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Talk about anything and everything Japanese here, from gakagu to Gackt. Feel free to discuss well-loved modern acts like Envy, Mono, Boris, Boredoms, etc., but if you know any good bands which you feel are underappreciated, feel free to share! I'm not an expert by any means, but there's lots of really creative and talented bands from Japan even in genres I normally don't pay much attention to. Take Gesu no Kiwami Otome, for example. I recently got into them and am absolutely in love with how they incorporate math-rock rhythms with pop hooks and a vocalist with an almost hiphop-esque style. Or fellow histrionic pop oddballs Wakusei Abnormal. Japanese metal and prog rock also offers a ton of underappreciated and unique acts like Gonin-ish, Zeni Geva and P.O.N. Further from the classifiable end, there's famous underground figures like Keiji Haino or Merzbow, both of whom look cooler than you probably ever will.   So, go ahead and share your favorite Japanese bands with fellow goons! 
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Dec 6, 2015 08:43
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The first microscene I'd like to spotlight is Japanese sludge metal. You all probably know Boris, but the scene runs further than that. Take the famously reclusive Corrupted, who write hour-plus dirges evoking atmospheres of nuclear wastelands. Or the guys from Birushanah, who blend Japanese folk and progressive songwriting with their crushing riffs, and manage to not seem gimmicky at all - as with their more tribally-oriented fellows over at Ryokuchi. There's also this scathing EP by a band who released nothing else - they really didn't need to since I doubt they'd ever be able to put out anything as abrasive and hateful as this again. A lot of the more extreme and unusual bands I've found from Japan tend to have very small discographies, really... which brings me to the other scene I'll spotlight in this post. Japanese screamo! It's the other end of the hardcore-influenced spectrum from sludge. Where sludge crushes, screamo tends to burn furiously. There's a lot of really loving weird, artsy poo poo in the scene, though, like Killie, Kulara, and my personal favorites Gauge Means Nothing. If you want something more conventional, check out Birth, Endzweck, or This Time We Will Not Promise And Forgive. I should also note that there's some great non-screamo post-hardcore too, like Ling Tosite Sigure, who are one of my favorite post-hardcore bands period.
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Dec 6, 2015 09:38
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The new Teddyloid album Silent Planet is sortof amazing, and has all kinds of crazy collaborations. http://teddyloid-special.com/ Samples here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=user?TeddyLoidSpace?videos Album seems to be on play music, but not yet on Spotify https://play.google.com/music/listen#/album/Bbty6p3sikcmporib7pmizxjtsu/TeddyLoid/SILENT+PLANET Stuff that stands out for me (just youtube sample links): Teddyloid X m-flo : All you ever need https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLTigwiETFw Great upbeat easily accessible EDM Teddyloid X the dude from Capsule: Game changers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mIrrPy3_NU Slower, really easy to listen to electronica. Teddyloix X LION REBELS (feat. Feat. Jun 4 Shot From Fire Ball & N∀Oki, Nobuya & Kazuomi From Rottengraffty) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppdSNu4FemM Electro-hiphop-reggae ?!? This song is great. That said, all songs on the album are pretty strong.
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Dec 8, 2015 09:14
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Gesu No Kiwami Otome remind me of Dismemberment Plan a little or at least that song you posted does. Also Maximum the Hormone is pretty interesting, if we're talking about Japanese metal. I also like Melt Bannana.
