Videos of the Week 10/4/09

FLOPPY "Everything"


Starting off this week is this brand new video from chiptune masters FLOPPY. This video for "Everything" does indeed have everything any 8bit, chiptune, video game, electro-pop fan could want. Some Super Mario, some Casio keyboards, some LEGO...they manage to pack a lot in to this relatively simple video. Also, I think it might be their first official PV, but I could be wrong there. But I think I'm right.

Jump for more!



Detroit 7 "Cold Heat"


Here's the new one from Detroit 7. They've got a new album out called Black & White on the Daruma label. This video for "Cold Heat" is pretty basic, but I think it'll give you a pretty good idea of what the band is all about...namely rockin' hard!

China Chop "Jewel Story"


Here's one from China Cop, the band that would later become Molice. There's a lot going on in this one. Like, for instance, what is that rhino all about? I'm not sure, but it's a good song nevertheless.



Tsugumi from Pine AM recently made some music for a fashion show in Culver City, CA. The fashion show itself was, uh, pretty unique, and Tsugumi's awesome, arty electro soundtrack really turned it into something very cool. This is my favorite clip from the show. You can check out a few more on her blog.



And finally, you've probably heard of the Auto-Tune the News phenomenon buy now. Well, someone made what is probably going to be the high-water mark for zany Auto-Tune videos. They took some clips from Carl Sagan's Cosmos series, as well as a bit of Stephen Hawking, and created a really spin-tingly awesome song. Of course, it might help if you have a thing for Sagan's particular brand of poetic cosmology... "Not a sun rise, but a galaxy rise. A morning filled with four hundred billion suns."

Japan Nite Review/Photo Blitz on Japanator

Actor, photographer and, most importantly, Japantor reader Ace0fClub5 went to the Japan Nite gig in LA a while back. He came back battered, sweaty and with a fist full of amazing photographs like the one above. That's Omodaka helping out singer Akiko Kanazawa.

You can check out his full review, along with tons of up close and personal photos here. You can check out a few extra Japan Nite photos, as well as Ace0fClub5's larger photo collection here.

Album Review: Detroit7 Detroit7

The hard rockin' trio that is Detroit7 will be embarking on a world tour this month, hitting up SXSW and the Japan Nite tour in American, then stomping over to the rest of the world in April. Their appearance in the States is being heralded with the release of their self-titled album on the Daruma label.

Along with a host of mini albums and EPs, it's the band's third full-length album and shows the band in top form. They blast through their 10 songs in 30 minutes. From the starting shot of "In the Sunshine" to the head thumping closer "Lovers Fight," it's a solid block of swaggering guitars, raw drumming and Tomomi Nabana's signature smokey, gruff and non-nonsense vocal assault. While she's got the delivery of a biker-chick looking for a fight, she also sounds like she's smiling the entire time.

That's not to say they are an abrasive, middle-finger-wagging punk band. They've got a heart the pumps the blues, filtering it through their fuzzed out amps. The do take a breather on both "Down Beat" and "Torch Song," though it's a bit relative. They still bring their wall of sonic mayhem along, but they manage to keep it in check, at least for a few minutes. "Zelda" ramps things back up, providing the fuel for a long distance road trip through a sweltering desert.

For anyone looking for a handy tool to explode a massive sound system through sheer rock and roll mayhem, they need look to further than Detroit7. Look for it at their shows, buy it at Amazon, or at any record shop with an ounce of credibility and common sense.

Check out some videos of their previous US tour after the jump.

March/April 09 Calendar - Detroit7 - World Tour

Japan Nite Tour

3/20(fri) Elysium (Austin, TX)
3/22(sun) - Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY)
3/23(mon) - T.T. The Bear's (Cambridge, MA)
3/24(tue) - Empty Bottle (Chicago, IL)
3/26(thu) - Bluebird Theater (Denver, CO)
3/27(fri) - High Dive (Seattle, WA)
3/28(fri) - Independent (San Francisco, CA)
3/29(sun) - Knitting Factory (Los Angels, CA)

Black & White Europe Tour

4/8(wed) - Glazart (Paris, France)
4/9(thu) - Stereo Wonderland (Cologne, Germany)
4/11(sat) - Clash (Berlin, Germany)
4/12(sun) - Schützenhaus (Hohenstein, Germany)
4/15(wed) - Dürer Kert (Budapest, Hungary)
4/17(fri) - Klub Uljanik (Pula, Croatia)
4/18(sat) - Spunk (Pula, Croatia)
4/19(fri) - Channel Zero (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
4/22(wed) - Printemps de Bourges (Bourges, France)
4/23(thu) - Deep Inside (Dijon, France)
4/24(fri) - Le Rat Pack (Clermont-Ferrand, France)
4/25(sat) - La guinguette Lautrec (Rodez, France)
4/26(sun) - Estraperlo Badalona (Barcelona, Spain)

Source: Official Site (Thanks to ax-xa for the tip!)

