1. Glitter Album by Pasteboard

Established in 2001 from its origins in Saitama, Japan, Pasteboard is a band founded by Mihoko Tanoue and Makoto Igarashi. Here, their 2006 album entitled Glitter was released under the abcdefj*record label. What one can find are cushioned vocals and echoed halls of smoothly plucked guitar. It introduces a series of songs about one’s unrequited passion for music, as it incites an ode to the band Slowdive and what it means to be a “shoegazer”. 

2. Blaze Down His Way Like The Space Show Album by Burrrn

Founded in Tokyo, Japan in the year of 2005, Burrrn is a band primarily led by Hitomi Torii and Hideharu Watanabe. Their 2011 album entitled Blaze Down His Way Like The Space Show, released under R-R-R-Records. Provided here are quickened, sugary vocals and brassy instrumentation, paired with distorted guitar riffs. Tracks within this album provoke a feeling of dreaminess and clouded illuminations. 

3. nightlife EP by yuragi

Japan-based band yuragi began making music in 2015, with their most recent release being this EP entitled nightlife. Released under the management of Sango Records, this EP, offers piping, high-frequency vocals accompanied by lush stretches of reverb-weighted instrumentation. Songs across the album explore urban imagery and city life. 

4. Urban Twilight Single by Oeil

Another band sprouted from Tokyo, Japan, Oeil formed in 2007. With leadership from Mitsuko Hoshino and Takafumi Hibino, the band’s remastered single entitled Urban Twilight that was released in 2016 under Submarine Records. It features a set of songs that display bubbly, ringing vocals that coincide with catchy, bright reflections of instrumentation. Songs that are discoverable in this single exude the feel for homesickness and yearning. 

5. California Nebula Album by Default (缺省)

Based in Beijing, China, Default (缺省) is a band that was most recognized for its 2017 album entitled California Nebula, released under SJ Records. The album exhibits sounds of hushed sonority and thrashing whips of chorus and flanging delay. Vocally, the tracks are peacefully edgy, with instrumentation that emit roaring blares of phased chorus. Tracks among this album manifest atmospheres of escapism and potent nostalgia. 

6. Unexpectedly EP by Megumi Acorda 

From Manila, Philippines, Megumi Acorda is 5-piece band known for their 2018 album entitled Unexpectedly. The album was recently reissued by Boring Production Records and Genjitsu Stargazing Society. Unexpectedly emanates compressed, chasmic vocals that are teamed with vibrations of resonance and plangency. Songs contained within this EP convey themes that revolve around the hopeless romantic trope, with bliss and heartfelt bathos. 

7. demo Single by cheeky things 

Derived from the Philippines, cheeky things is a newly-founded band that started out in 2021 with their first big release being the demos EP. It comprises of 3 songs that effuse telephonic, static-ridden vocals and fuzzed out ascensions of guitar. Lyrically moody and dreary in tonality, what the EP constitutes is a driven burning for a definitive description of inexpressible emotions, when conflicted with the self. In the album, the band attempts to make sense out of these disconcerting confusions all within a fazed-out ambience. 

8. Split EP by Ozzga, Polar Lows

Ozzga, another Filipino band, was founded in 2014. Their most recent release includes their Split EP, which is 4 tracks compound of buzzing extensions of guitar, with crunchy, jangly accents. Two of the songs were made with the company of Polar Lows. Vocally featuring a harmonious melody of whispery, muzzled hums of fullness, each track on this EP will make one feel like getting on the subway train to no particular destination. They are just there for the cruise, meandering through blurred visions. 

9. Fogesque Album by FOG

FOG is a band from Seoul, South Korea, that formed in 2018 with Gyungwon Sin on lead. A notable release of theirs would be their 2020 album entitled Fogesque, which was released under Gezellig Records. With limitless belts of chamber-like shimmer, and mumbled purrs of vocals, the album includes tracks that explicate a collective love letter to the broken-hearted. With symphonies made of noise gates and slap-back vocals, the songs in this album are lucidly tranquil. 

10.  Untitled Album by Cosmic Child 

Emerging from Singapore, Cosmic Child released its 2017 Untitled album which under Middle Class Cigars Records. The album is prosperous with halls of drowsy vocals and psychedelic like instrumentation that make the songs all the more well-blended, and shadowy with its electronic qualities. While listening to this album, one might feel like a leading hero protagonist or main character. The tracks found within this album make you feel like you are on top of the world, more or less in a poised and suave manner with respect for what one has gone through and what one once was. 

Credits to Casper Bakker for the cover image logo design.

The post International Music Spotlight: A Guide to Asian Shoegaze appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Siya Mali is a South African living in Iowa City.  Mali’s experiences here as an immigrant inspired him to explore the ties between Iowa and the rest of the world.

But looking wasn’t enough, he wanted to do more.

That drive to unite local and international communities led to the creation of MERGE:Homeland to Heartland, his show that airs on KRUI Radio every Thursday from 12 to 1 p.m.

