This performance from Rock in Japan in early August 2010 is the first time new-wave spazz band Polysics has performed live since keyboard player and founding member Kayo left. Since they've been together for around 12 years, this was a pretty big deal. Fans were not only sad to see her leave, but worried about what it might mean for the future of the band. Luckily for us they decided to stick together and soldier on as a three piece.
While the band did play a full set, including three or four brand new songs, those of us not in attendance have only been privy to three songs that have made it onto the web. The video up above is their new opener "Heavy Polysick," which leads into one of the band's very first songs "Buggie Techinica." After the jump is the more modern "Tei Tei Tei."
To be honest, none of these tracks really lets us in on what kind of new sound and energy Polysics might have as a trio. But maybe that means that the new Polysics might not be different at all without a dedicated keyboard player. The band is already recording new material, so it shouldn't be too long before we get to hear for ourselves.
In the meantime, if anyone knows were a video of the full Polysics set from Rock in Japan 2010 might be, I know some people who might be interested...
This is a pretty awesome video for "My Favorite Swing" by De De Mouse. It features the illustration by Final Fantasy artist Akihiko Yoshida, who also provided the artwork for the A Journey to Freedom album. It mixes Yoshida's original character design with a small bit a animation, combining some watercolor CG with more simplistic paper cut-out type stuff. We get to see the characters do a bit of Dragon Quest-like battling and there's even some hot keytar-sword action! Overall it's the perfect compliment to De De Mouse's playful yet futuristic sound.
This time around we've got a little more to look at than just the girls walking around and shopping, which is always nice. There isn't really much more going on here, but at least the backgrounds are interesting. There are a few quick little vignettes sprinkled throughout. You might recognize the "human Tetris" bit that became a full-fledged game show for about ten seconds. There are a few other simple little visual tricks, but an OK Go video this is certainly not. (Which is just fine since those things are a little on the over-hyped side anyway...but I digress) I think my favorite part is when all three girls walk off a cliff.
I'm not so sure that brown on brown is really the best color for the girls, but hey, at least the skirts are short, right guys?
As for the song, it's surprisingly soft compared to all of the hard-hitting, razor sharp bass and pummeling beats we've been subjected to lately. Their voices are also almost in the realm of reality, something we haven't heard for a while. Overall it's a nice enough song but it seems a little weak for a single, don't you think?
October 17 2010 - Keswick Theatre/Glenside, Pennsylvania October 18 2010 - Skirball Center For the Performing Arts/New York City, New York October 20 2010 - Berklee College of Music/Boston, Massachusetts October 22 2010 - Outremont Theatre/Montreal, Quebec October 24 2010 - Queen Elizabeth Theater/Toronto, Ontario October 27 2010 - Vic Theatre/Chicago, Illinois October 30 2010 - Moore Theatre/Seattle, Washington November 1 2010 - Vogue Theatre/Vancouver, British Columbia November 3 2010 - Regency Ballroom/San Fransisco, California November 5 2010 - El Rey/Los Angeles, California
Here's a new one from TM Revolution! And boy, no expense was spared on this one. Uh, yeah. I'm mean that pool of water must have been pretty pricey. And not one, but two drums! Hmm...well OK, there are some cool CG effects, but other than that, it's really just a lot of black and Mr. TM waving his arms around in front of his face a lot. I'm not even sure the song is all that hot. Definitely fast and full of energy, but not super catchy. Aw well, just sit back and gaze upon his splendor, I guess?
Omodaka and Far East Recording are both names used by one Soichi Terada.
Soichi has been producing a wide variety of electro/techno music since 1989. Browsing through his extensive discography is much like taking a lesson in electro history. He started out like many others in the early 90s with bare-bone, sample filled dance tracks. He gradually shifted into jungle/drum and bass territory with his "Sumo Jungle" series of albums. Much of his music featured bossa rhythms and other more sophisticated elements, propelling his tracks slightly further than the usual stagnant underground house and jungle tracks.
