Calendar 2010 - Mouse on the Keys - European Tour

September 30 - October 14
Mouse on the Keys
European Tour

Sep 30 - La Malterie - Lille, FRANCE
Oct 01 - TBA - Paris, FRANCE
Oct 02 - The Public - West Bromwich, UNITED KINGDOM
Oct 03 - tba - Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM
Oct 04 - The Canteen - Barrow-in-Furness, UNITED KINGDOM
Oct 05 - tba - Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM
Oct 07 - Conne Island - Conne Island, Leipzig, GERMANY
Oct 08 - Lovelite - Simplonstr, Berlin, GERMANY
Oct 09 - Bunker Ulmenwall - Bielefeld, GERMANY
Oct 10 - Denovali Swingfest - Essen, NRW, GERMANY
Oct 12 - künstlerhaus (k4) - nürnberg, Bayern, GERMANY
Oct 13 - České Budějovice jazz festival - Budweis, CZECH REPUBLIC
Oct 14 - Cairo - Würzburg, GERMANY

Source: MySpace

Calendar 2010 - Mouse on the Keys - European Tour

March 4-13, 2010
Mouse on the Keys
European Tour

03/04 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
03/05 - Metz, France - Emile Vache Art Cafe 
03/06 - Kassel, Germany - Galerie Loyal
03/07 - Duisburg, Germany - Djzz 
03/08 - Leipzig, Germany - tba 
03/09 - Gdynia, Poland - Ucho Club
03/10 - Poznan, Poland - Pod Minoga Club
03/11 - Krakow, Poland - Club Re
03/12 - Wroclaw, Poland - Firlej
03/13 - Chemnitz, Germany - Weltecho

Videos of the Week - 7/12/09

Well, looks like this is quickly turning into little more than a video blog! I assure you, I'm doing all I can to get be to some sort of normal schedule. But until then, hey! More videos!

Perfume - "I Still Love U"


[UPDATE: Shoot, looks like it was already taken down. Well, just imagine one shot on a white screen with three girls mouthing the lyrics and not moving much.]

Here's one of the new videos from Perfume from their new album/DVD Triangle. I did a quick review of it for Japanator, and I didn't exactly give it a thumbs up. I want to make it clear that I don't hate the album or them. I simply don't think it's a very good album and that the group, on the whole, is sort of played-out. If you like them, great! If not, well that's good too.

But seriously, look at that video. I mentioned it on Twitter yesterday:

How does the biggest pop group in Japan make a video? They rent an HD camera, some lights and a fan for 5 minutes: http://is.gd/1vyY5

Benu, one of my Twitter friends, took me to task for hating on them, and I basically said the above. Also this:

@Benu Oh, and I'll admit that it does look like they put at least twice as much thought and time into the blocking. :D :D <3 <3

All I'm saying is that a little more effort would be nice. That's all!

OK, on to the rest!



Vola and the Oriental Machine - "Weekend Lovers"


I must admit, I lost my shit when I first saw this new video from Vola and the Oriental Machine. There are far too many incredible things going on in it...I can't even begin to go into it all. Suffice it to say that I want to immediately fly to Japan after watching it. I'm sure it's like this all the time, right? I cannot get my hands on their new album soon enough!

Mouse on the Keys - "Spectres de Mouse"


Here's an example of how to make a simple and cheap video, but also a very interesting one to watch! I think it also helps that the music is crazy good. The best bit? The parts where the drummer is moving his hands fast enough to see the pictures projected on his sticks! It's subtle, but amazing.

Base Ball Bear - "Stairway Generation"


I've been waiting for something a little more ass-kicking from these guys, and there's some pretty interesting stuff going on in this song. The video, not so much. But hey, it's certainly orange!

Abingdon Boys School - "Kimi no Uta"


Here's a brief clip featuring the new Abingdon Boys School single that's the opener for the new anime series Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (as pointed out over on Japanator). Not too much to say about this one other than it's not the greatest thing ABS has done, IMO. All of their recent releases seem to be a little on the weak side. On the other hand, I just might have to check out the anime!

A Plus D - "Stanky Whip"


I love everything about Bootie Blog. This video should be explanation enough.

Mouse on the Keys

Little is known about the mysterious trio that goes by the name of Mouse on the Keys. Even their official website is just a simple re-direct to their sparsely populated MySpace page. We know their names, Akira Kawasaki (drums, keyboards, piano and of Nine Days Wonder) Atsushi Kiyota (keyboard, piano) and Daisuke Niitome (keybord, piano). We know that they are part of the Toe founded record label Machupicchu Industrias (again, another site that simply re-directs to MySpace). In fact they are the only other band, aside from Toe, on the label.

All we really have to go one is their music, and fair enough. Except that they only have a single four song release, titled Sezession, out at the moment, though there is a full-length just over the horizon. Regardless, what we do have are four songs of instrumental drum and piano, sometimes jazzy, sometimes almost classical, other times sounding like a soundtrack to a rainy drive through the heart of a city. Whatever they do, it's a dark and grim journey.

"Saigo no Bansan" is easily the stand out track from the trio. In fact Sezession feels more like a "Saigo no Bansan" single with a few tacked-on supporting tracks than a solid EP. The song is a lethal serpent strike to the spine, starting in near silence before launching into a furious battle between the drums and pianos. The three following tracks are much jazzier and improvisational in tone, with some saxophone and effected keyboard sounds augmenting the regular piano tones.

Of course it's far to early to pass any sort of meaningful judgment on such a young band with so little material. Yet it's tough not to get excited by what Mouse on the Keys has let us in on thus far. If they can reign in their more abstract tendencies and bring their more muscular A-game, then their first proper album could be something great indeed.

BUY MOUSE ON THE KEYS RELEASES HERE

"Saigo no Bansan"




Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Akira Kawasaki - Drums, Keyboards, Piano
Atsushi Kiyota - Keyboard, Piano
Daisuke Niitome - Keybord, Piano

Albums:
An Anxious Object - 2009
Sezession - 2007

The Arctic Fox"

Videos of the Week

Going to kick off a new feature today, the rather self-explanatory "Videos of the Week."

Every week, I'll round up a few of the videos that have caught my eye. They'll be a mix of new and old and not always Japanese, though you can rest assured that most of them will be about Japanese music.

Without further ado, here's the first one:

Mouse on the Keys "Saigo no Bansan"


This is the first I've heard of these guys, and it totally blew me away. The song is cool, but this video really takes it to a whole new level. I absolutely love its dark, gritty Noir feel. Perfect.

Hit the jump for more!



Polysics "Young Oh! Oh!


New single from Polysics. Absolutely crazy, as usual. Seriously, just try and follow the logic of this one. You can't! There isn't any!



I don't remember now where I got the link to this, probably someone on Twitter. New music from Hiroshi Sakaue, a singing grandpa, slathered with Auto Tune. Weird.

History of Buck-Tick


A 10 part history of the very early Buck-Tick days, all in English! A must watch for any BT fan, to be sure.

Susumu Hirasawa "Solar Ray 2" Live


A mesmerizing live solar-powered performance from electro genius Susumu Hirasawa. I could listen to the into forever.

9mm Parabellum Bullet "Punishment" and "Discommunication" Live


A brutal live performance from the always intense 9mm Parabellum Bullet.

Faith No More - Reunion Show at Brixton Academy


And speaking of live...Back after a million years, here are the first two songs from the recent Faith No More reunion show. Amazing stuff!

That's all for now. What have you been watching lately? Share your links in the comments, because it's fun to waste time watching stuff!