Wednesday, January 20, 7-10pm@ the LimeWire Event Space:
45 Howard Street (at Broadway),NYC .DJs spinning all night long


about EAR TO THE GROUND: TOKYO
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Ear To The Ground: Tokyo is an exclusive collaboration between LimeWire Store and international tastemakers New York - Tokyo. LimeWire Store's ...Ear To The Ground series of FREE digital music compilations spotlights a different city for each release, and Ear To The Ground: Tokyo is the series' 15th installment! New York - Tokyo has selected a group of artists that represent the current progressive music scenes of Tokyo. They are the tastemakers within their scenes: from their fashions to the artwork on their album covers, these creative artists are making an effort to stand out in the crowded urban setting of Tokyo.
http://www.store.limewire.com/store/app/pages/album/Album/productId/376274/

Shuta Hasunuma – “Discover Tokyo”
Shuta Hasunuma is a Tokyo-based multi-instrumentalist/composer with an exceptional skill in electronic music production. His three-dimensional approach of bright pop melodies accompanied by bells and other elements creates his signature sound. Shuta is set to drop his latest album, wannapunch! on January 1, 2010.

DJ Kentaro – “Harvest Dance (feat. Hifana)”
DJ Kentaro made his entrance to the big time in style, winning the 2002 DMC World DJ Championship at the tender young age of 20, obtaining the highest score in the history of the DMC in the process, and establishing him as one of the first Asians to win the title. Since that time, Kentaro has pushed himself as a music producer, working with hip-hop luminaries like The Roots and The Pharcyde along the way.

DJ Honda – “Let It Out (feat. Rakaa Iriscience from Dilated Peoples & Money Harm a.k.a. Marvin Moore)”
DJ Honda is a name that couldn’t be missed in the 1990s, during the golden age of NYC hip-hop. DJ Honda has worked with some of the most influential hip-hop icons in the game, including The Beanuts, EPMD, Common, Redman, Gangstarr, Fat Joe, Biz Markie, Brand Nubian, Mos Def, and KRS-One, to name a few. But music isn’t his only passion; DJ Honda maintains many projects, including media production, a clothing line, and serving as Chapter President of a Japanese national DJ battle.

Himawari – “Wheel Of Life”
Himawari was a project born in New York City. But although the electronic duo have worked on significant events in NYC, they are now based in Japan. Himawari are constantly pushing their creativity by being active in fashion and graphic design. Himawari have performed at such events as the CMJ Music Marathon and the Moby VJ Team MOVEMENT events.

Hifana – “Wamono”
“Hifana” means “south winds” in the Okinawan dialect. The Japanese breakbeat duo is composed of KEIZOmachine! (Keizo Fukuda) and Juicy (Jun Miyata). Prior to forming the group, the two were involved with the legendary Yamatsuka Eye (Boredoms) in a group called Tribal Circus. Hifana has released their music through W+K Tokyo Lab, collaborating with visual artists to enhance their creative works.

Nomak – “Anger Of The Earth”
Nomak is a Japanese hip-hop producer with a melodic production style. His signature sound is characterized by extensive use of piano, flute, saxophone, and acoustic guitar. Nomak’s organic sounds have comprised the production for collaborations with artists such as Fat Jon and Abstract Rude. Nomak has released two albums, Calm (2007) and Recalm (2008).

Kenichiro Nishihara – “Life”
Kenichiro Nishihara began his music career as a director for high-profile fashion events, such as Paris Collection and Tokyo Collections, and retail stores such as UNIQLO, making commercials and soundscapes for websites since 1996. He continues to put out well-produced tracks on wax, and has started his own company, Unprivate, in 2007 with the Unprivate Accoustic label. His second album, Life is expected to drop in 2010.

OHGA – “Moon Talk”
OHGA was born in Japan and raised in New York, where he was attracted to the hip-hop lifestyle and decided to pursue music. In his earlier days, OHGA paid his dues, performing in small high-school gyms. Soon after, he moved back to Japan, where he pushed his career as an artist, even collaborating with major artists such as Bennie K and Diggy-MO’.

