Update: SXSW and Japan Nite have once more slipped into the ether, leaving Japanese music fans with mountains of merch and anticipation for next year’s show. Likewise, the two Nihongaku Radio Japan Nite specials I produced for SXSW FM have both had their airtime.

What’s that? You missed them? Well you’re in luck. You can catch both the Japan Nite Past on SXSWFM and Japan Nite Present on SXSWFM specials on Mixcloud. Give them a listen and be sure to tell me what you think!

March 3, 2016: You take the Japanese word for Japan, “Nihon,” and you combine it with the Japanese word for music, “ongaku.” The result? A site for English-speaking music fans to learn more about what Japanese music has to offer—and it’s a ton! In fact, there’s so much kick-ass Japanese music out there that blogging about it wasn’t enough. Nihongaku the blog eventually took the natural and inevitable step toward becoming a podcast.

Nihongaku Radio was born in 2011, promising to deliver twelve tracks from twelve Japanese artists (along with the occasional anime opening theme song) direct to your preferred music listening device a couple of times per month; a few notable exceptions and temporary periods of radio silence aside.

Long time listeners will notice that Nihongaku Radio has been less than consistent with new episodes for the last year. There are a lot of reasons for this absence that can best be summed up with the words, “life got in the way.” This March, all of that changes.

I’m happy to announce that Nihongaku Radio is returning, bigger and better than ever. And it all starts this Friday on SXSWfm.

Tune into SXSWfm, the official online radio stream for the South by Southwest conference, this Friday at 11 a.m. Central to hear a Nihongaku Radio special celebrating twenty years of the official Japanese music showcase at SXSW, Japan Nite. You’ll hear from bands like Okamoto’s, Scandal, The Pillows, Omodaka, Avengers in Sci-Fi, and Chatmonchy. Can’t listen at 11? No worries. The same show will play again at 5 p.m.

Two weeks later, catch a second Nihongaku Radio special on SXSWfm featuring the Japanese bands heading to Austin, TX for this year’s Japan Nite showcase and other assorted gigs about town. On the docket for that special are Kao=S, Jungles!!!, Reatmo, Tempalay, Atomic Stooges, Chihiro Yamazaki and more. The show goes down on March 18 at 11 a.m. Central and then again at 5 p.m.

Post-SXSW, look forward to your regularly-scheduled dose of Japanese musical goodness as Nihongaku Radio returns to a normal recording schedule every other Tuesday. The next episode drops on April 5 right here on rockoutjapan.com Nihongaku Radio on iTunes. Don’t miss it!