I stumbled across DJ Okawari while I was skimming through some K-Indie (like Zitten); but don’t get confused, DJ Okawari isn’t Korean. He’s a Japanese Artist that captures Hip-hop, R&B, Electro-jazz styles under an overarching Ambient music style (the music genre revolutionized by Nujabes). Although it sounds really strange on paper, trust me, it totally works. But if I want to be entirely honest, what initially drew me to his music are the absolutely stunning album covers. All are designed by Japanese artist Marumiyan.
Thankfully, the album covers were beautifying some amazing music, music that I thought I didn’t think I’d like as much as I thought I would. The hip-hop meets ambient music kind of scared me a bit, but my fears instantly disappeared as all the songs I’ve listened to so far are beautifully composed. Unlike say, DJ Clazzi, who writes songs that other people sing and are held up by said singers, DJ Okawari’s music is more about the instrumental composition and mixing than it is about the voices that ornament those songs. Many are simply instrumentals (more so on his first album) that merge traditional Japanese music and natural sounds with modern hip-hop/jazz processing.
In short, it’s all gorgeous, and perfect study music.
[Click on the Album Image to listen to the full album on YouTube]
Discography
Mirror (2009)
1.Sound of Silence feat.KAORI
2.Luv Letter（MUSIC by TSUKINO SORA）
3.You Gotta Be feat.AMADORI
4.Pack Light feat.ERIKO
5.Afterschool
6.Following the Dream
7.Free Bird feat.SIERRA
8.Sweet Light
9.All I Have feat.AMANDA DIVA
10.Minamo（MUSIC by TSUKINO SORA,DJ OKAWARI）
11.Evening Comes 2
Diorama (2008)
01.Evening Comes
02.Chocolate with agehah
03.Bluebird Story with Jumelles
04.Ring
05.Colors of Life
06.Synchronize
07.One for U
08.Aurora with Eri Kamiya
09.Coffee Break
10.Crescent Moon
11.TAYUTAU
12.Silent Night
13.Animal Forest
14.Times Fusion
Kaleidoscope (2011)
01.Encounter
02.Brown Eyes feat.Brittany Campbell
03.Represent feat.Chieko Kinbara
04.Kaleidoscope feat.Tekitha (Wu-Tang Family)
05.Flower Dance
06.U feat.Stacy Epps
07.Another Sky
08.A Cup of Coffee
09.Brighter Side feat.Amanda Diva
10.Temperature of Tears
11.The Bonds feat.NANASE
12.Change the World feat.Woong San
13.Peacock
(Libyus, Marumiyan)
A Splash of Inspiration 
I’ve heard a few of DJ Okawari’s songs but not all of them! I’m excited to listen to more of his music!
I also just wanted to say that I haven’t commented, but I’ve been checking out your blog. I really like your posts! Looking forward to reading more!
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I’m happy to see you here! Don’t feel shy about commenting 😀
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I love DJ Okawari! I’m not sure I would call him an Indie artist though >_<
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I’m using “Indie” quite fast and loose here. It’s mostly a way to separate major artists and/or mainstream sounds in rock or pop from the niche sounds and smaller label artists. The word “indie” these days tends to elicit a hipster attitude, but that’s not what I was going for at all.
Thanks for commenting 😀
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Ah, I just call it underground music…although I’m not sure if I’m being very accurate. O_O But yeah ‘indie’ does give me a hipster vibe. 😛 Do you like Nujabes too?
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Yeah! They both have the same kind of vibes and I like it it a lot 🙂
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great article, he has composed some really good music, my fave is his mirror album personally. Do you have an idea of what his actual name is?
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No idea, unfortunately. 😦
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Reblogged this on Khói.
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