things didn't start out Christian for Tak, though. Having started playing electric guitar at age 14 and joining his first band at 15, Tak gained local teen success in his hometown of Toyohashi and won awards for his songwriting. However, he quit the band at 17 to pursue a career as a lawyer. Music stayed with him, though, and while playing an acoustic show in Harajuku Tokyo in December of 2007, Tak was impressed by several Christian performers who were playing as well. Feeling that Jesus may be the larger meaning behind music that he always felt was there, his mind and heart opened to Christianity.

Breaking many written and unwritten rules of Japanese culture, Tak, Hassy on bass/background vocals, and Jake on drums/background vocals, are reaching upward and forward to see changes happen in the world. Currently based in Yokohama, their astonishing 15-album discography includes Hero of the Lights, Color of Hers, fireworks, Japanese Pop produced by metal legend Sascha Paeth (Angra, Edguy, Rhapsody of Fire, Avantasia, Kamelot), Welcome to the School, and their most recent release Victory in Christ. Not content to play the standard soft pop/rock of the major label Christian industry, their music is 100% heavy metal and 100% independently recorded and produced. Victory in Christ hit the street in October 2010 with the single "Faith Rider" leading the charge. Originally written as a parody of the big 80's metal of Judas Priest and Stryper, it quickly became a fan favorite and was put on Victory in Christ.

With both their commitment to making stellar heavy metal music and their driving passion to share Jesus with their native Japan and the rest of the world, ImariTones is always reaching to join these two primary goals together. "Since we are a Christian band, our goal is not business success," says Tak. "We are not chasing glory in this world. We are chasing the glory of God." Staying independent and record label-free is an important part of the process for them. "We don't believe in 'music business', especially in Japan, and have chosen to go independent, looking for our own way. We really want to change something about society and about what people think and believe. That's our ultimate goal."

That ultimate goal, to see their native Japan embrace Christianity, is what they reach for most of all, even while their sights are set on the USA and the rest of the world. Some think they're a joke, or a contradiction, that Christianity, Japan, and heavy metal just don't belong together. Some think they're ahead of their time. But if you ask Tak, Hassy, and Jake, they'll say they're doing exactly what they love at exactly the right time, and they're never going to stop reaching for more.