Win a Sheep Free - Small Rainbow Meets Raindrops

W is for Win a Sheep Free

Despite having liked this band for a number of years now it wasn't until about a week ago that I found out that prolific drummer and multi-instrumentalist Itoken was a member. It seems anything that he touches is usually worth seeking out. Be it his wonderfully quirky solo releases, his involvement in Jazz-Math rockers Gnu, or collaborations projects like d.v.d. and Harpy. And the oddly named Win a Sheep Free also deserve a place on his impressive resume. 

This 2004 album by the Tokyo based 5-piece (vocals, 2 acoustic guitars, drums/percussion and a VJ.) is the only release made by the now defunct project besides a 3 track EP released the same year entitled "With Little Songs". The band make some gorgeously airy sounding folksy, acoustic songs that also have a wonderful kineticism and technical dynamism to them that almost drag the band into the realms of being something bordering on Math-Rock. As a result the band sound very approachable and listenable but will probably also catch the ear of those with more discerning musical tastes. 

As mentioned before the project seems to have long been put to bed and the disappearance of the bands official website which remained up until around a year or 2 ago indicates that there is little chance of the quintet resurrecting the band but the ever prolific Itoken has plenty of other works worth exploring, vocalist Sachie Yoda is still active under the solo pseudonym Yoodacoo and I'm sure the guitarists Shoichi Minato and Sho Hirai along with VJ Jun Sugai have also worked in multiple other band projects. 

Anyway just enjoy this perfect summer record.

Download

Buy

       

Turalica (トゥラリカ) - Mukuna Sourui (無垢な藻類)

T is for Turalica

This Nagoya based 3 piece describe themselves as "a pop band for fans of Captain Beefheart, Joan of Arc, Arthur Russel, XTC and Eltron Fou Lelouble." which is a pretty great self-description and one that hopefully piqued your interest. Turalica's music is sparse, angular and off-kilter but also refreshingly listernable and catchy. The band do an awesome job of transforming a sound that usually comes off as abrasive and confrontational and some how manage to make it lulling and soft.

The band put out their first e.p. early last year entitled "Koke No Saiten" (Moss Festival) with mastering duties suitably being handled by Shellac and Volcano Suns' Bob Weston. But not wanting to step on the bands toes I've opted to upload their first demo single "Mukuna Sourui" (Meaning "Innocent Algae". Are you detecting the perhaps John Cage inspired Mycological theme here?) as well as the bonus disk of unreleased tracks and remixes that came with the bands e.p.



Official
Buy
Download
Youtube
Myspace

Kukan Gendai (空間現代) - Live@UrBANGUILD/20110923

K is for Kukan Gendai

kuukan (空間) 

noun

space, room, airspace

gendai (現代)

noun, adverbial noun

nowadays, modern era, modern times, present-day

The bands name does a pretty good job of evoking just what this bands music embodies and manifests itself as. It's a phrase that is semiotically hard to define and comes across more pretentious and sterile than it does insightful or provocative. 

 "Sterile" is usually an adjective that would have a very negative connotation when attached to a bands sound but it's sterility and minimalism that make this band so compelling to listen to. The Tokyo 3-piece (Drums, Bass, Guit/vocal) formed in 2006 and through the years have refined their unique sound to a mechanical level of precision. Shaving off every excess and grinding down every smooth edge until only the jagged skeletal remains of the track are left. If Battles, Don Caballero and Japan's own Toe are Math Rock then these guys are pretty much just a digital stream of ones and zeros. 

This live CD-R was given away with copies of their recently released second album on their most recent tour. The CD's opening track perfectly introduces the bands sound. Sparse polyrhythmic elements slowly come together to reveal a cohesive groove as the track seems to construct itself from the ground up like a mechanised assembly line. The band throw in masterful little  extra half beats and phrase repetitions that sound like your CD is skipping just to fuck with you. It's not all souless robotics though as periodically Captain Beefheart-esque asynchronous, atonal vocal and guitar lines weave their way through through the bands maze of rhythms and every once in a while they cut loose just to let you know they still know how to rock out. 