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Dec 9, 2015 17:59
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El Gallinero Gros posted:I also like Melt Bannana. Melt Banana are great! The Japanese noise and psych rock scenes are probably going to be the topic of my next post. I could :sperg: about Japanese metal basically forever too. For this post, though, I'll leave it brief and just mention a very underrated band I came across. 八十八ヶ所巡礼, romanized as 88Kasyo Junrei (Pilgrimage of 88 Points), are a band I discovered just because their cover art caught my attention. And really, how could something like this not stick out?  These guys play... I'm really at a loss for words to categorize it, but it's a mix of Voivod-y angular math rock with psych and prog, and some post-hardcore-inflected alt-rock. Really though, Just listen for yourself, these guys are really cool despite seeming goofy as hell. My favorite track of theirs, ⌘惑う惑星⌘, isn't on YouTube, but this one captures some of the appeal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KdjPIRrYZs
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Dec 10, 2015 02:01
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I just started playing the new Urbangarde record and it's the usual pop with a a heightened sense of drama and a somewhat dark undercurrent, but man, it goes places, which is loving great. If you wanna get into it, here's the first track, Kuchibiru Democracy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9xlflY-PH8
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Dec 11, 2015 16:24
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I've been listening to a lot of 70s-80s Japanese pop and Jazz lately and this is one of my favorites. http://www.discogs.com/Seaside-Lovers-Memories-In-Beach-House/release/2151093 This is my favorite tune from the album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNqnZd967PM CerealKilla420 fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Dec 11, 2015 |
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Dec 11, 2015 16:26
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These tracks are from the first collaborative album between singer Salyu and experimental music producer Cornelius. It's interesting and often extremely beautiful. I've been going back to this every once in a while for years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSLK9CCzTo8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DChoNWcIbLw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brec06BA6JU (really impressive live performance of the album's opening track) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65r830HQFRg
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Dec 11, 2015 17:39
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I saw Babymetal live ~so mainstream~ also Teddyloid owns bones
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Dec 12, 2015 01:20
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ElNarez posted:I just started playing the new Urbangarde record and it's the usual pop with a a heightened sense of drama and a somewhat dark undercurrent, but man, it goes places, which is loving great. Fuuuuuuck yeah Urbangarde. I've been enjoying the hell out of Mental Hells recently. It's a bit darker and rockier than most of the Japanese electropop I've found, but it has a lot of personality. Buffis posted:the dude from Capsule OH poo poo I didn't know Teddyloid did a collab with Nakata. I've been in love with Nakata's production on Perfume's stuff for the past few months. Polyrhythm and Dream Fighter are classic songs of course, but his approach on JPN with all the chopped-up glitchy vocal samples is probably his most interesting production-wise. I feel like his production style is a big influence on PC Music guys like A.G. Cook. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbeGeXgjh9Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXAlCazm3J0 Gamma Nerd fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Dec 12, 2015 |
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Dec 12, 2015 02:33
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Towa Tei is really cool. Jazzy electronic music with vocals, sometimes bossanova inspired, sometimes out there I love him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq66jYoFx_c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9qjVCi0ID4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=769QwzmW22Q
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Dec 12, 2015 06:37
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this is my fav Towa Tei song+video, though I haven't heard that many songs by him (guess I gotta go get a Japanese iTunes account or something) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elc8bll7CHk
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Dec 12, 2015 10:07
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Gamma Nerd posted:
I've liked their sound for a while, now. I actually found the lead singer's other band, Indigo La End first. Two different styles, but both projects hold a charming similar ground.
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Dec 12, 2015 11:46
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I'm sure all of you have been asking yourselves, "I sure wish I knew more about Japanese Nationalist Oi!" Well, you're all in luck as I'm going to leave a bunch of youtubes in this here thread. Mid to late 80's stuff. Not overtly political and largely influenced by British bands on the left and the right https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkrVv26jYUI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq4PyQ5lgiw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIPCjfaeMHM In the 90's this morphed into the nationalist Samurai Skin Skinhead scene, which was highly influenced by the European Rock Against Communism movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKC1lm3gnKI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x1vxl_VC7M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSrH4Xr6c3U The most interesting band of this scene, in my opinion, is Eastern Youth. They started off playing RAC influenced Oi! and eventually ended up playing post hardcore and touring the U.S. with At The Drive In. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNjHRviVetA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJvQtXq0kZA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtBnneZmH3g
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Dec 13, 2015 00:28
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Charisma.com is lovely as well. Synthpop-hop with a catchy beat and darn good flow. They had a bit of viral video popularity a few years back with "HATE" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffH_Mp74xh4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1_8zHnvudc They came out with a new album recently, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZdZJMb2-Lo
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Dec 13, 2015 18:28
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Gamma Nerd posted:Fuuuuuuck yeah Urbangarde. I've been enjoying the hell out of Mental Hells recently. It's a bit darker and rockier than most of the Japanese electropop I've found, but it has a lot of personality. You should really find a way to listen to Showa 90 because, after a few listens, I can confirm this is Urbangarde at their darkest and rockiest. It hits really hard, but then it can also get to slower, more mournful pieces like Heisei Shibou Yugi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7pqp-pFhhA It's just great, big, ambitious, complex pop, dealing with complex topics. It's my favorite album of 2015.
