This was my second NMFT event that I attended. Certainly it would have been my 4th, had I known about them sooner! Next Music from Tokyo is a Canadian tour organized and funded solely by one dedicated fan, Steve Tanaka. Steve's passion is sharing his love of these bands, usually ones most fans here have never heard of, that are solid performers with a wide variety of sound. He hasn't let me down yet.
The Rivoli, our venue for the gig, is fairly small fitting 200 people. It was sold out. I am not surprised - for $10 you get 4 or 5 fantastic bands - I told you Steve was dedicated.
Vol. 4 brought us 4 acts: Charan-po-Rantan, group_inou, ZAZEN BOYS, Praha Depart. I didn't know any of them, and had only briefly heard of ZAZEN BOYS. They seemed to be the biggest draw to the event, or at least the ones I heard most talked about.
First act up was Charan-po-Rantan. I'll share a little about them from from their NMFT file;
Charan-Po-Rantan
Momo (vocals)
Koharu (accordian, chorus)
チャラン・ポ・ランタン (Charan-Po-Rantan) is made up of two sisters: vocalist Momo (19yo) and Koharu (23yo) on accordian/chorus.
Koharu recalls that she was born playing the accordian which made labour and delivery quite painful for her mom. Another legend states that Koharu was 7 years old while at the circus when her eyes met that of an accordion player. It was love at first sight and sound and Koharu knew then and there that playing the accordion would be her “raison d’être.” Young Koharu wrote Santa Claus for an accordion and being a good little girl she was presented with one at Christmas. Presently, Koharu is a world-class, internationally acclaimed accordion player. She has won numerous competitions and was National Grand Champion in 2009 subsequently representing Japan at the International Finals of the V-Accordion Festival in Rome, Italy. Almost as formidable as her prowess on accordion is Koharu’s razor sharp wit. Koharu’s story-telling and comedic banter during emcee breaks is frequently the highlight of Charan-Po-Rantan’s shows.
Momo began her professional music career as a singer at the age of 16. Her trademark is to belt out classic
and original folk/gypsy tunes while hugging a plush doll pig under her arm. But despite her young age and absolutely adorable appearance Momo-chan shines on-stage with the expertise and composure of a veteran cabaret chanteuse. Momo is widely sought after for her singing talent and charm by numerous artists and bands within Tokyo.
As a duo, Charan-Po-Rantan can captivate any audience with their soulful, quirky charm.
However, when backed by their supremely talented support band CANCAN BALKAN, Charan-Po-Rantan’s already potent stage performance is exalted to an awe-inspiring level. Bizarre and campy but oozing with elite musical talent, Charan-Po-Rantan & CANCAN BALKAN’s brilliantly orchestrated original songs and unique Japanese twist on Klezmer and gypsy/folk classics is guaranteed to elicit cheers
from anyone with an open mind and appreciation for good music.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charanporantan
OHP: http://charan-po-rantan.o0o0.jp/
.jpg)
Not knowing anything about these girls going in, when they first came on stage I was quite curious to see what their sound was. Bright, cheerful outfits and wind instruments and brass and an accordion (I love accordions!) and a cello/double bass? and drums! Steve did a brief introduction and they were off and running. Loads of energy, you couldn't help but smile and bounce along.
Seriously, check out the opening this fan caught:
And now with vocals:
I don't think I stopped dancing the whole set. What great start to the night and happy to add another band to my playlist!
More footage:
Next up was group_inou. Yup, another band I was clueless on. Here's their NMFT blurb:
” …group_inou’s albums don’t really capture the frenetic energy of their live shows or the sheer level of noise that two people can produce. Then again, given that M.C cp is wont to wander off stage and perform from the audience, and imai spends the show alternately pummelling his electronic box of tricks and flailing around like an electrocuted squid, it’s difficult to see how they could ever reproduce this on CD” – keikaku.net
group_inou is a duo of iconoclasts who deconstruct chiptune, hip hop, IDM, krautrock, jazz and noise
to create a unique, clearly distinct and innovative musical style of their own. Both members started out playing in garage/punk bands and CP (emcee) had originally intended Imai (DJ/producer) to play drums for his (still active) emo/post-punk band Uri Gagarn.