He continued to evolve his sound into a much more lively house realm, pushing the vocal element to the forefront. With his "Monkey Turn" single, he fused his older jungle style with a new, vocal-centric sort of cyber-house, with its robotized traditional style Japanese vocal track. After that he jumped straight into a Daft Punk style of upbeat house tracks with more traditional Japanese folk vocals courtesy of Kanazawa Akiko (I highly recommend checking out the video diaries on her site.) He also slowly incorporated the current trend of using modern/retro 8-bit sounds, eventually creating songs made entirely of vintage video game music tracks. While these songs would be great on their own as instrumentals, the addition of Kanzawa's anachronistic traditional vocals makes for a truly unique mix.
So far Soichi has released only one full album and two EPs featuring his new sound under the name Omodaka. The album CANTATA No.147 is basically a collection of singles (including his excellent version of Bach's Cantata No. 147.) The Favorite Games EP is a natural evolution, pushing the vocals to the bleeding edge and even including some acoustic guitar among the retro-bleeps. Plum Song follows suit, with the same pop sound with a bit more experimentation mixed in.
Omodaka has made a very strong showing at live shows in America. As part of the otherwise all-girl Japan Nite tour, Omodaka has wowed audiences with his odd stage show featuring recorded video of Akiko singing and his own version of shrine-maiden clothing, compete with a spooky mask.
With the amount of attention his work is getting, and (perhaps) more notably the excellent videos that accompany much of his music and a growing number of high profile remixes for the likes of Ram Rider, YMCK and Perfume, we can be sure that we'll be hearing (and seeing) a lot more from Omodaka / Far East Recording in the future.
Major Releases Omodaka - Plum Song EP (2010) Omodaka - Favorite Games EP (2008) Omodaka - CANTATA No.147 (2006) Far East Recording - SUMO JUNGLE GURANDEUR Far East Recording - SUN SHOWER REMIXES Far East Recording - NEWS AND OLDIES 1996 Far East Recording - FAR EAST RECORDING 2 Far East Recording - FAR EAST RECORDING
Named after a famous venue in the UK, The Brixton Academy does not hesitate in making its influences known. TBA is a synth-rock, new-wave band straight from the '80s. Their production has the cold precision of Kraftwerk, their lyrics have the emotional simplicity of Duran Duran and their vocals have the same stoney-faced delivery of Joy Division. Yet they are able to combine all of these elements into a very modern package. Oh, and they sing entirely in English with just the right amount of accent to make them sound even more "European."
The group is first and foremost a living, breathing band. With all the controlled precision they put into their recordings you might be forgiven for thinking that they're simply a couple guys slouching behind stacks of vintage synthesizers. This is not the case. Their live shows are full of energy and action with amps turned up to the melting point and crowds frothing with glee. All of this is backed by lyrics like "I'm so shy, so I can only gaze at you" and "whisper in my ear, your voice is so sexy."
The band has kept their identities rather guarded so far. Perhaps the scenesters in Japan know who they are, but to the rest of the world TBA still retains an exotic, yet oddly familiar, mystery. The same mystery that all of those one-hit-wonders from the '80s had who came from around the world to gather on Top 40 stations everywhere. The one major difference is the with The Brixton Academy we have a band that's one lucky step away from a very long career indeed.
Jan 28 - Cure Shop - In store event - Los Angeles, CA Jan 29 - Bootleg Theater - Los Angeles, CA Jan 30 - Atomix- San Antonio, TX Jan 31 - The Middle East- Cambridge, MA Jan 31 - Tokyo Kid -In store event - Cambridge, MA Feb 01 - Santos Party House - Manhattan, NY Feb 03 - Digital Ferret - In store event - Philadelphia, PA Feb 04 - Tainted Reality Special Radio - Philadelphia, PA Feb 05 - Polaris - Philadelphia, PA Feb 06 - Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville, FL Feb 07 - Quimby’s Bookstore - In store event - Chicago, IL Feb 07 - Subterranean - Chicago, Illinois Feb 08 - El Corazon- Seattle, WA
FLOPPY is a chiptune/8-bit/electro project from Sharaku Kobayashi of Metronome and Hiromu Toda of Shinjuku Gewalt. Since 2004, they've been producing some of the best and craziest chip-fueled electro mayhem around. Their somewhat retro-futurist sound is highlighted by their goofy no-budget sci-fi costumes and the music's dreamy yet chaotic atmosphere.