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Dec 13, 2015 21:41
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This is Tatsuro Yamashita - For You (1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkqHiUGp6yU The cover caught my attention on youtube because it looked like something out of Lego Island. I guess it's pop music, but I don't have a fuckin clue what the guy is talking about
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Dec 14, 2015 06:14
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ElNarez posted:You should really find a way to listen to Showa 90 because, after a few listens, I can confirm this is Urbangarde at their darkest and rockiest. It hits really hard, but then it can also get to slower, more mournful pieces like Heisei Shibou Yugi. I definitely will!
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Dec 14, 2015 08:17
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Since the new Galneryus album just came out, I figured I'd talk about the Japanese power metal scene... though this will probably end up covering the less extreme half of the Japanese metal scene in general, since the prog scene is so closely tied to it. Visual kei also ties into this, but I feel really unqualified to make an effortpost about it, even though I can drop some of the bigger names in classic VK like BUCK-TICK and Luna Sea, as well as more modern acts like Malice Mizer and Schwarz Stein. It all starts with X Japan, basically - they were the band to bring metal to Japan (though a couple artists, like Anthem and Loudness, had formed earlier), and their odd reappropriation of glam aesthetics was the basis from which visual kei evolved. Though their getups and aesthetics were rather restrained in comparison to their successors, they still adopted a style way more flamboyant and theatrical than Western metal.  X Japan's discography is pretty small considering their outsize influence - only 4 albums, an EP, and a few singles - but unabashedly ambitious, with heavy use of symphonics before they became an established trend in metal. Vocalist/pianist Yoshiki was classically trained, after all, and initially assembled the band to find people who could play his compositions. Their defining song is undeniably the half-an-hour Art of Life, which bridges 2 power metal sections with a bizarre, discordant piano solo. The focus on musicianship, heavy use of keys and orchestration, and prog rock pomp/excess have been a constant in Japanese metal since. Which is to say, this is some of the cheesiest music you may ever hear. But if you have a tolerance for it, it's incredibly fun. Anyways! By the time of X Japan's breakup in '97, more than a few bands heavily inspired by them had started to gain popularity. Most notably, the folk-inspired Onmyoza, the neoclassical shred vehicle of Concerto Moon, and the prog-oriented Marge Litch (who had started out closer to prog than metal, a closely associated act to the symph-prog band Outer Limits), as well as more obscure acts like Aion and Gargoyle. Aion and Marge Litch members went on to star in several of my favorite Japanese acts, like Zigoku Quartet and Alhambra. The two modern Japanese bands people tend to be familiar with are Galneryus and Versailles:   As you might guess, the two do sound somewhat different - both are pompous as gently caress but Galneryus take a more aggressive, masculine approach with lots of keyboard/guitar duels and fast rhythms, where Versailles tend to be more atmospheric and heavily orchestrated. Or, should I say, tended - the vocalist of Versailles is pursuing a solo project and the other members are in Jupiter, which is essentially a poppier Versailles with a different vocalist. I personally never cared for Versailles as much as Galneryus, and Jupiter's work doesn't impress me as much as the better Versailles songs like God Palace, but if you're interested definitely check them out. Galneryus, while a teeny bit overrated, still write some goddamn brilliant melodies. Tracks like Whisper in the Red Sky, The Promised Flag, and Beyond of the Ground have some riffs which will get stuck in your head for days. Their more reflective instrumentals like Requiem show Syu's gift at guitar goes beyond merely hyperspeed shredding. The keyboardist Yuhki also has his own solo project as well as playing in Alhambra. My favorite album in the whole scene, at least right now, is Scenes of Infinity by Light Bringer. The musicianship is spectacular, especially the very prominent bass, and Fuki's voice is tremendously powerful - massive range and wonderful vibrato coupled with really gorgeous melody. The bassist is also in the more progressive-oriented Alhambra, who I mentioned earlier - they're tremendously underrated and I highly recommend you check them out. I don't like Alhambra's vocalist quite as much, but the instrumentation is quite stunning and varied. If you like Light Bringer, I also suggest you look into the up-and-coming Octaviagrace (who