OK this woman is BAD!!!!!

[stonetone7]

Juna is certainly a helluva player, but I'm even more impressed by the drummer. That young lady has some serious skills!

Same here, masterful tasteful dynamic swing.

 

[Stewie]

Yowser! and how funky is the three string fretless long neck guitar like instrument?

 

[two fingers]

Yowser! and how funky is the three string fretless long neck guitar like instrument?

Scroll back a couple of pages. It is discussed there. Very cool.

 

[glocke1]

Slap - ugh.

that was my first impression...sounds great...but would have been cooler had she stuck to finger style...slap is so overdone...Just my opinion

 

[mdlewis]

Nice playing and an interesting mash-up of traditional and modern instruments.

This kind of thing seems to be fairly common in Japan, a place that has a history of combining musical forms and genres from around the world. In the '80's, the Japanese pop charts were filled with songs that went from what we would call heavy metal to country to jazz ballad in a single stanza. I've seen many a jazz combo that features a koto with piano, bass, and drums. These things are tonally related to a guitar with their own unique forms of expression, so the combination seems to work pretty well. Shamisen, imo, not quite as much. It's a pretty quiet instrument that as others put it, sounds like banjo and is traditionally not played with such rapid passages. But it's similar to using a banjo in the same context. I admire the skill of the player, but I think the enormous density of the horns in the original really carries this tune.

I was previously familiar with Serita primarily because she makes videos and she's a decent player. FWIW, there are a lot of really great musicians in Japan. As a country, they have a generally high level of appreciation for music. It's also the first place that I ever heard of "pay to play"...so it can't be easy to be a pro there. Whatever it takes...

 

[two fingers]

Nice playing and an interesting mash-up of traditional and modern instruments.

This kind of thing seems to be fairly common in Japan, a place that has a history of combining musical forms and genres from around the world. In the '80's, the Japanese pop charts were filled with songs that went from what we would call heavy metal to country to jazz ballad in a single stanza. I've seen many a jazz combo that features a koto with piano, bass, and drums. These things are tonally related to a guitar with their own unique forms of expression, so the combination seems to work pretty well. Shamisen, imo, not quite as much. It's a pretty quiet instrument that as others put it, sounds like banjo and is traditionally not played with such rapid passages. But it's similar to using a banjo in the same context. I admire the skill of the player, but I think the enormous density of the horns in the original really carries this tune.

I was previously familiar with Serita primarily because she makes videos and she's a decent player. FWIW, there are a lot of really great musicians in Japan. As a country, they have a generally high level of appreciation for music. It's also the first place that I ever heard of "pay to play"...so it can't be easy to be a pro there. Whatever it takes...

Yeah here in the states, Mr.Big is just another band. Those guys couldn't walk down the street in Japan. Billy Sheehan has Yamaha bass commercial on TV! They love music on a different level.

 

[socialleper]

But wait? She isn't playing a Fender, no tort, and she is slapping!? She has violated Talkbass orthodoxy.
What is different about her that is saving her from being cast into the fire?
Oh, right.
It the webz say that Juna Serita was born in Japan, but she dresses in a very un-Japanese way. Very revealing. The others are dressed in a more typical fashion; loose and covering more of their skin.
Anyway, very good playing and tone. It seems that she has a solo album called the Princess of Funk. Might be worth checking out.

 

[socialleper]

I have no idea if this is considered K pop but I like it. Crazy costumes aside, they sound good. Nice bass solo and that drummer...

They are 100% not K-Pop.
Not Korean for one thing. Not pop for another.
They are straight up rock and roll. I don't remember who posted about them a month or so ago, but I've been addicted to Band Maid ever since. They are very good musicians with a pretty smart bit. Their bass player MISA is exceptional. I've only seen one other player transition from pick to slap, and back, like she does. She does a little of everything and always keeps it interesting.

 

[Fun With Dirt]

Saw this somewhat recently. She is a very solid bassist. The question was asked if we'd be just as impressed if this was a guy. My answer is I am always impressed by solid play. Most of the not solid bass players are guys. So....

 

[socialleper]

Band Maid is Japanese, so would be categorized under J-rock. Their debut song is still their best IMO:

Dude, check out this one off their newest album. It is almost pit worthy.


I found their side project Band Maiko fascinating:

 

[Joeykun]

Also, where did she get that guard??? Want!