Their songs are mostly made up of fast beats and stuttering lo-bit bleeps, burbling with video game blasts and arpeggiated bass-lines. FLOPPY has always put a little extra effort into their programing, never relying too heavily on loops and factory pre-set sounds. This serves to give their songs a more organic feel, though it can be hard to hear through all the electronic cross-talk. They are able to restrain themselves at times, occasionally achieving something along the lines of a grand Susumu Hirasawa epic. Most often though, they stick to their usual cartoon cat chasing a cartoon mouse sort of vibe. Stompy, silly and fun. Of course thought it all Sharaku Kobayashi's voice adds another level of geek-pop, what with his whiny pitch and pouty delivery.
FLOPPY managed to transcend the usual chip-tune stereotypes. They make genuinely good music using tools more often used to make much more trendy and obviously niche tunes. It proves its members are actually songwriters and musicians, rather than gamers who just happen to be able to mash a few notes together.
FLOPPY is a chiptune/8-bit/electro project from Sharaku Kobayashi of Metronome and Hiromu Toda of Shinjuku Gewalt. Since 2004, they've been producing some of the best and craziest chip-fueled electro mayhem around. Their somewhat retro-futurist sound is highlighted by their goofy no-budget sci-fi costumes and the music's dreamy yet chaotic atmosphere.
Their growing popularity is only highlighted by the fact the both JapanFiles and HearJapan are stocking up on the new album Deus Ex Machina, offering it up to fans around the world. You can get it right now on both sites.
YMCK are arguably one of the more popular chip-tune bands in the world. Their songs are composed almost exclusively with the NES 8bit music chip. In fact, the group developed their very own software called Magical 8bit Plug that replicates the same sounds as the original Famicom system on modern-day desktops.
They manage to not only make their songs incredibly fun and poppy, but densely layered and complex. They take a page from the standard jazz handbook and make their songs swing like crazy, while at the same time holding true to their more rigid 8bit roots.
Singer Midori's whispery, smooth vocals coat the jazzy beats in pure pop sugar and add to the band's overall sense of childish playfulness. While other twee bedroom-pop bands might settle for simple song structures, YMCK goes much much further in developing their songs. The main melodies may be simple and catchy, but all of the underlying tracks are rather complex and never settle for the easy way out. They are continuously on the move up and down scales and arpeggios, tracing elaborate constellations through low-fi starfields.
YMCK has had a lot of success playing live festivals around the globe, like the Blip Festival in New York. While their core sound has evolved little over the years, the quality of their recordings and complexity of their songs continues to grow, not to mention their rabid fanbase.
Yellow Magic Orchestra were (and still are) a massively influential electro band that formed in the late '70s. They played almost exclusively electronic instruments, including huge analog synths. They were also one of the first bands to recognize the appeal of video game music, incorporating it into much of their style. But unlike what one might expect from a digital-loving electro group, YMO combined the static electro sounds with a heaping helping of funk, disco and rock, injecting more than a little life and humanity into the machinery. One bit of trivia that might put a group like Yellow Magic Orchestra into context is their appearance in the American TV show Soul Train in 1980. They were quite likely the first (and perhaps only) Japanese act to appear on the show, bringing their unique brand of electro-funk to astonished and bemused American audiences everywhere.
In a way, YMO is still together. The individual members Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto have all gone on to pursue their own solo careers and causes to great success. But the band still finds the time to occasionally get back together for live shows. These shows showcase both the original YMO lexicon and the individual members own music outside of YMO.
