Hakuchi (白痴) - Pops

The three piece hailing from Saga prefecture on the North Western tip of the Japanese island of Kyushu describe themselves as "Junk Pop" which is a fairly appropriate tag. The band who take their name from the Japanese translation of Fyodor Dostoyevsk's "The Idiot" have a joyous, care free, unpretentious, anything goes approach to their music. Something ably demonstrated in the opening track of their 5 track CDR where the band breakdown into Japanese instructional exercise drills mid-song before launching into 30 seconds of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"then rolling straight back into the groove like nothing happened. yeah, why not?

Hakuchi are as fun as they are loud, catchy and unpredictable.  

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Jyunen Senshu (十年選手) - 9696PAR

Jyunen Senshu (Teenage Player) is a side project from Yoshida Hajime best known for being the guitarist/vocalist in long standing Tokyo punk experimenters Panicsmile. Those familiar with his main band won't be too surprised by what's on offer here. It's got a much more chilled vibe to it but the Captain Beefheart, No-Wave influences are still very apparent. 

Not too sure exactly what the lineup is as there's very little information on the band but it seems to be a drum, bass, guit setup accompanied by 2 saxophones. The band sound pretty similar to other local Tokyoites such as Bossston Cruizing Mania and PQ (and possibly have some shared members.). Occasional spoken word vocals layered on top of off kilter bass, stop and start drums, dischordant smokey sax lines and abrasive guitar stabs that ends up sound like a laid back James Chance and The Contortions.

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Ultra Fuckers - King Of Scum Ultra Fuckers at KB*CC 2003

Self declared "Kings of Scum" the Ultra Fuckers are ambassadors of one of Kansai's more quirky little sub-genres. Scum rock which sprang in the mid to late 90's is defined more by its approach and execution rather than stylistic similarities. Scum Rock is defined by its clumsy, amateurish, antagonistic, provocative, wild and eccentric performances. Infamously shy a lot of bands have a hard time getting any sort of reaction from Japanese crowds. Scum is all about shaking things up and keeping things unpredictable in order to create the necessary climate for the elusive "happening".                

Ultra Fuckers' particular brand of scum comes in the form of some raw, crappy, awkward garage punk and more recently experimental diversions into oddball Krautrock. Usually wearing a paper bag on his head and clad in skate pads vocalist  Kawai Kazuki's favourite party trick is to bring a ladder on stage with him and use it to launch his body at anything close enough to hit. At least until 2003 when such antics earned Kazuki a rather painful broken shin bone. The ladder has very rarely been seen since. The painful incident is preserved here on youtube and was later released on a DVD fittingly titled "Bone Crunch Memory".

Kazuki also helps curate Lost Frog, a website created to disseminate scum rock through the web. The site seems to be only sporadically active these days but you'll find a lot of interesting stuff available for free download including a number of Ultra Fuckers' EPs and self-releases.    

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Maruo Maruko - CDR Live Sept 2010 (丸尾丸子)

Kyoto based Maruo Maruko is one of my favourite local singer/songwriters. I've already posted a few things from her but she has her first proper studio album coming out this month through Tokyo based indie label Enban (円盤) so now seems as good a time as any to share some more stuff from this talented musician.

This CDR is a live recording made by her in Sept of 2010. There's no info about where it was recorded but the recordings are of a decent quality. Maruko's music has a beautiful timeless folk feel to it that feels both evocative and nostalgic and also uniquely Japanese. Maruko is a multi-instrumentalist who most often uses accordion but also makes use of guitar, mouth harp, toy instruments and even sometimes radio. She's playing a handful of shows to promote the release of her album so check her out if you can.

Dec 1st @Kyoto Urban Guild

Dec 7th @ Osaka Chef-d'oeuvre

Dec 13th@ Osaka Namba Bears

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Brown'nose - Underground Radio Show

Ladies and gentlemen introducing on bass Mr. John Dickhead Hunter! On Drums Mr. John Dickhead Hunter! On Guitar Mr John Dickhead Hunter!...

