Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to interview Zac Bentz. Mr. Bentz is a critically-acclaimed writer, a musician and a true Japanese music aficionado. None of those are the reason I wanted to talk to him. I interviewed Mr. Bentz because he is the mastermind of what was until very recently a critical pathway to exposing Western fans to new Japanese music: Japanator Radio.

On July 30, Japanator Radio and Zac Bentz officially called it quits in a blog post on Japanator.com. By the end, Japanator Radio had served up 169 episodes; that’s four years of work.

Sadly, except for downloaded episodes tucked away like precious treasure on the hard drives of dedicated fans, that legacy; the work is no longer available. Japanator.com pulled the plug. Blog posts for the old episodes are still there, but click on the streaming or download links and get an error message.

In his closing post, Bentz said “I hope I’ve at least left you with a deeper respect for the modern Japanese music scene, as well as the tools to continue on your own path of discovery. And who knows? Maybe the show will return in the future in some form.”

I hope it does. For the last two years, I’ve anxiously waited for every episode. I burned them to CDs to play them in my car. I listened to them while jogging. I found out about a great many bands I probably never would have heard otherwise. Not having another episode of Japanator Radio to look forward to already sucks.

And I’m not alone. Western fans are now without a valuable resource; a regular, curated look into modern Japanese music. Decent, regularly-updated Japanese music podcasts are rare even in the vast sea of information that is the internet (believe me, I’ve looked).

So, here’s the deal: I’m doing my own podcast called Nihongaku Radio. I’m going to release an episode twice per month. For now, I’m doing a four-set format with three songs each. Mostly I want to focus on newer music and bands that are planning to tour the U.S., but anything’s fair game. I’d also like to do some interviews and possibly have a guest or two on the show talking about Japanese music and maybe even a bit of culture.

The debut episode features a few tracks and bands I’ve been writing about here on Nihongaku; bands like Okamoto’s, Boom Boom Satellites and Peelander-Z. So give it a listen. Let me know what you think the podcast needs. I promise to listen. I promise to keep improving. I promise to stick to the schedule…at least until Japanator Radio gets back on air.

Nihongaku Radio Episode 1

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Intro: “Stardust” – Piko (Buy it!)

“Pee-Kaa-Boo” – NoaNowa (Buy it!)
“A.B.C.Disco” – The Telephones (Buy it!)
“So Many Mike” – Peelander-Z (Buy it!)

Break: “Rydeen 79/07” – HASYMO/Yellow Magic Orchestra (Buy it!)

“Flags” – T.M. Revolution (Buy it!)
“Back On My Feet” – Boom Boom Satellites (Buy it!)
“Vanitas” – Dir En Grey (Buy it!)

Break: “Floating Away” – Yellow Magic Orchestra (Buy it!)

“Yokubou wo Sakebe” – Okamoto’s (Buy it!)
“Maze” – White Ash (Buy it!)
“Good Bye Present” – The Pillows (Buy it!)

Break: “1000 Knives” – Yellow Magic Orchestra (Buy it!)

“Note” – Supreme Sound Recreation (Buy it!)
“Jinsei wa Suteiji” – The Ton-Up Motors (Buy it!)
“Theme From Lupin III ’78” – Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (Buy it!)

Outro: “Firecracker” – Yellow Magic Orchestra (Buy it!)

Note: In case it wasn’t obvious in the post, Nihongaku Radio’s format is based largely on the format originally created by Japanator Radio and Zac Bentz.