As for the original YMO music, it's a little of what you might expect from a very early synth band, namely swirling Moogs and and massive forests of cords, robotic, lock-step beats and obtuse lyrics. Then there are the more tripped out tunes, the experimental passages and the weird sense of humor. Their live shows from that era are mesmerizing. Perhaps described best as a mix between Kraftwerk and Devo who were active at the same exact time, YMO put on a show that was a mix of "dare to be stupid" futurism, cold, calculated programming and a real sense of, again, humanity and life. YMO followed their own path wherever it naturally lead them, and took an entire generation of electo-loving fans with them.
From smooth, bossa-tinged, ultra fashionable tracks to dreamy yet solid electro pop, the duo of Maiko Mogi and Naoya Yuda navigate through all sorts of twee bedroom grooves as Red Sun.
Formed around 2000, the duo has released a number of albums over the years. They mostly blend singer Maiko's mid-range, smokey voice with the equally muted and organic synths. If it wasn't for their total reliance on electronics, Red Sun might be almost bluesy or have a hint of a lounge vibe at times. They definitely like to work a groove rather than show off a bunch of flashy tricks or frantic tempos. Instead they just let the songs float along at their own pace.
The do ramp up the volume from time to time though, as seen most clearly on their newest mini-album Escape, Please. Three of the album's five tracks are indeed on the soft side, but the album opener "笑う泥棒" has a real stomp to it, and the title track is an instant hit that will glue itself to your brain after the very first listen. If ever you needed proof that good things can sometimes come in small, unassuming packages, then look no further than Red Sun.
There's that old saying as to how writing about music is like dancing about architecture. If ever that sentiment were true (and obviously I disagree to a certain extent) then there was never a better example than the music of Merzbow. Not that most people would dare call any of his hundreds of releases "music" or even "experimental." They are, quite simply, noise. Static. Sounds pushed well beyond the normal limits and distorted into new forms of sonic abuse.
That's not to say everything he does is purely idiot white noise. Quite the contrary. While the end result my be difficult to wrap one's hard around, it's obvious that the process of making his tracks hold great meaning Masami Akita, the man behind the machines. One can quickly see how his music could hold the same meaning as a lead vocalist shouting about injustice at the top of his lungs. Plus much of Akita's work revolves around short loops of much more recognizable sounds like drums synths and other, natural sounds, a tendency no doubt due to his early beginnings with analog tape. These simple sounds are then run though the Merz-machines and transformed into stark, shrieking soundscapes.
Akita has found a large wealth of support outside of the noise world. Perhaps most notably he's worked closely with Mike Patton, vocalist for Faith No More, Fantomas and many, many other projects. Massive rock band Boris is another group that has collaborated with Merzbow, several times in fact. Two personal favorites have been his Satanstornade collaboration with Russel Haswell and the epic live show he performed with the Finnish duo Pan Sonic which was later released as V.
When it all ends, it is the silence that is deafening. His work is at times beautiful, at other times awful, and that's exactly his point. Perhaps his approach is best summed up with this quote: "The effects of Japanese culture are too much noise everywhere. I want to make silence by my noise."
Polysics are the pinnacle of new-wave synth-punk, the result of years of work put in by Yellow Magic Orchestra, P-Model, The Plastics and, most importantly, Devo. Polysics itself has been around since 1997, slowly working their way up the charts and oversea into clubs around the world. Signed both to Sony and MySpace records, they are in a unique situation to be able to easily promote themselves all overtheglobe. They have launched several successful mini-tours of America and the U.K. to larger and larger groups of rabid fans, and have played to massive crowds in Japan. While the band's sound has shifted subtly over the years from an all out wall of synth-punk noise to a much more restrained pop mentality, do not be fooled. There is still much your ears have to fear from Polysics.
For instance, there are the Nord-generated lo-fi glitches and soaring electric melody from Kayo, Fumi's furious bass-lines, Yano's relentlessly pummeling drums and Hiro's spazz guitar and spazzier vocal work. I say "vocal work" because quite often he's screaming, chanting, or just spouting gibberish. Polysics is a great band for anyone afraid of bands singing in a foreign language, because just about everything will be foreign to someone. Poly-lyrics are a mish-mash of English, Japanese and what Hiro calls "space language" that is sent down from above into his brain. There's something there for everyone to be confused by.