only have one EP out so far) and Fuki's other projects DOLL$BOXX and Unlucky Morpheus - who are actually a Touhou metal cover group. Yeeeeeeah, on that topic, metal remixes of Touhou music is a booming home industry it seems, with lots of popular artists like Iron Attack! and Demetori and even some unexpected ones like the Touhou + brutal death metal (???) band Agent 0. I can't tell you whether I ever thought I'd hear chirpy Touhou melodies mixed with brutal death metal pig-squeal vocals but... here we are. A lot of these groups also produce original albums, like Knights of Round. Hope you guys enjoyed some of those links or at least thought they were lame in an entertaining way. It's hard for me to not go full  when talking about music, especially a scene I've spent a lot of time looking through. There's a pretty comprehensive playlist here if you need more stuff.
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Dec 14, 2015 09:53
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Gamma Nerd posted:Fuki's other projects DOLL$BOXX DOLL$BOXX is great, and I wish they would make more albums. Pretty much all songs on the album they released are nice, and I love how they made (low budget) music videos for all(?) songs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2itu5KEvG0&list=PLlULvXdO0rwujmEVkRXF3URZO2BKp1LOu
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Dec 14, 2015 10:42
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Gamma Nerd posted:The focus on musicianship, heavy use of keys and orchestration, and prog rock pomp/excess have been a constant in Japanese metal since. Are you not perhaps understating the importance of the Japanese thrash scene here? many of those bands weren't very proggy at all. And at least some Japanese thrash is clearly also connected to their punk scene, which is a whole different thing.
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Dec 14, 2015 11:57
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A human heart posted:Are you not perhaps understating the importance of the Japanese thrash scene here? many of those bands weren't very proggy at all. And at least some Japanese thrash is clearly also connected to their punk scene, which is a whole different thing. Yeah, "Japanese metal" there was mostly referring to the heavy/power/prog scene. With a couple exceptions, like Gargoyle and Doom, Japanese thrash isn't too proggy, but I think the Japanese thrash scene was probably more influential to the extreme metal scene (particularly Sabbat) so I left them for a later post. I'm sort of ignorant of the Japanese thrash scene aside from those bands and, like, Barbatos and Abigail, so I didn't want to misrepresent it.
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Dec 14, 2015 19:22
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i'll do some effortposts about japanese garage rock and ymo/sakamoto and soichi terada/far east records type stuff later but for now does anyone know anything else that mines the same territory as yasutaka nakata's productions besides like terukado/d-topia and nuxx? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnIWa62NarU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-_TTEvX7u4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAkjWhfVmi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbeGeXgjh9Q doesn't have to be idol pop but it's fine if it is. i just want more stuff that sounds like these.. you know, maximalist housey type stuff with vocal cutups or squarewaves
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Dec 14, 2015 20:05
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I'd check out immi, LIL, Genki Rockets, and maybe some vocaloid producers like Hachiouji-P, GigaP and AvTechNO! (the last 2 are human vocalists covering songs written for Vocaloid but both artists primarily produce Vocaloid stuff) e: also while it's not vocal, definitely look into J-core and J-trance. Nhato and Oda are both awesome producers. Gamma Nerd fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Dec 14, 2015 |
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Dec 14, 2015 20:40
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Gamma Nerd posted:The first microscene I'd like to spotlight is Japanese sludge metal. You all probably know Boris, but the scene runs further than that. Speaking of Birushanah and Tetsuo: ISO, the main dude behind both bands also had another band called Cavo. Cavo's sound was a mixture of the Japanese folk influences of Birushanah and the bleak, vast soundscapes of Tetsuo. There's basically no info on Cavo online and they only put out 1 EP and 1 full-length, which you can listen to on russian facebook: http://vk.com/wall-26849781_10121. About half the tracks are folky sludge metal and half are really weird acoustic songs that sound like recordings of tribal rituals. It's a bizarre mix that somehow works incredibly well, definitely recommended listening for any fan of japanese sludge.