Imai never did play drums for Uri Gagarn but would instead team up with cp to create a revolutionary style of music centered around cp freeflow rhyming and screaming over Imai’s beautifully crafted genre-escaping instrumentals. Their refreshing approach to dance music is progressive, experimental and intelligent and champions an underground/DIY ethic that keeps them level and focussed on pushing the envelope despite increasing mainstream success. Having a background in punk/HC music clearly shows in the wildness and sheer intensity of group_inou’s live performances. cp roams the stage unpredictably like a demon-possessed and often performs amongst the audience on the floor with them or crowd-surfing with mic-in-hand right above them. Imai is just as animated and impassioned behind the mixing board flailing his limbs and contorting his body to match the emotion, soul and ferocity of his music.
group_inou have shared the stage with Battles, Gang Gang Dance, deerhoof, OWEN, Why?, Locust, Melt Banana, nisennenmondai, toe, and ZAZEN BOYS and group_inou’s spectacular live performances have more than held their own. They are just as comfortable performing at tiny, cramped live houses as they are performing in front of tens of thousands at major festivals such as Fuji Rock and Rising Sun. While group_inou’s groundbreaking music sounds just fine on CD
their true brilliance is best appreciated in a live setting.
OHP: http://g-a-l.jp/group_inou/
How did the crowd react?
Yup, that good! Easily the most energetic group! The crowd was moving, I was moving - it got warm! And my favorite band of the night for sure. Sadly I can not find any footage on YT - so here is one of their tracks to check out:
Make sure the bass is turned up ;)
Next up ZAZEN BOYS! These guys were hyped. As I mentioned, I didn't know them, but if I heard anyone talking about NMFT, it was these guys that were brought up. Their blurb:
“Taking one band to the top of the Japanese indie rock world makes you noteworthy. Starting all over and doing it again makes you Mukai Shutoku.” – keikaku.net
Mukai Shutoku’s former band Number Girl is renowned as one of the most important and influential bands in Japanese rock history. The manner in which Number Girl abruptly disbanded in 2002 at the peak of its popularity was heartbreaking to legions of fans throughout the country. Having been the frontman and creative mastermind behind Number Girl, Mukai Shutoku inherited an immediate and substantial fanbase for his subsequent project, ZAZEN BOYS. But instead of sticking to a proven formula (i.e the straightforward alt-rock approach of Number Girl) Mukai would use ZAZEN BOYS as a vehicle for experimentation and for profoundly stretching his creative boundaries. Although ZAZEN BOYS’s first album was a direct continuation of the more experimental side of Number Girl, subsequent releases diverged greatly in exploring intricate arrangements and changing time signatures, delving into house/electronica/funk/folk/spoken word, all with a heavy dose of unpredictability but maintaining a modicum of pop sensibility. This progressive, “less accessible” approach alienated a good portion of the original core of Number Girl fans, but has garnered a generation of new fans who appreciate Mukai’s sophisticated, improvisational genius. ZAZEN BOYS greatest strength as a band lies in its passionate live performances characterized by a high degree of improvisation, impeccable cohesion and virtuosic, unmistakable skill. On stage their veteran swagger and instrumental mastery exude an aura that is “larger than life” compelling the audience to believe they are witnessing the pinnacle of musicianship. Although ZAZEN BOYS will never achieve the commercial success of Number Girl, Mukai’s current project has already accomplished much more in expanding the scope and capabilities of Japanese rock and music in general.
OHP: http://mukaishutoku.com/
If there's a band that likes to throw in 'technical' to their composition - this is them! Definitely a crowd favorite and well deserving of that title. While they didn't win 'my fav band' of the night, they did make their mark!
Check 'em out:
The last band of the night was Praha Depart. From looking at this band - visually they could have played anything and I would have not been surprised - a very eclectic mix of styles and personalities. And yet when they play it all fits together. A little about them:
Praha Depart’s music is a fusion of psychedelic rock, metal and shoegaze with a tribal/folk beat.
Something the Japan Times describes as “irrepressibly danceable gypsy punk.” The instrumentation and female vocals ebb and flow between darkly serene to ferocious crescendos of emotion and noise.
Jumpei’s intricate and powerful drumming is the backbone. An infectious tribal beat peppered with thunderous fills and improvised solos. Tsukasa layers on simple guitar melodies accentuated with brilliant phrasing, spine shivering effects and lightning speed riffs.
Lastly, Mai attacks the low end on bass while using her voice to demonstrate the full spectrum of her emotions with soothing whispers, playful shrills, ear shattering war-cries and bloodcurdling screams.
Already revered in Tokyo’s underground, Praha Depart ventured stateside in 2011 playing multiple shows in New York and Philadelphia followed by a European tour with 11 shows in Slovenia, France, Spain, Netherlands and Germany.
OHP: http://prahadepart.web.fc2.com/
I'm a little on the fence on this band. Not that they weren't good. But there was just so much going on that to take it all in after once performance is just not possible. I feel like there's so much more there than what we see, and I am curious about the story. Check 'em out and let me know what you think!
NMFT vol 5 is scheduled for May 17-23,, 2013. Steve is working hard towards another supreme line-up. We will keep you updated!
Lizz
No comments:
Post a Comment