This record was an impulse buy from the treasure trove of bizarre and rare obscurities that is Forever Records. Who could resist that fantastic album cover? Thankfully the contents also does it justice. Brown'nose are a band that wear their influences on their sleeve. Their psychedelic 60's pop could almost be some long lost collection of Beatles, Kinks and Beach Boys basement recordings. The album even takes the form of a Sgt. Peppers-esque concept album. The enigmatic multi instrumentalist duo refer to themselves only as John Dickhead No.1 and No.2 so unfortunately the talented pair's identities remain a mystery.  

The band followed up this 1998 release with another album titled"Life Is Question" in 2000. If anyone knows where I might be able to get hold of a copy I'd be very interested to hear it as this  album has left my hungry for more from this gorgeous undiscovered gem of a band.

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Gezan - Hakkoushita Wa Ga Bokoku (下山 - 発酵した我母国)

A lot has happened in the world of Gezan since I was last online. The ambitious Osaka 4-piece released their debut studio album earlier this year through their own label 13th Records then in October bid farewell to Osaka with a sold out oneman sayonara show and upped sticks to the bustling metropolis that is Tokyo. The band also have a live DVD/CD set coming out next month which features the aforementioned farewell gig.

The band have been on the up and up since their formation around 3 years ago so it seems appropriate to return to the bands humble beginnings. "Hakkoushita Wa Ga Bokoku" (Fermenting our homeland) is the bands first CDR release from late 2009. The CDR is a set of live recordings made at Bears livehouse. For those unfamiliar with the band intense, sleazy psychedelic noise-rock is the name of the game. The band have diversified and developed their sound over the years venturing into punk, hardcore and even electro-hip hop but what's on display here is the pure unadulterated psychonoise that earned them their fierce reputation on the local live circuit.

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Chinchilla Silas Hole - Chinchilla (チンチラシラスホール - ちんちら)

I've posted about this Kyoto trio before as one of my favourite bands of 2010. (I liked them so much I even recruited their drummer into my own band.). The band are currently on hiatus due to work constraints but hopefully the band get back to playing regularly in the not to distant future as they showed a great deal of promise.

In my previous post I bemoaned their lack of recorded output and resorted to posting some of the bands bootleg recordings. Well it seems the band took it to heart and put out a CD-R of studio recordings mid-last year. The recording quality although a little underwhelming is at least clear and clean.

The drum, bass and vocals trio have a very distinctive style that is a little hard to describe.. Coming off as a quirky fusion of early Red Hot Chilli Peppers fused with a healthy dose of punk and occasional ramblings into noise territory. It's weird, catchy as hell and at the same time extremely natural sounding. The vocals are one of the most standout elements of the band as singer "Lighter"raps, rants and jabberwockies about his obsession with pets aresholes (See track 2 "Ano ana - That hole") and other such jibberish ramblings over basslines that hop scotch their way between funk breakdowns and punk workouts.    

With the band on hiatus and them only making about 50 copies of the CD (Nicely packaged in a shiny cardboard sleeve with artwork by vocalist lighter by the way) I'm not sure if the band are still selling the CD but feel free to contact either me or the band if you are intersted in tracking down your own copy. Enjoy!  

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Online!

Boom! we're back like Obama!! Apologies for the extended hiatus which ended up being much longer than I originally anticipated it to be. Thanks to all those who contacted me over the intervening months concerned about my well being and encouraging me to get back online. A broken PC and internet problems were to blame. I'm in fine health besides the emergence of a few gray hairs.

On a side note the controversial ACTA law was passed in Japan a months ago bringing in harsh fines and even jail time for those caught uploading or downloading copyrighted music or movies. That means for the time being I will only uploading demos, CD-Rs  and other non-copyrighted material.

