It's not often that a band becomes more popular outside of its home country before they are equally well known at home, but it would seem as though Lite, an instrumental post-rock progressive band from Japan, has done just that.
They've played shows around the world, hitting up the UK and Ireland several times, as well as New York. They've released two live albums, one from Ireland and one from their recent 2009 trip to New York. They are even signed to a European record label, Cargo Records, along with the likes of The White Stripes.
The music that the band makes is, as mentioned, all instrumental. They are a bit like Downy in their overall sense of darkness, but Lite isn't nearly as arty or experimental. They are also not as light and precious as Miaou, nor as harsh as sgt. In some way Lite lives up to their name in that, while intense and intricate, little of what they do is overly heavy. This leaves them a bit more accessible to a wider audience who might be turned off by noodly math rock or way too spaced-out jams. They are smart without letting it get in the way.
Their instrumentality also makes them much easier to get in front of international audiences, something that has been a considerable help to other instrumental groups like Mono. Plus, they're just damn good at what they do, which is something attractive in any language (or lack thereof.)
Tomorrow
Official Site
MySpace
Members:
Nobuyuki Takeda - Guitar
Kozo Kusumoto - Guitar
Jun Izawa - Bass (also a member of Fullarmor, another mostly instrumental band)
Akinori Yamamoto - Drums
Albums:
Filmlets - 2007
Live in Limerick - 2007
Phantasia - 2008
LLive in New York - 2009
Ghost Dance
Ef (live)
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