Maruo Maruko - CDR Live Sept 2010 (丸尾丸子)

Kyoto based Maruo Maruko is one of my favourite local singer/songwriters. I've already posted a few things from her but she has her first proper studio album coming out this month through Tokyo based indie label Enban (円盤) so now seems as good a time as any to share some more stuff from this talented musician.

This CDR is a live recording made by her in Sept of 2010. There's no info about where it was recorded but the recordings are of a decent quality. Maruko's music has a beautiful timeless folk feel to it that feels both evocative and nostalgic and also uniquely Japanese. Maruko is a multi-instrumentalist who most often uses accordion but also makes use of guitar, mouth harp, toy instruments and even sometimes radio. She's playing a handful of shows to promote the release of her album so check her out if you can.

Dec 1st @Kyoto Urban Guild

Dec 7th @ Osaka Chef-d'oeuvre

Dec 13th@ Osaka Namba Bears

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Brown'nose - Underground Radio Show

Ladies and gentlemen introducing on bass Mr. John Dickhead Hunter! On Drums Mr. John Dickhead Hunter! On Guitar Mr John Dickhead Hunter!...

This record was an impulse buy from the treasure trove of bizarre and rare obscurities that is Forever Records. Who could resist that fantastic album cover? Thankfully the contents also does it justice. Brown'nose are a band that wear their influences on their sleeve. Their psychedelic 60's pop could almost be some long lost collection of Beatles, Kinks and Beach Boys basement recordings. The album even takes the form of a Sgt. Peppers-esque concept album. The enigmatic multi instrumentalist duo refer to themselves only as John Dickhead No.1 and No.2 so unfortunately the talented pair's identities remain a mystery.  

The band followed up this 1998 release with another album titled"Life Is Question" in 2000. If anyone knows where I might be able to get hold of a copy I'd be very interested to hear it as this  album has left my hungry for more from this gorgeous undiscovered gem of a band.

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Gezan - Hakkoushita Wa Ga Bokoku (下山 - 発酵した我母国)

A lot has happened in the world of Gezan since I was last online. The ambitious Osaka 4-piece released their debut studio album earlier this year through their own label 13th Records then in October bid farewell to Osaka with a sold out oneman sayonara show and upped sticks to the bustling metropolis that is Tokyo. The band also have a live DVD/CD set coming out next month which features the aforementioned farewell gig.

The band have been on the up and up since their formation around 3 years ago so it seems appropriate to return to the bands humble beginnings. "Hakkoushita Wa Ga Bokoku" (Fermenting our homeland) is the bands first CDR release from late 2009. The CDR is a set of live recordings made at Bears livehouse. For those unfamiliar with the band intense, sleazy psychedelic noise-rock is the name of the game. The band have diversified and developed their sound over the years venturing into punk, hardcore and even electro-hip hop but what's on display here is the pure unadulterated psychonoise that earned them their fierce reputation on the local live circuit.

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Chinchilla Silas Hole - Chinchilla (チンチラシラスホール - ちんちら)

I've posted about this Kyoto trio before as one of my favourite bands of 2010. (I liked them so much I even recruited their drummer into my own band.). The band are currently on hiatus due to work constraints but hopefully the band get back to playing regularly in the not to distant future as they showed a great deal of promise.

In my previous post I bemoaned their lack of recorded output and resorted to posting some of the bands bootleg recordings. Well it seems the band took it to heart and put out a CD-R of studio recordings mid-last year. The recording quality although a little underwhelming is at least clear and clean.

The drum, bass and vocals trio have a very distinctive style that is a little hard to describe.. Coming off as a quirky fusion of early Red Hot Chilli Peppers fused with a healthy dose of punk and occasional ramblings into noise territory. It's weird, catchy as hell and at the same time extremely natural sounding. The vocals are one of the most standout elements of the band as singer "Lighter"raps, rants and jabberwockies about his obsession with pets aresholes (See track 2 "Ano ana - That hole") and other such jibberish ramblings over basslines that hop scotch their way between funk breakdowns and punk workouts.    

With the band on hiatus and them only making about 50 copies of the CD (Nicely packaged in a shiny cardboard sleeve with artwork by vocalist lighter by the way) I'm not sure if the band are still selling the CD but feel free to contact either me or the band if you are intersted in tracking down your own copy. Enjoy!  

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Online!

Boom! we're back like Obama!! Apologies for the extended hiatus which ended up being much longer than I originally anticipated it to be. Thanks to all those who contacted me over the intervening months concerned about my well being and encouraging me to get back online. A broken PC and internet problems were to blame. I'm in fine health besides the emergence of a few gray hairs.

On a side note the controversial ACTA law was passed in Japan a months ago bringing in harsh fines and even jail time for those caught uploading or downloading copyrighted music or movies. That means for the time being I will only uploading demos, CD-Rs  and other non-copyrighted material.

And finally for those who requested re-uploads of older stuff I'll do what I can to get those back up.    

Stay tuned. Uploads coming shortly.