She is a Sadowsky Artist from Japan. I follow her on IG. She got her pickguard from here: https://www.alperious.com/

 

[two fingers]

Saw this somewhat recently. She is a very solid bassist. The question was asked if we'd be just as impressed if this was a guy. My answer is I am always impressed by solid play. Most of the not solid bass players are guys. So....

I was just blown away by her playing.... and the drummer's as well. I really can't figure out for the life of me why gender has anything to do with it. She's a killer player. They are ALL killer players. They did a ridiculously cool version of a killer song. That's the only reason I shared it. Had I heard it on Spotify and was able to link it there I would have been equally impressed and would have shared it that way.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

Just curious, how much K-pop have you actually heard? Most people who dislike K-pop have never even scratched its surface and only knows the big viral hits, and they tend to be the ones that pleases the lowest common denominator and are in no way representative of all of Korean music.

Here's a playlist I just put together, full of Korean pop/indie songs that span in many different styles, including influences from metal, jazz, funk, R&B, soul, hip-hop, classical, etc.


It's likely you have never heard any of those songs, and they showcase a side of K-pop that most people never have heard of, because they think k-pop is just BTS and BlackPink and Psy's "Gangnam Style." Give them a try--maybe you'll find something you like, or even can respect and admire the artistry and musicianship displayed in them.

IMO, K-pop currently has objectively on average the most sophisticated and advanced musicality among all the mainstream pop music around the world, because the people behind the movement incorporate a lot of complex harmonic and melodic language that's very uncommon in typical pop music you'd hear elsewhere (with Japan being one of the exceptions). Western mainstream pop used to have that level of musicality, but with hip-hop having dominated and influenced western mainstream pop, the trend in songwriting has become much more stripped down and simplistic.

With all due respect, I found a vast majority of the 30+ songs I rifled through painful to listen to, and they mostly confirmed my general idea of what K Pop is. It was so incredibly Americanized...just that it was Korean with splashes of traditional instrumentation. My sister-in-law owns one of the largest dance studios in the Nashville area. I am beyond sick of dance pop, music geared towards dance, and most American pop...so it's no stretch for me to dislike K Pop.

With that being said, I did discover I like SOME of what is I suppose considered K Pop. Iris "Love Game" and Younha "Dark Cloud" weren't all that bad. Iris has this 80s vibe going on I liked.

So there you have it. I feel that a majority of K Pop is trash. But, in all honesty, we all feel that a lot of music is trash...we all have preferences. My use of trash is just a bit harsh, and you have proven that it is an unjust blanket statement.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

Musically, this was almost as interesting as listening to a midifile of What is hip. Almost.

 

[GretschWretch]

Yeah here in the states, Mr.Big is just another band. Those guys couldn't walk down the street in Japan. Billy Sheehan has Yamaha bass commercial on TV! They love music on a different level.

Yeah, they do love music on a different level. Even in this country. I've lost count of the number of times when I was visiting VA or MD that I've had to wait for a youth classical string ensemble to cross at an intersection. Almost without exception, the players were Asian.

 

[GretschWretch]

Nice playing and an interesting mash-up of traditional and modern instruments.

This kind of thing seems to be fairly common in Japan, a place that has a history of combining musical forms and genres from around the world. In the '80's, the Japanese pop charts were filled with songs that went from what we would call heavy metal to country to jazz ballad in a single stanza. I've seen many a jazz combo that features a koto with piano, bass, and drums. These things are tonally related to a guitar with their own unique forms of expression, so the combination seems to work pretty well. Shamisen, imo, not quite as much. It's a pretty quiet instrument that as others put it, sounds like banjo and is traditionally not played with such rapid passages. But it's similar to using a banjo in the same context. I admire the skill of the player, but I think the enormous density of the horns in the original really carries this tune.

I was previously familiar with Serita primarily because she makes videos and she's a decent player. FWIW, there are a lot of really great musicians in Japan. As a country, they have a generally high level of appreciation for music. It's also the first place that I ever heard of "pay to play"...so it can't be easy to be a pro there. Whatever it takes...

Speaking of mash-ups of traditional and modern instruments:

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Well I have never considered Tower of Power to be a blues band.
A much better description would be Funk.

I did enjoy this uniquely instrumented version, but sorry I really didn't care for her bass tone.
Dirk

 

[waveman]

Yup, that girl can play!

 

[rtslinger]

Solid player

 

[HardNHeavy]

got turned onto this band a few months back....great players, nice eye candy.......it's all about dat bass