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Dec 30, 2015 00:58
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Oh hey maybe this thread can solve a personal mystery. A while back I saw a video of a two-piece band playing really loud noise-rock. One dude was a drummer and the other was playing some kind of theremin-like gadget, except it was encased in a fluorescent lightbulb tube. I remember loving loving it but I never wrote down the name anywhere so now I'm sad. Does anybody have any inkling of who I could be talking about? (Also Envy is the best Japanese band that has been or will be.)
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Dec 30, 2015 01:54
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On the personal mystery front, does anyone know what became of the King Bros. (possibly from Osaka)? Basically punk-noise-blues. I saw them play in Dallas years ago on the way down to SXSW, and they were one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. I don't think I've ever seen a band with that much intensity onstage (and that much niceness off - my roommate bought their record, so they gave us all a round of hugs). Never seen anything like them. Stunning.
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Dec 30, 2015 03:06
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Alright, let's talk about Eternal Elysium: EE was formed in Nagoya in 1991 by Yukito Okazaki (guitar, vocals), Atsutoshi Tachimoto (bass), and Jiro Murakami (drums). Their name is a loose translation of the Zen Buddhist term Goku-Raku-jodo. They were initially influenced by classic heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, Trouble and St. Vitus, as well as NWOBHM groups like Iron Maiden. The NWOBHM influence is most prominent on their demos, and their debut album Faithful from 1996: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpYlYWHDW_Y Unfortunately, numerous setbacks have plagued EE throughout their career, which is probably the main reason for their relative obscurity. Okazaki has been the leader of EE since the beginning, but his Crohn's disease has repeatedly sidelined him, leading to problems with both touring and recording. After Faithful, it was 4 years until the next EE album, and Tachimoto and Murakami were replaced by Eiichi Okuyama and Takashi Kuroda. This lineup change also brought a change in sound, with the band moving towards a more psychedelic sound influenced by traditional Japanese music, 60s and 70s rock, as well as the burgeoning stoner rock/doom scene of the late 90s. EE recorded material for a number of compilations and tribute albums, which eventually got them a contract from Meteor City, who released their 2nd album Spiritualized D in 2000. It's a really great record, so go listen to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhRCkwOQlOU Their version of "Innocent Exile" is probably one of the more unique Maiden covers out there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJr3Wzhl7QU After more setbacks, and another complete lineup change, EE released Share in 2002. It's a solid album that doesn't reach the level of Spiritualized D, but still has some great highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuX-DSvYOR8 After yet another complete lineup change, EE finally stabilized with Antonio Ishikawa on drums, and Minnesota transplant Tana Haugo on bass and backing vocals. Haugo actually moved from the US specifically to join EE after meeting Okazaki while on a trip to Japan. This trio has released a whole bunch of excellent stuff, mostly engineered and produced by Okazaki himself: Searching Low and High (2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV4P2kjrdqA Split with Black Cobra (2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL5nNoeaERc Within The Triad (2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyBgcgMDI2c Highflyer EP (theme for wrestler Shinya Ishikawa) (2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAubRJMCQqg They do play shows and occasionally tour, but rarely outside Japan these days. A new album is apparently on the way.
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Dec 30, 2015 07:42
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Les Rallizes Denudes are the original and only obscure underground Japanband for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CwD6iPwQeA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch-TDGW-zXs
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Dec 30, 2015 16:13
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Inspector_666 posted:Oh hey maybe this thread can solve a personal mystery. 
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Dec 30, 2015 16:48
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I'm pretty sure it was just a duo, the video wasn't very high quality though. It also was a long light tube, not something in each hand.