Ino Hidefumi – “The Way is The Way is The Way”
INO’s musical talent emerged at the age of 5, when he started playing piano. But his remarkable journey began in the year 2002, when he launched his own cafe, “Tenement,” in Ebisu, Tokyo, which would become the home base for his music projects. From composing and performing to programming and mixdown, his music is all hand-crafted. Having just released his long-awaited new album Inocology in November, INO has plans to tour Japan, beginning in February 2010.

Aonami – “Go Chic / Hard Date (BBK Aonamix)”
Aonami is an electronic musician from Tokyo who produces abstract experimental beats with a remodeled Nintendo Game Boy and the Little Sound DJ tracker program. He runs and maintains his own label, Intikrec. Aonami has been actively touring across Europe, Asia, and the US, including appearances at the Blip Festivals in 2006 and 2007.

TETRAD THE GANG OF FOUR – “Killa Indo”
NIPPS of pioneering hip-hop group Buddha Brand, BD of The Brobus, and Vikn and Sperb of THE GHOST make up TETRAD THE GANG OF FOUR. The instant you hear the group’s music, you’re reminded of how Buddha Brand would sound if they put out an album today.

Gr3yman & Valerye Boybender – “The Message (Not Robo Boy remix)”
Detroit’s Gr3yman & Valerye Boybender saw their track “The Message” remixed by Kero (Shitkatapult, Bpitch Control) and Not Robo Boy (Takeshi Ichikawa of Himawari). Previously a vinyl-only 12″, this techno banger from producer Gr3yman and the mysterious vocalist Boybender is given a spare, sexy makeover by Ichikawa, in his Not Robo Buy guise.

SEEDA – “Hana to Ame”
SEEDA was born in Tokyo and raised in London. His lyrics deal with street life and social issues in Japan. He is known for bringing a new sound to the Japanese hip-hop scene, influencing a new generation of artists, such as Bach-Logic, L-Vokal, I-Dea, and GEEK, to name a few. SEEDA is constantly putting out new music: Currently, he has put out seven albums and 12 series of mixtapes with DJ ISSO.

Cow’p – “Pungi”
Cow’p is a chiptune artist, a trombone player by day and Game Boy rocker by night. His Game Boy software of choice is Nanoloop. Cow’p has performed at the Blip Festival 2008 in NYC. The featured track, “Pungi,” has an interesting rhythm of the type not often explored by chiptune artists.

Tom Yum Samurai – “Syounenba 2K9″
Tom Yum Samurai is a collaboration between Japan’s Yuichiro Tanaka and Thailand’s Thaitanium. Tom Yum Samurai are the organizers of the 2008 Asian Hip-Hop Festival, which featured Nas headlining in front of 15,000 attendees. “Syounenba 2K9″ is their second cover of “Syounenba,” by the late Terry The Aki 06, a Japanese reggae artist.

Skunk Heads – “Black Rain”
Skunk Heads consists of Road Dawgy a.k.a. Baba (MPC/Vocals), Matsu “Zaki” Haze (Guitar/Noise), and Keita Morisawa (Drums). The band’s sound is a hybrid of alternative rock, dub, and hip-hop. Baba is originally from the similarly stoned group THINK TANK.

Shing02 – “Real Kings”
Shing02 is a rare bilingual rapper and producer based in San Francisco and Tokyo. Shing02 is known for his complex and conceptual lyricism in both Japanese and English. Though he was already established as an underground artist, his involvement with the anime Samurai Champloo’s theme song “Battlecry,” produced by Japanese jazzy hip-hop artist Nujabes, has gained him an even larger audience.

Daisuke Tanabe – “My Fish”
Daisuke Tanabe’s work can be described as unique, experimental, downtempo-electronica soundscapes, resonating with hypnotic and blurred beats. Daisuke was featured among the 2006 All Winners on BBC Radio 1’s Gilles Peterson Worldwide. Daisuke expects a busy 2010, with his debut album dropping in January, his participation in the Red Bull Music Academy 2010 in London, Monday Michiru’s “Nexus” remix projects, a European tour, and more.