Pig Fat Pigs - Jabberwocky

P is for Pig Fat Pigs

I found this beauty in the treasure trove of weird and rare records that is Forever Records. Besides the great band name what caught my eye about this record was a blurb that said something about "punkish lounge music" and a reference to the Lounge Lizards. I inquired further with Taro the owner of Forever Records and Osaka's No.1 source on obscure music and he described it as "junk jazz" and name dropped Tom Waits which was enough to make me drop some cash on this mysterious find.

Turns out my intuition payed dividends. Unfortunatley despite scowering the net I've managed to turn up almost no information on the band so all I've got to go on are the scraps of info contained in the liner notes. The band were (are...?) a Kyoto 5 piece (guit, bass, drums, organ, sax) who as was promised play some excellent Tom Waits-esque Junk Jazz. It seems most of the songs were composed by bassist Shimizu Kosuke (Who now plays in accordion/contrabass duo Milk!Mama who are also well worth checking out.) while the lyrics and vocals are handled by Shiraishi Takahide. The vocals are mostly sung in a gravely, jibberish approximation of what I asume is supposed to sound like English with occasional sentences and phrases emerging from the cacophony of harsh, slightly off-tune and out of time guitars, sax and clinking-clanking junkyard percussion. "Life's too short to fuck your mom" is one that springs out from the opening track "Bore Bore" a twisted, elephant man like bastardisation of the Pink Panther theme. It's the exact sort of thing I can imagine Tom Waits sitting around tapping his crusty, yellow tabacco stained toes to while sipping on a bottle of illuminous green moonshine. You would be advised to do likewise. 

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Ichi - Mono

I is for Ichi

Ichi is the Pseudonym/solo project of multi-instrumentalist and artist Eiichi Shimasaki. Born in Osaka and raised in nearby Nagoya Eiichi is best known for his work as steelpan drummer with long standing eclectic, world music influenced rockers Nohshintoh. Eiichi performs delighful one man shows that utilize everything from accordions, steel drums, ping pong balls, typewriters and toothbrushes to his own hand crafted instruments like his glockenspiel-contrabass hybrid.  

Charming seems the most appropriate adjective to use when describing Ichi's music but doesn't really seem to do justice to just how marvellously charming his music and performances actually are. Fusing a wide range of World Music influences with field recordings and some light Jazz. Ichi comes off a little bit like a more ambient, slightly more psychedelic sounding Manu Chao. All sung in his bizarrely cartoonish high pitched muppet jibberish. This is Ichi's first studio which was released back in 2005 but he also released a second album entitled "Memo" in 2010. Ichi regularly plays plays shows in the UK and Europe so catch him if you have the chance. You won't forget it.

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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. 

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Bolshoiz - 1st

B is for Bolshoiz. "Punk" project from Osaka's mysterious master of ceremonies Alco Degurutieni. Degurutieni is known for his elaborate stage shows and diverse performances with each outing being different from his last. Sometimes it could be a small affair with just a handful of musicians by his side shrowded in darkness illuminated by a sole red lamp. Other times he will have an ensemble of musicians and performers to accompany him with elaborate stage props that range from burnt out cars to metal grinders and scaffolding. Whether bombastic or eerily intimate you can be sure Degurutieni will put on a memorable show.

With a similar croak and a persuasion towards Junk-Jazz with an Eastern European slant Degurutieni could almost be the lost Japanese love child of the devil himself Tom Waits. Here Degurutieni teams up with regular band collaborators the exceedingly talented drummer Watanabe and amplified tuba player Daisuke Takaoka. Joining the motley crew is also Black Light Orchestra's Yannick Dupont.

The first 2 tracks off this 2007 CDR could definitely be described as a sort of punk (Albeit Degurutieni's own distinctive rendering of it.) while the last 3 tracks sound more like Degurutieni's usual exotic, sleazy, drunk Jazz. 

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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.

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DJ Memento - Badassfunk Gets Nice and Mad

Recently I've been trying to crack my way into the local underground hip-hop and DJ scene as it's sadly been an area of neglect for me thus far. I've only just scratched the surface but have already made some great discoveries. DJ Memento is a local mix DJ and collage artist who plays sets every Friday night at Panorama in Osaka. "Badassfunk Gets Nice and Mad" is the 2nd mix CD-R from Memento and contains one non-stop 60 minute mix of the finest funk, jazz, psychedelic rock and retro TV samples. Memento likes to keep it old-school using only analogue techniques in his mixes/collages lifting all his music and samples from vinyl and videotapes.

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LIVE LOG: Degurutieni

A few weeks ago I went to the launch party for the release of the theater group Kodomo Kyojin's (子供鉅人) latest DVD. The group hired out a large warehouse and ran various performances, activities and bands throughout the evening. The highlight of which for me was Degurutieni. Never heard of him before I was very impressed. Something about that Tom Waits inspired down-tempo, jazzy groove really really clicks with me. I promptly bought his album but unfortunatley through itunes so as soon as I can figure a way of converting the files so they'll work for other people I'll be sure to upload it. For now this will have to do.

