Vampire! - Vampire! 2009 Live

V is for Vampire!

Forming back in 1979 Vampire! emerged from the same Kyoto underground scene that birthed Kansai Punk legends Ultra Bide and Noise provocateurs Hijokaidan. The band's sole consistent member since inception has been guitarist and vocalist Wada who also performs solo noise slots under the alias Wada the Vampire. 

Musically Vampire! sound very much instep with their fellow Japanese Post-Punk, New Wave peers like Friction and Ultra Bide with some very clear nods to bands like Gang Of Four and This Heat. Vampire! never enjoyed the same modest success that some of their contemporaries achieved but that hasn't stopped Wada from fighting the good fight and after almost 35 years of persistent performing is still more than capable of showing bands less than half is age how it's done and shows no sign of hanging up his spurs anytime soon.

This live CD-R is a recording of a show they played Kyoto's Takutaku live house in 2009. It's a great recording both in terms of the quality of the sound and performance. Testament to decades of finely honed musicianship. Vampire! still play fairly regularly at venues around Kyoto so be sure to check them out.

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Neons - Yasashii Jinbutsuga (ネオンズ - やさしい人物画)

N is for Neons

There were a couple of strong choices for N but I decided to go with Neons when I found out they've just put out their first mini-album which you can get from Amazon.

3 girls, 1 guy, 3 synthesizers, 1 drum. This Electro New-Wave synth driven 4 piece formed in 2010 possess that uniquely Japanese sense of cool that these small mountainous islands seem to do so well. The cold robotic like emotional detachment coupled with satisfyingly chunky grooves that defy you to but on your finest Miami Vice Hawaiin shirt and sleekest white slip-on dancing shoes.        

3 of the tracks from this demo CDR which I picked up from the band just over a year ago make it onto the album. The recordings sound like they were made during studio rehearsals but besides a little fuzzyness are excellent quality. Be sure to pick up their album if you like what you hear. 

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Friction - '79 Live

Well now I've given you a brief history of the band in the post below it's time for another gem. As great an album as "Atsureki" is one thing that is perhaps most dissapointing about Friction is that they never recorded an album that anywhere near approached the ferocity and rawness of their live shows. So much so that they almost sound like 2 entirely different bands. Luckily audiophiles have been combing the archives for Friction material and in 2004 P-vine records in their continuing re-release and remastering of anything and everything Friction related put out this CD and DVD double pack featuring a previously unreleased live recording of the band from 1979.

The audio quality isn't great but is appropriatley grimey for the kind of music and performance it is. It's great to hear earlier, warts and all versions of songs that would later appear on the bands debut but with thier rough edges trimmed. To be honest this is the Friction I prefer. Dirty, nasty, loud and chugging with none of those dancefloor rumbling basslines or glass shattering abrasive guitar punches being handicapped or tied down by conservative studio production. This for me is the essential Friction sound.

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Friction - Atsureki (フリクション - 軋轢)

Time for another classic. Friction are one of Japan's most influential underground bands and have a long and complex history deserving of a band of such legendary status. The members first emerged as young teenagers in the early 70's Tokyo hippy commune band   (Maru Sanakaku Shikaku) and then went on to form their own band 3/3 (sanbun no san). The band recorded a self-titled LP under the 3/3 moniker that sadly only made it as far as 10 original test pressings but more on that in the above post. By the late 70's the members upped shop and headed to the holy mecca of New Yorks underground no-wave scene where they joined the lineup of Teenage Jesus And The Jerks and then shortly after became original founding members in James Chance And The Contortions. The band then returned to Japan and formed the no-wave inspired Friction. After releasing a few singles and live recordings and earning a fierce reputation on Tokyo's late 70's punk scene the band were discovered by legendary YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) member Sakamoto Ryuichi who produced the bands first studio album which you see here "Atsureki" and was released in 1980.
So with the biography out of the way what about the music?

Well the band fused New Yorks avant-garde no-wave scene with its more accessible counterpart new-wave punk. Friction strike a nice balance between no-waves grittier, rougher more abrasive moments with the dancebility and directness of new-wave. Think Joy Division meets Big Black meets the Sex Pistols and the Contortions. In short "Atsureki" is a superb album that still sounds as potent today as when it was released over 30 years ago. Shortly after "Atsureki" the band line-up changed but continued under the name Friction and went on to produce several other follow-up albums. They may be worth seeking out but to me none of them come anywhere close to the greatness and sound the band had on their debut.

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Mach 1.67 - Star Burn

I'd been after this CD for quite a while so was happy as a pig in shit to find it lurking in Forever Record's Japanese underground/indie section for 500 yen. Mach 1.67 is the band formed by influential 70's Japanese new wave movie director Ishii Sogo (Who's groundbreaking movies inspired directors like Tsukamoto Shinya: Tetsuo Iron Man and Takashi Miike: Ichi The Killer among others.) and acclaimed Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano. The band originally formed in 1996 and released an LP before the members went their seperate ways on various film and music projects. The band reformed in 2000 and put out the single "Star Burn". A year later Ishii Sogo used the single as the soundtrack and visual inspiration for his awesome 2001 film "Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts". A 50min black & White punk movie about 2 rival "superheroes" battling it out in down town Tokyo. A cinematic audio/visual overload of face melting proportions.

Mach 1.67 much like Sogo Ishii's own movies deliver some harsh balls to the wall punk rock but the standout track on the single and the movie is without doubt epic 9 minute sleezy, ghetto dub creep of "Electric Buddha". Hopefully we'll see the winning combination of Sogo and Tadanobu pairing up again someday.

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Yolz In The Sky - Yolz In The Sky

Stripped down, no-nonsense post-punk/new wave is what Yolz In The Sky make and are pretty damn good at it. The Osaka quartet's minimal, restrained style is pretty refreshing and their drawn out grooves can become almost hypnotic at times. I don't much care for the vocalist's monotone, high pitched whine but the angular guitars, rolling bass grooves, spiky keyboards and solid drumming go along way in making you forget he's there. This is the bands debut album from back in 2007 released on Tokyo's Less Than TV hardcore/punk label. They released a 2nd album back in 2009 and are currently touring and working on new material. The band come off fairly tame on CD when compared with their formidable live shows but still make for a great listen

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SEX+Y - SEX+Y

Talking of un-google-ble band names meet SEX+Y (Apparently just pronounced sexy.) Ignore that awful cover artwork for a moment and you'll acutally find a pretty cool band. SEX+Y lie somewhere between the lo-fi bedroom pop of Shonen Knife and the batshit-cutesy crazyness of Afrirampo. Sweetly sung pop one minute, wailing banshees the next. It's very girly, very Japanese, very loud and also very good.

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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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BLONDnewHALF - Stop Play Punk

If this fails to get your feet moving then nothing will. One of my favourite new dicoveries after I saw them play in Kyoto Urban Guild a few weeks ago. While some may be a little dissapointed that there are no "new halfs" involved ("New half" being the Japanese term used for transexuals.) you will find some of the most danceble, post/hardcore punk around. So get your dancing shoes on! ah-so so so so!

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