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Dec 30, 2015 17:46
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Anybody listen to Bi Kyo Ran? They started out as a King Crimson worship band, but they're way weirder than KC ever was. They've been active continuously since about 1980, so they've got a massive discography that I'm just barely starting to get through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RUFcFzPfb0
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Jan 10, 2016 04:54
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Gamma Nerd posted:Take the famously reclusive Corrupted, who write hour-plus dirges evoking atmospheres of nuclear wastelands. For the complete opposite, Chew from Corrupted and Eye from Boredoms. Basically, Eye announces the song title, the lyrics of which are basically the title shouted over blast beats. Bonus Beastie Boys, Dead Kennedys, and DRI "covers." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fToHi0XWeo
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Jan 11, 2016 06:22
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Wampa Stompa posted:Anybody listen to Bi Kyo Ran? They started out as a King Crimson worship band, but they're way weirder than KC ever was. They've been active continuously since about 1980, so they've got a massive discography that I'm just barely starting to get through. Yeah, they're pretty cool. I've also only listened to their early material but it's surprisingly hard to find bands that mine the more moody, dark side of prog a la KC without delving into avant-prog dissonant chamber stuff, and the first 2 Bi Kyo Ran albums definitely do a great job of elaborating on KC's vibe. Sorry I haven't made another effortpost - I'll probably cover prog or extreme metal next. I just started my majors program at a new university so it's been a bit stressful trying to adapt to a new schedule 
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Jan 11, 2016 08:58
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I saw Heaven In Her Arms open for Deafheaven in Shibuya in 2014 and I thought they were pretty good. It's great for people who like Envy and want more of that kind of sound, but want more metal flavor out of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsUCA4GZnHA I also can't imagine anyone who may like Perfume not like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu since they share the same producer in Nakata, though she tends to be way more whimsical than Perfume. Their overall sound is very similar. And anyone who likes Perfume has got to take a moment to watch their SXSW performance, it's mind blowing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZiPIgCtIxg Most of the music I buy here in Japan tends to be used CDs of mainly pop though, so I'm not well connected to genres past that but I'm completely open to looking. CDs are still ridiculously expensive so I don't tend to buy anything on a whim. Tower Records still exists here but it's usually upwards of 3000 to 4000 yen per CD, so people rent CDs (!) just to rip them in the end. The new music I tend to hear comes in the form of live shows, although I should say that I've seen Buck-Tick like four times since a friend of mine is a huge fan of theirs. I'll probably see the Yellow Monkey this year for the same reason. I guess I should also mention how I spent years looking for an album by a duo called Coa which consists of a bass and drum duo called Bill and Eddie (they're women though) and found it the first time I entered a Disk Union. It's mediocre stuff but I just thought it was neat to listen to an album totally influenced by Unsane called "Smell Me, Smell My Grandfather."
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Jan 11, 2016 11:31
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Personally, I'm a fan of Polysics.. Basically the Japanese Devo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0q0W9uJzIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjARMDNBG1U
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Jan 13, 2016 23:20
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Alright, so, Japanese prog. I'd try to write up a brief history of the scene but I sadly don't have much in the way of sources... I can split the J-prog scene into roughly 3 groups, though. The first scene was the initial wave of psych and folk-inspired bands like Yonin Bayashi, Far East Family Band, Magical Power Mako, Flied Egg, and solo artists like Kimio Mizutani and Hiro Yanagida. It's sort of hard to sum up this particular scene since the artists brought a really eclectic blend of influences to the table, but probably the wildest and most summative record of the period is Magical Power Mako's debut. (If the vocals on that track sound a little familiar, by the way, that's because it's Keiji loving Haino.) A few cool archival releases fall into this category too - my personal favorites are Round House, who remind me of KC in a similar sense that Bi Kyo Ran do, and Mandrake, the nearly unknown first band of pop impresario Susumu Hirasawa. If you like Hirasawa's work on the Paprika or Berserk soundtracks, Mandrake