Spectrum Synthesize! - Humour and Destruction (ユーモア アンド デストラクション)

S is for Spectrum Synthesize!

Roughly two and a half hours drive west of Osaka lies the cosmopolitan city of Okayama. Adjacent to Osaka`s Psychedelia and Prog inspired "Zero Generation" Okayama began to breed it's own young generation of musical experimenters and wave makers. While channeling similar No-Wave and Noise influences as their Osaka counterparts Okayama's vanguard came in a very distinctive Hardcore, Post-Punk flavour (How can you spot an Okayama band? It probably has cowbell in it.) that set them apart from their slightly more recognised big city contemporaries. 

Spectrum Synthesize! were one of those bands. Their origins began in 2001 and went through multiple lineup changes over the years until their eventual dissolution in 2008. Originally a dual bass and drums setup the band became a 4 piece (As they appear on this record) before expanding their Guit, Vocals/samples, Drums and Bass configuration to include Sax. 

Melt Banana and Deracine with a smattering of early Boredoms are the easiest comparisons to make along with fellow Okayama bands such as Accidents In Too Large Field and I want City with whom the band have shared members. In other words attention deficient, schizophrenic punk that sounds like an entire albums worth of ideas being thrown into a washing machine at the same time and then spat out as 60 second long delinquent disco-punk rampages. This, the bands only full release clocking in at 11 tracks in just over 11mins  will chew you up, ruffle up your hair, steal your pocket money and spit you out before you`ve even had time to lace up your dancing shoes. More cowbell!

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Momoiro Jinja - Maido Osawagaseshite Orimasu! (桃色神社 - 毎度おさわがせしております!)

M is for Momoiro Jinja

Momoiro Jinja (Their name literally meaning "peach coloured shrine".) are a so called "Neo-Scum" band. A colourful little Osaka sub-genre that seems to have a cozy membership of 2. The other being Clitoric Ris. A half naked balding salary man who sings cheesy pop songs about sex, food, ex-girlfriends and being broke in nothing but a pair of light-up speedos with a crotch mounted theremin.

Inspired by the Osaka Scum scene that kicked off some time in the early 90's (See my previous post about Ultra Fuckers for more on Scum.) these guys have been knocking about for over 10 years now. No small feat for a genre that's transient and fleeting nature means few bands stick around long enough to establish a name or following.

The Osaka trio (Drums. bass, keyboard) play tongue in cheek No-Wavey, Hardcore Punk. The drums and bass combine to form a solid rhythm section for keyboard player Wandera's discordant mashed keys. The band break up their live sets with their signature comedy sketches which are usually either random and bizarre or vulgar and crude or often both in extreme doses. The bands lyrics follow in similarly silly fashion. Momoiro are a band who take not being serious very seriously.

This is the bands first self-released CDR from 2008. The band recently put out their second CDR entitled "Prius" which you can get hold of by contacting the band or picking it up at their live shows.

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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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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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Bossston Cruizing Mania - Live

Apologies for the lengthy lull in posting. A variety of distractions are to blame including work, various music projects and diving into the world of ipad/iphone music/noise production. Anway I'll try and make it up for the next week or so by updating more frequently.

I posted some Bossston Cruising Mania stuff quite a while back and got quite a positive response from people including some requests for more material. Sadly the bands output during their 15 plus year lifespan has been limited to a handful of difficult to find studio albums and a variety of even more difficult to find self released CDRs. Being that the band are from Tokyo they only head over Osaka way very infrequently. Luckily I did pick up their most recent CDR during their appearence at the Kyoto Boredom festival this summer. "Live" is as the title suggests a recording of a live set made at Tokyo Enban 12-11-2010. The recording quality isn't great but is definatley listenable and a bit of DIY rawness never hurts a band like this.

For those that didn't already check out the earlier Bosston post their music could be best described as a mix of post-punk, dub and no-wave. Think Public Image inc. fused with the Contortions and a splash of The Specials with socially charged rapped/spoken word lyrics scattered over rolling dub basslines and staccato guitars. The band recently put out their 4th studio album "Loaded, Lowdead, Rawdead" (Poking fun at the inability to distinguish between the 3 words when rendered in Japanese or spoken in shaky Japinglish.) and is well worth checking out for fans. You'll find many of the same tracks that appear on "In Dub/No Dub" and "Live" albeit with slightly different arrangements. It's an excellent album but the band have a tendency to overproduce their studio recordings when the band actually sound their best when their at their most sparse and minimal.

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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.

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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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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.

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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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Nohshintoh - Cannibal Circus (のうしんとう - Cannibal Circus）

"Nohshintoh is like a baby, both cute and grotesque at the same time..." is how the band describe themselves on their website and it's pretty accurate. Nohshintoh (Literally meaning concussion in Japanese.) are a Nagoya 5 piece who have actually been around for over 20 years and have finally got round round to releasing their first studio album. It's a new release so I won't be uploading it just yet (It is superb though and worth checking out.) but luckily the band have an open policy of letting people record at their shows and even have a free archive of live recordings. So I picked through a few of them and plucked out the one that had the best sound and performance and uploaded it for your listening pleasure. If you'd like to hear more just check out their archive here. All files can be streamed or downloaded for free.

This recording was made at KD Japon in Nagoya in 2008. As for the music, well it's a wonderfully schizophrenic mix between no-wave punk, dub, ska and funk. One minute it's steel drums and thick reggae bass lines and the next it's frantic hardcore drumming and rabid guitar savagery all mashed together a refreshingly un-self concious manner that Japanese bands seem to do so well. Equal parts catchy and sweet and equal parts challenging and "grotesque". Imagine James Chance & The Contortions jamming with Manu Chao and you're halfway there. Many of the tracks in this recording also make an appearence on the album albeit in a slightly more refined forms.

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