And finally for those who requested re-uploads of older stuff I'll do what I can to get those back up.    

Stay tuned. Uploads coming shortly.

Offline!

Apologies for the recent lack of posting. An explanation is in order. I recently moved to a new place to start up a share house. The good news is that we're almost done setting up and we soon hope to be holding our own music, art and exhibition events. The bad news is that due to various complications we I won't be online until what is looking to be the middle of April. Unfortunately that means Begone... Will be on temporary hiatus until I can get back online. So sit tight for now and I pro use a wealth of uploads when I come back.

Also if anyone has any good suggestions for naming our house please leave a comment or mail me. I'm drawing blanks.

To be continued...

Shimantogawa Tomomi - Kanojo Dekimashita (四万十川友 - 彼女できました)

It's a well known made up fact that one in every three Osaka-ites is a self styled singer/songwriter. Another well known non-statistic is that 90% of those one in three is utter rubbish. Blander than a cup of boiled water and soul suckingly dreary. Shimantogawa Tomomi while not the most original singer/songwriter does manage to play around with the tortured lovestruck troubadour cliche and spin it out into an exaggerated caricature. Not that his warts and all take on balladeering isn't sincere but the emotional melodramatics are carried out with a self awareness that borders on self parody.

Shimantogawa who named himself after one of Japan's most famous rivers and is convinced he is the bastard son of the late Japanese rock legend Imawano Kiyoshiro (忌野清志郎) has been performing in Osaka's dingy underground live houses since he was a young teenager. (Even managing a brief stint across the U.S. in 2010) "Kanojo Dekimashita" (Literally "I got a girlfriend") is a self recorded CDR he put out around 2 years ago. The entire album was recorded on a cheap tape recorder in his bedroom so expect lots lo-fi tape hiss but it mostly adds to the rag-tag DIY charm and intimacy of the recordings rather than detracting from them.

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I Want City - Add 2009

I Want City are a sideproject formed by excellent Nagoya band's drummer Accidents In Too Large Field Shimizu Makoto and Tempeng bassist Sakata Junko. Despite only having 2 members the band manage to have a pretty fleshed out sound that sits somewhere between a faster Public Image and a harsher Red Snapper with an overt penchent for breakbeats and cowbell. In short noise music with a definite groove.

The band formed in 2006 and put out their first and to date only album in 2009 on Kochi based indie labe Chaotic Noise but haven't played since very early 2011 so I've no idea if the project is still alive or not but hopefully these guys will get round to doing something again someday as I'd very much like to see a follow up to their excellent debut.

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Power Empire - Live At Bears Nov 2011

Well hope you all had a good X-mas and New Year and with any luck the prophesied 2012 Mayan doomsday comet will obliterate the planet before Sarah Palin has the chance to sit behind the presidential desk in the oval office. Stay positive people!

It seems fitting to kick off 2012 with a band that became my favourite band of 2011. Power Empire formed a little over a year ago from the ashes of members previous bands have been on the up and up and exhibit all the traits that turn a band into cult favourites in the Osaka underground. A fetishistic love of noise, a blatant disregard for their audiences aural well being and the ability to empty venues inspite of Japanese audienes usual high level of tolerence. In short if I were to describe Power Empire in a single adjective it would be "facemeltinglyferocious". Power Empire's formula is pretty simple but is damn effective. Towering walls of guitar noise being rolled along by basslines thicker than London smog and pummeled into bloody submission by drums so brutal that even Amnesty international are concerned. The bands drummer also has the unique distinction of being the only drummer i've ever actually seen play so hard that he actually managed to tear a kick drum skin.

Live is definitely best way to experience the so I've uploaded a bootleg recording of the band I made myself of a live show of theirs at Bears a few months back. The recording is of 2 of their tracks 13mins and 9mins respectively. The audio quality is pretty decent, I've EQ'd it to clean it up a little and I think it does a fairly decent job of conveying the awesome intensity of the band.

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