Download

Official

Youtube 

Ｍｙｓｐａｃｅ

    

Gnu - Suro

G is for Gnu 

Tokyo based Gnu (Pronounced as "Nu" the G is silent.) are a semi-improv unit formed by avant garde Jazz performer and composer Okura Masahiko in 1997. The band have had a couple of different lineups over the years switching bassists, drummers and guitarists with Okura being the only constant member. In 1998 Itoken joined the band as their drummer and in 2001 the ensemble began using a dual drum setup by throwing Kumada Takashi into the mix. The current 5 man lineup being Okura on Sax, Clarinet and Synth, Itoken and Kumada on drums, Taneishi Yukiya on bass and Chiba Hiroki on violin, contra bass and electronics.

The bands angular jazz/math-rock is probably most easily compared to genre figureheads Tortoise. The music is composed but live the arrangements of the songs are improvised with Okura taking the role of composer/master of ceremonies by communicating through hand gestures the length, tempo and dynamics of musical phrases and which players are playing etc.

Released in 2003 "Suro" is the bands 3rd studio album. The album represents a nice middle ground between its more accessible 2007 followup "Event" and the their most recent 2009 album the very cerebral sounding "Knowns". The dual drumming is fairly subtle on this release but check out "Knowns" to see the impressively nuanced beat juggling the band have developed over the years. 

Download

Buy

Official

Youtube

Myspace

Sim + Otomo - Monte Alto Estate (Sim + 大友良英 - Monte Alto Estate)

Sim are a pretty well established Tokyo 3-piece who have been knocking around since the mid oo's. Comprised of Drums, Guitar and various electronics on this album they're joined by veteren noise maker Otomo Yoshihide (大友良英) (Check out the DJ Carhouse & MC Hellshit collaboration with the Boredoms EYE I posted a while back for more Otomo weirdness.) Here Otomo takes up "DJing" duty on turntables and homemade synths and electronics to help flesh out Sims minimal style.

I guess if I had to draw comparisons then Tortoise spring to mind. But think more super minimal no-wave rather than progressive jazz meanderings. The drums are central here forming the skeletel structure of Sim's barebones music to which stabby guitars, droning, bleeping electronics and chopped up audio samples are pinned to. My only gripe with this album is that it doesn't really deviate or expand upon the idiosyncratic so it can make for tough listening in long chunks and it's difficult to distinguish one track the next. But having said that I still enjoy this album very much and is to date Sim's best work. Sadly although the band members have been involved in various other projects Sim seem to have been virtually inactive for the last few years.

Buy

Download

Official

Myspace

Youtube

Fukuro - ViGaGa (ふくろ - ViGaGa)

Right! back to business as usual. Post-rock, despite my obsession with it during my college years is a genre that has become rather stale and long in the tooth over the years with few bands deviating from the now well established formula or being able to improve on it. Fukuro are one of the few bands that have managed to catch my ear of late.

The instrumental Tokyo fourpiece have according to their website been around since 1997 and this is their first proper full-length album put out on fellow Tokyo-ites Nissenenmondai's Bijin CDR label in 2007. Some of the tracks definatley fall into the rather generic post-rock cliches but thanfully they're the exception rather than the rule with most of their stuff falling between Nissennenmondai's own frenetic krautrock workouts and the more complex, melodic compositions of Toe. A few of the tracks make a reappearence on the bands second album "Tousousen" released the following year. Though to be honest I prefer the rougher production on this CDR than the more polished sound on their sophomore effort. 

Buy

Official

Download

Myspace

Youtube

pq - From Neon Town

Recently I've been fishing for bands outside the Kansai area in search of fresh, new, ungrazed pastures. These guys are one of the most impressive bands I've come across so far. Formed in 2005 this 5-piece Kanagawa quintet made up of the usual drum, bass and guitars and supplemented by alto and tenor sax produce music that is a little tricky to pigeonhole but definatley takes its ques from New York's 80's jazz-infused no-wave punk scene.