is... pretty different but still worth your time if only as a curiosity. The audio quality of these archival releases tends to be pretty poor but that comes with the territory I guess. The second scene, rather than being inspired by Hawkwind and Faust and other improv-focused bands, was keyboard-focused and generally worshipped at the altar of Emerson Lake and Palmer (though some artists, like Mr. Sirius and Kenso, were not quite so intense and technical, and took more from Soft Machine or Camel). The general tendency with these bands is towards very brassy, digital synth tones, lots of neoclassicism and aggressive rhythmic changes. This is where I'll stick artists like Social Tension, Providence, Gerard, Vienna, Vermilion Sands and Outer Limits (probably the best known group in this style). While this scene is pretty obscure abroad, it was a big influence on Japanese metal (as I mentioned with Marge Litch) and video game soundtracks. Motoi Sakuraba got his start as a prog keyboardist, and I suspect that composers like Noriyuki Iwadare, Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu were strongly inspired by the strain of highly symphonic ELP-inspired prog popular in Japan at the time. The third group of artists is the more avant-minded ones inspired by Magma and/or chamber prog like Henry Cow. Probably the most important overall band (though calling them prog is pretty reductive) is the bass/drums duo Ruins, whose debut mixed noise rock, zeuhl and math rock into one unholy cacophony - and along the way introduced listeners to one of the world's best drummers, Tatsuya Yoshida. Seriously, dude is a madman. His characteristic jabbering vocals can be found in other projects like Koenjihyakkei. Speaking of which... Angherr Shisspa is seriously one of the most fun and catchy albums out there, regardless of genre label. Anyways, Ruins hardly created the avant-prog scene in the country, and a lot of their contemporaries like Bondage Fruit, Happy Family, Mong Hang, and Demi Semi Quaver deserve a lot more attention in my opinion. As with a lot of Japanese music, these bands don't pay much attention to genre convention and often include noise rock or punk influences which you rarely find in prog. More pop-based oddities like After Dinner also belong here.
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Jan 14, 2016 08:16
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A lot of bands and groups have already been mentioned Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. Psychedelic, experimental, drone, noise, space rock  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-arIDSfbiQU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y06hM01gel8 Would have done more of a effort post but in a bit of a rush. Loving alot of whats been posted sofar!
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Jan 14, 2016 10:45
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Great to see Tatsuya Yoshida mentioned - while the early noise stuff is a bit harsh for me sometimes every single record he did from say, Burning Stone on is incredible. so many mindblowing how-the-hell-did-he-do-this moments, that is if you're paying attention (and if you're not, it all sounds like *crash crash crash* "AHHH!!! BPBPBPLBPBLBP!!!") Prog for the ADD generation. I think Rovo fits into that scene as well; straight up drum-oriented trancerock, kinda like those later Boredoms albums. In technopop news - supergroup METAFIVE, consisting of Yukihiro Takahashi, Cornelius, Towa Tei, Leo Imai, Yoshinori Sunahara, and Tomohiko Gondo is releasing their first album today, I've really loved the previews thus far but this song in particular is really nuts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LBUEYGfisQ
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Jan 14, 2016 15:35
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Gamma Nerd posted:Alright, so, Japanese prog. I'd try to write up a brief history of the scene but I sadly don't have much in the way of sources... Seeing Kenso and Koenjihyakkei live in 2005 and 2007 respectively (also Magma in 2003 and 2008, but they're not Japanese) was a highlight of my music-experiencing life. At the time, I was already a big Koenjihyakkei fan but hadn't heard any of Kenso's output except for Ken-Son-Gu-Su, their live album from a few years prior, which was superb. What a fantastic festival NEARfest was while it lasted. RIP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7vyTla4fhQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIJtICRAxPc Neither clip is from NEARfest but fine examples of what they're like live nonetheless. There's also another excellent pair of Japanese prog bands fronted by violinist Akihisa Tsuboy - KBB (saw them live in 2005, also at NEARfest) and Pochakaite Malko (haven't seen them). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghdpWVGm6lU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuz5xI3WnFk I'll have to check out Mong Hang and Demi Semi Quaver...haven't even heard of either of them before.
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Jan 15, 2016 06:06
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