While these elements have always been present in their music, it has gradually been cleaned up over the years. Their punk spirit is still there, but their desire for mainstream pop acceptance is showing more than ever. Not that this is entirely bad. Songs like "Electric Surfin' Go Go," You-You-You" and "Moog is Love" are pop masterpieces with a spine, something that is woefully missing from 99.9% of the candy-coated fluff that usually fills the charts. And let's not forget "Baby BIAS," possibly the best pop song ever written, that appeared on Now is the Time!. Now there is a song that could have sold a million copies outside of Japan if handled correctly.
While Polysics have been busy trying to break into the pop world, some of what made Polysics Polysics in the beginning, namely their experimental spirit and abrasiveness, has been downplayed. There are still plenty of head-scratching time signatures, dissonance and totally brutal tempos, but the elements that would have been pushed to the front in the early days are now set far back in the mix as sonic filler for the more obvious hooks.
Much of this change in sound can be attributed to one thing: playing live. Most recently, Polysics has said that they work out new songs in a much more live way, and their live shows are only getting bigger and bigger. The songs are often stripped down to their bare essentials, showcasing the members' incredible proficiency as players over the usual layers of synth noise and sound effects that sometimes obscure the more technical details in their early work.
Polysics are many things, but lazy is not one of them. What never changes is the high quality, originality and genuine sense of fun in all that they do, be it in the studio or on stage. Their albums often feel more like a simple collection of current songs than individual bold statements. More like "here's what we have right now" than "here's what we have to say." People looking for profound introspection into the human condition would do better looking elsewhere. They've also managed to keep their own unique identity despite the high pressure to conform to more traditional sounds. Sure, they've matured, but they are still pushing the limits of new wave rock. They are gradually working their way into the mainstream, subverting it from the inside. For a true new-wave, new-pop, new-rock thunder, you can do no better.
Albums: 1st P - 1999 A.D.S.R.M! - 1999 Neu - 2000 Eno - 2001 Lo-Bits - 2002 For Young Electric Pop - 2002 Kaja Kaja Goo - 2003 National P - 2003 Polysics or Die!!!! - 2004 Now Is The Time! - 2005 Karate House - 2007 We Ate the Machine - 2008
J-Pop and J-Rock are only the beginning. The modern Japanese music scene is just as vibrant and varied as any other music scene in the world. I'm Zac Bentz, writer, musician, designer and all around Japanese music fanatic. Here I hope to share with you a comprehensive (!!) list of Japanese artists and bands (with a strong focus on underground and indie acts) that you may or may not have heard of, in the hopes of expanding our mutual awareness of Japanese music.
I don't mean to suggest that everything I listen to is great. Quite the contrary, I hope that you will take the time to recommend your own favorite artists in the comments so that we can all learn a bit more about the huge range of Japanese music that's out there.
"The best Japanese music blog in the world." - Door Slam "Definitely a must-visit for J-pop and J-rock fans!" -The Otaku "Zac Bentz loves music. A lot." -Japanator "Very cool!" -J-ENT "...one of the foremost blogs and information centers on all J-pop and J-rock...the top source for tour information on Japanese bands in the US..." -YankeeOtaku "Wer mehr darüber wissen will, der sollte sich mal hier umschauen, ein sehr gutes J-Music Blog übrigens." -CommandSheep "...very well-written, and there’s an excellent range of artists...a useful resource." -International Wota "не плохая энциклопедия японских исполнителей/групп" -Diary.ru "Great resource for Japanese music fans who want to explore today's J-rhythms beyond Johnny's Entertainment bishonen music and anime music. XD" -Kaishi "If you are a J-Rock fan, [ZB's A-Z] is a must see." -Crunchyroll community "Otaku USA magazine finally got wise and hired Zac Bentz as a J-music contributing editor."-Radicalpatriot "Reviews practically every Asian band that has ever created a recording."- Zallie "Gewährt spannende Einblicke in die japanische Musikszene." -Laut.de