From Neon City is the first of 2 CDRs the band have put out so far. 11 short but so very sweet tracks of rhytmically driven angular punk/math/jazz rock. Most tracks clock in just a slither over the 1 minute mark but it's impressive how many ideas and change ups the band manage to cram into such a short period of time without it ever feeling overly complicated, clever or esoteric. I can't gush more about how much I enjoy this bands music and I'll be keeping a close eye on their output.

Anyone who digs this may also want to check out the Bosston Cruizing Mania CDs I put up a while back and the recent album by Aichi band The Act We Act.

Official
Download
Myspace
Youtube
Buy

Panicsmile - 10 Songs, 10 Cities

Panicsmile are one of Tokyo's best established independent bands. So much so that they even have their own section on Tokyo's Sunrain Records site dedicated to them and their multitude of sideprojects. Originally formed in 1991 the band have gone through a number of lineup changes over the years but have still managed to remain very consistent in the quality and quantity of their output making them an easy band to get into with any one of their 7+ albums making a good jumping in point. "10 Songs, 10 Cities" is their 3rd album released back in 2001. The key to Panicsmile's sound is their quirky guitar work and offbeat tempo's lifted from the Captain Beefheart, free-jazz, No-wave, Arab On Radar school of abrasive, a-tonal musical noodlery distilled into some surprisingly palatable and accessible alt/math-rock. If you dug the Nayuta album I posted a while back you should find yourself immediatley at home here.

Buy
Download
Youtube
Official
Myspace

Hyottoko - Demo CDR (ヒョットコ - Demo CDR)

Hyottoko are an Osaka bass and drum duo who draw their name from the bizzarre looking Japanese folklore character who is most often represented in masks worn at festivals and parades. The pair have been active for around 2 years and pedal some groove heavy intrumental punk that's tighter than a nun's untarnished holiest of holys. The band display some damn impressive drumming and fret work and their 6 track demo CDR here has some surprisingly high quality production value to match. The band remind me alot of Chinchila Silas Hole which I posted a while back only minus the jabberwocky vocals. Think somethink like Lightning Bolt only much less esoteric and much easier on the brain and ears and with added cowbell.

Youtube

Myspace

Official

Download

Bonanzas - Live Bonanzas + Live 2

Bonanzas are a Kobe band made up of members from a number of other local bands including the excellent instrumental math-rock band Talking Dead Goats 45" and the hardcore band Suspiria. Sadly their output is fairly limited with only two 2-track live CDR's being put out by the band. As with so many other Kansai underground bands their sound is difficult to pin down but they sound somewhat like a down tuned Shellec or Big Black. Their music is minimal but heavy and reminds me little of Kyojin Yueni Dekai's stuff with a simillar use of muted, a-tonal guitar "playing" and the drums forming the backbone of the music. Hopefully these guys will get round to releasing something a little more substantial in the future as what's on offer here shows alot of promise.

Myspace

Youtube

Download

Nayuta - Solar Ribbon + Solar Children

This absolute gem comes courtesy of blog reader Francesco who was kind enough to send me a number of links to some of his own stash of Japanese rarities. After some digging I managed to find out that these guys are actually a local Osaka outfit. The original lineup consisted of 3 guitarists and one drummer but in their current line-up have slimmed down to just 2 guitarists. I was lucky enough to catch the band last week supporting Australia's own My Disco and seem no less formidable despite the thinner line-up. Nayuta's music is a little difficult to pin down. They craft technical, angular math-rock with some occasional post-punk influences that manages to be both complex and refreshingly unpredictable without ever feeling esoteric or showy. See, Nayuta also carry with them a very soulfull pop-edge that makes them thoroughly listenable. They cover a simillar ground to bands like Ogre You Asshole and the Gellers but while those bands moments of excellence end up being few and fleeting Nayuta manage to consistantly remain engaging and interesting. 

Youtube

Myspace

Official

Download