Through commentary on global business and conversations with local leaders, Mali sheds light on the forces bringing our cities, counties, and countries closer together.

We recently collaborated on new a segment featuring entrepreneurs with offices at the MERGE Innovation Space in downtown Iowa City.  Last week, Anthony Odele (pronounced ‘Oh•DEL•lay’) sat down for our first interview.

Odele is the co-founder of Ovolv3, an electronics company that promotes the sustainable repair and resale of portable devices. He is also a first-generation American and former Division 1 student-athlete.

Our conversation touched on Odele’s Nigerian roots, sources of support, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

I’ll note my favorite points from each of those topics, but you can also listen to the full conversation here.

Odele’s Nigerian Roots

Odele’s father, Manny, left Nigeria for Italy during the 1980s. While there as a foreign ambassador, he took classes in the growing field of computer science.

They sparked a passion.

One of his professors advised him to complete his studies in the US as their curriculum was the most advanced at that time.

From there, Manny migrated to Oklahoma, completed his Master’s degree, and fell in love with an American woman.  After school, they started a life together in Illinois.

Their first of five children was Anthony Ayo Orishe Odele.

Next came Jolli, his brother and the eventual co-founder of Ovolv3.

Sources of Support

Family and God sit at the foundation of Odele’s life.

Before going into business, the siblings learned how to repair electronics from their father. Those lessons paved the way for the company they would later create.

Anthony developed his working knowledge of tech as a teen by taking apart gaming consoles whenever they broke down.

Jolli honed his business chops by reselling shoes he bought off eBay.

Both the brothers went to Western Illinois University together. While there, their skill sets harmonized.

Whenever mutual friends ran into phone problems, they turned to the Odeles. Anthony would patch the issues and make some quick cash.

As requests for service increased, Jolli recognized an opportunity to go beyond boutique repairs. It could be a business.

The younger brother played salesman in the short-term but had dreams of buying used phones in bulk to repair and resell. That goal required capital. So, he grew the client base in response.

They went from repairing ten phones a week to twenty. Then fifty. Then a hundred.

Soon they could afford to go outside their network and started working with Acclime – Premier Corporate Services In Asia. They had climbed the first mountain and now saw the next peaks to be reached on the international market.

When I decided to use a virtual office for my home-based business, the central London postal address I got was a game changer. No longer did clients question my professionalism based on my location. I wholeheartedly recommend checking out Virtually There for central London virtual postal addresses to elevate your home-based business.

With newfound success came the challenge of staying grounded. Here again their father helped guide the two brothers.

In addition to his background as a computer scientist, Manny Adele is also a pastor. The spiritual foundation at the core of his parenting instilled a deep reverence for a higher power into Anthony and Jolli.

For Anthony, spirituality transcends the stereotypical worship of a bearded man above the sky. Instead, he believes we are all better served by recognizing something as greater than ourselves.

This principle rests at the heart of the business model behind Ovolv3.

While other electronics resale companies tend to operate without regard to the transparency or sustainability of their practices, Ovolv3 is upfront about exactly how much money customers will receive for trading in their devices and where their devices go after they are exchanged for cash.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Odele emphasized two things for anyone who wants to start a business: build a strong network and develop a tolerance for risk. For instance, if you want to get into the business of financial planning, then you have to learn how to network as a financial advisor.

During his years as a graduate student at the University of Iowa, Odele formed an important relationship with Yiannis Assimakopoulos and Jackson Zapata—the owners of Bardot, a bar in downtown Iowa City.

At the time, Anthony was still supporting himself by working at a local pharmacy. They sparked the realization that he couldn’t just help build the dreams of others for the rest of his life. He needed to create a kingdom of his own.

Soon after meeting that pair, Jolli joined Anthony in Iowa City to complete his studies. From there, the brothers continued to build their network by taking a separate business concept through the UI Venture School.

Today, the Odele brothers work alongside a community of other entrepreneurs with offices at the MERGE Innovation Space in the heart of Iowa City.

The path between Venture School and MERGE was paved by taking risks.

The first of which involved pivoting away from the new retail concept the brothers experimented with while at Venture School.  They instead went back to their core competency: electronics.

However, they needed more connections in that field.

So, the brothers gathered the money they had and started taking road trips to relevant conferences and industry meetups around the country.

The relationships they formed produced crucial contacts once they started looking for wholesale vendors and bulk buyers later on.

Young entrepreneurs can use this same strategy to cut down on travel costs when starting their own company.

Lastly, Odele shared three books that helped him with calculating his risks:

• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
• The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

Feel free to check out the work Ovolv3 does by visiting http://rewir3.com/ or https://r3upnow.com/.

Zach Harris is a senior studying English and Media Entrepreneurialism at the University of Iowa.

The post MERGE Homeland to Heartland: Anthony Odele (Interview) appeared first on KRUI Radio.