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Asakawa Maki - Askawa Maki II (浅川マキ - 浅川マキ II)

Haven't posted any old stuff in quite a while and I heard this playing in a bar recently which reminded me of how much I love this album. Asakawa Maki started off her musical career singing blues and jazz covers at the U.S. army bases situated on Japan's most southern island of Okinawa. She produced a number of excellent albums in the late 60's and early 70's which earned her a fair amount of mainstream success before she vanished back into relative obscurity of Japan's 70's underground avant garde scene. Asakawa's music fuses laid back blues and jazz with elements of Japanese folk music and acid folk to create hauntingly beautiful, dark smokey ballads. Asakawa continued to perform regularly untill her death early last year. Asakawa Maki II released in 1971 is in my opinion her best work and without doubt a standout even in Japan's most golden era of music. Since her death there have been a number of compilations released of previously unreleased material and live recordings which are also worth investigating.

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Outdoor Homeless - Kawaii Ossantachi No Tetsukuri Album (アウトドアホームレス - かわいいおっさんたちの手作りアルバム)



Outdoor Homeless aren't so much a band as they are a drunken rock'n'roll mob. The 13 member strong posse counts Pen Penz drummer Yusuke and Guitarist Kirara as well as a number of other miscreants from Osaka's underground amongst its participants. The bands is a loving celebration of the titular Japanese "Ossan" (おっさん). The word is literally an informal version of the word "Uncle" but is often used to describe the tragically unhip, middle aged Japanese men who litter Japan's bars nightly with their awkward drunken mis-adventures. Musically the band's sound staggers between retro surf-rock/garage, jazz, soul, ska and hip-hop with a fair smattering of traditional Japanese chants. All executed with the finesse and grace of a weathered drunken mob. The music is as bizarrely inspiring as it is infectious and you'll find yourself breaking out the sake and chanting along with your best drunken draul. Great album to throw on at parties.

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NISEUO cosmic-chang mothership progress - NISEUO cosmic-chang mothership progress

Niseuo are as mystical and strange as their name implies. I don't know a whole lot about the band besides the fact that they were conceived somewhere around 2002 from the darkest bowels of Kansai's underground. Their music is difficult to classify but is very reminscent of the junk town blues and sleazy off-kilter jazz of Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart. Or "Science-Fiction space opera" as the band like to describe their own music. The vocalist channels the spirit of Tom Waits/Beefheart by snearing jibberish in a rough, gruff gutterel grunt that wouldn't sound out of place as the voice track for some ugly alien race in a Star Wars movie. It's a wild and sometimes uncomfortable ride but one I'm sure you won't regret taking. So hop onboard the mothership Niseuo and take a journey into the dark, twisted recesses of someones freak show mind.

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Oshiri Pen Penz - Gorifana (オシリペンペンズ - ゴリファナ)

Today was the release of the Pen Penz new album "New Me". Out of respect for the band I won't be uploading their latest just yet so instead I give you "Gorifana". Probably my favourite Pen Penz release "Gorifana" is a 40min live CD released in 2009 and also features some of the tracks on the new album. Studio recordings don't really do the band justice but this live recording does a pretty good job of conveying the energy and swagger this band pull off live. The skittery drums, impressive fret noodling and drunken obnoxious rants manage to form some sort of unholy trinity that makes this band an oddly addictive concoction.

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Osaka Monaurail - Reality For The People

Y'all feeling funky? Then ladies and gentlemen I present Osaka Monaurail. This 9 piece funk machine seriously know how to kick a groove. What you get here is 8 hot slabs of old school JBs, Sly Stone, Charles Wright style brass heavy deep funk. Unfortunatley these guys are probably much better known in Europe than inside Japan. Back in 2006 they put out an album with former JBs backing singer Marva Whitney and quite frequently do European tours. So if you get the chance check these guys out live an I promise a good time.

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RaP - Chaos/Process vol 2

I was hoping to find this bands website or myspace before I posted this but after hours of endless searching I can tell you that Rap is quite possibly the most un-google-ble band name you'll ever come across. Unfortunatley there's also no cover artwork or track listing for the bands CDR either. What you get is 10 tracks of what sounds like semi-improvised rehearsal studio recordings. Noisy, sometimes jazzy, sometimes funky freeform experimentation. There's some pretty impressive fret work in here but it's not all pretentious noodling. When it hits a groove you'll probably find yourself doing a bit of good old fashioned toe tapping and head bopping.

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Oshiri Pen Penz - Micro De Ikou (オシリペンペンズ - ミクロで行こう)

A band renowned on the Osaka live circuit for their onstage antics which include getting obnoxiously drunk, climbing amp stacks and throwing up on the audience the Oshiri Pen Penz create a rather obnoxious mix of shouty punk vocals, skittery free jazz guitar and minimal percussion. Imagine Primus drunk and falling down a flight of stairs and you're not far off.

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