Yoko Kanno

So many years wasted! Why didn’t anyone tell me?! Yoko Kanno is amazing, and she’s particularly amazing when paired up with Origa. Go read about them… NOW.

• Yoko Kanno
• Origa

In conclusion, she’s responsible for “Tank!“, the Cowboy Bebop theme as well as Ghost in the Shell music. She also has several albums on iTunes. I recommend them (if you can put up with a little J-Pop). Her albums are a smattering of different music genres and styles, which is bragable.

Here’s some awesome from CM Yoko.

Barrage

I can’t take credit for finding this one, but if you want to have your head exploded by amazing sound and showmanship (and you like strings), then go watch the group named Barrage. Unfortunately, I’m not that familiar with the group, myself, but if anyone EVER finds out that they’re performing in the Chicago area please let me know. I like most of their music I’ve heard, but some of it is a little too river-dancy-happy for me. Even still, this one is awesome, and I still want to go see them.