Help Get Shinichi Osawa To Remix My Band

I do my best to keep this blog focused only on Japanese bands, avoiding regular news bits (other than live reports) and other noise. I hope you'll allow me the occasional diversion, although this certainly is related to Japanese music!

Right now Shinichi Osawa is running a contest for a band to win a remix. The winner will be remixed by Osawa, and the song will be released on his UK label Southern Fried Records.

I've entered my own band The Surfactants into the fray. It would be super excellent if you would take a few seconds at vote for us. All you have to do is go to the site, enter an email address (they do not send confirmation emails so...do what you've got to do), then click on "Listen & Vote" on the top right, then find "The One, The Wayward" by The Surfactants in the list of songs. Right now it's on the first page, but that will certainly change over time, so you might have to scroll through a few pages. Don't worry, it is there! Then, hit "10" in the pull-down menu next to the "Submit" button, then hit "submit." That's it!

Thanks for your help. Maybe some day soon you'll see The Surfactants in Japan!

The Surfactants

The Surfactants is not a Japanese band. The Surfactants is my band!

Sorry for the brief non-Japanese self-promotional digression...

The Surfactants was formed in 2005 by Zac Bentz. A long time drummer and house and trance DJ, Bentz eventually found a new found inspiration in the Japanese new-wave spazz rock band Polysics. It wasn't long before he began writing songs in the style of his new found heroes. Eventually he called up a few of his friends, all veterans in the local music scene, and The Surfactants was born.

Fusing the aforementioned new-wave synth pop with their love of classic metal bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica, the band quickly found their own unique voice in a sea of abysmal synth-pop wannabees. Instead of adopting the usual batch of '80s kitch, they instead looked forward to a new style of heavy, dueling guitars, stuttering beats, screaming synths and pounding bass.

The vocal style of Marcus Matthews was also something outside of the usual new-wave style, eschewing the fractured, nerdy approach and instead falling closer into a Depeche Mode or Foo Fighters realm. This unexpected clash of styles sent audiences reeling and critics into fits of adoring apoplexy.

The band has released two untitled mini-albums and an mp3 only album that collects both of the two mini-albums into one solid package. The recent past has seen a change in lead singer with the replacement of Matthews with Greg Cougar Conley, who brings with him a dedication to the same avant-avant-garde style. One can only hope they release a new album in the new future.

BUY THE SURFACTANTS RELEASES AT AMAZON AND ITUNES

Live Clips



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Eric Anderson - Bass
Zac Bentz - Drums, Programming
Greg Cougar Conley - Vocals
Brett Molitor - Guitar

Ex-Member:
Marcus Matthews - Vocals

Releases:
Untitled 1 - 2006
Untitled 2 - 2007
Diminishing Returns - 2008

Interview