March Calendar - Japan Nite 2009 - USA

March 22-29
Japan Nite 2009
Featuring: Detroit7, SA, Sparta Locals, FLiP, and Omodaka
with: Grapevine, The Emeralds and Asakusa Jinta and more!

3/20 Fri Japan Nite 1 @ SXSW Austin TX
with: FLiP/ Dirty Old Men /HONEY SAC/ SPARTA LOCALS/GRAPEVIE/detroit7

3/21 Sat. Japan Nite 2 @ SXSW Austin TX
with: Stereopony/SpethialThanks/The Emeralds/SA/Asakusa Jinta /quaff

3/22 sun NY @ Bowery ballroom
with: detroit7/SA/SPARTA LOCALS/FLiP/Omodaka/
+GRAPEVINE and ASAKUSA JINTA

3/23 mon Cambridge /MA @ T.T. The Bears
with: detroit7/SA/SPARTA LOCALS/FLiP/Omodaka +THE EMERALDS

3/24 tue Chicago @ Empty Bottle
with: detroit7/SA/SPARTA LOCALS/FLiP/Omodaka/

3/26 thu Denver @TBA
with: detroit7/SA/SPARTA LOCALS/FLiP/Omodaka/

3/27 fri Seattle @ High Dive -
with: detroit7/SA/SPARTA LOCALS/FLiP/Omodaka/
Opening ban: The Slants

3/28 sat SF @ Independent
with: detroit7/SA/SPARTA LOCALS/FLiP/Omodaka/

3/29 sun LA @ Knitting Factory
with: detroit7/SA/SPARTA LOCALS/FLiP/Omodaka/

Source: Japan Nite

Japan Nite 2008

The Japan Nite tour has a long history of bringing some of the best bands from Japan over to America for a short but blistering tour. Past shows have seen the likes of Number Girl, GO!GO!7188, The Mad Capsule Markets and Husking Bee gracing stages across the US. This year is no exception.

This year the tour kicks off with a huge bang at one of the biggest music festivals in the States, South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin Texas. On March 14th six bands will be taking over Elysium for a night of rock and roll like no other. Here are all of the dates:

March 14th (Friday) Austin TX @ELYSIUM
March 16th (Sun) NEW YORK @Knitting Factory
March 17th (Mon) BOSTON @ TT The Bears
March 18th (Tue) CHICAGO @ Empty Bottle
March 19th (Wed) DENVER @ TBA
March 20th (Thu) SEATTLE @ Hi Dive
( *ketchup mania is not performing in Seattle)
March 21st (Fri) SF @ Independent
March 23rd (Sun) LA @ Knitting Factory

Since I've already covered the basics, I thought we should take a closer look at each of the bands involved with the tour this year. It just so happens that I have a cool promo CD right here next to featuring songs for each band. Let's listen together after the jump!




Avengers in Sci-Fi are a futuristic rock trio. While they may look like your average rock band on the outside, their arsenal of pedals and electronic track will fool your ears into thinking something much different. While they do rock out, it's a very trance-like rock, played at light-speed.



Detroit 7 are a hard rock trio with a snarling female lead singer. Sounding a lot like Electric Eel Shock, they bring a dose of sludge and fuzz to the table, with an upbeat feel overall.



Ketchup Mania is probably the band best known to American audiences, having played A-Kon last year. This year in addition to playing Sakura Con they'll be part of the Japan Nite Tour. They are an extremely upbeat pop-punk band fronted by the candy-glossed chirpy vocal styles of Hiro.



Quartz-Head 02 is the project of Fujiwara Daisuke. A graduate of Berkley, he went back to Japan to bring his experimental sax and samplers electro tracks to the club scene. Along with Hata Ken on synths, Fujiwara blends snarling basslines with heavily effect sax playing and murky beats. Think grocery store bossa muzak on a really groovy acid trip and you might start to get the idea.



Two Japanese girls a-pickin' and a-grinin' to fast paced bluegrass tunes might be something you'd only expect to see in a twisted Christopher Guest mockumentary, but they do exist in the real world. Petty Booka have been bringing their down-home country/folk/bluegrass ukulele based songs for over twelve years now. How could anyone not love someone with both The Aquabats and Tiny Tim in their top friends list?!



Sodopp is an all girl garage rock trio. Channeling spirits from Shonen Knife and Noodles, the band has intentionally rough edges and strong melodies, and their no-nonsense attitude shines through.



The Emeralds have that in spades. Another rock trio, they have a bit of a Guitar Wolf-ish rockabilly edge without the ear bleeding production values. A more fun-loving Guitar Wolf, if you will.



If fresh-faced pop-idol-rockers ZONE turned up their amps to eleven, you'd have Scandal. No wait, you do have Scandal! They have a really unique blend of pop production and four part harmonies over guitar-driven songs. Like an indie rock Morning Musume. This sense of for rocking "idols" is only perpetuated by the fact the there doesn't seem to be any actual photos of them. Instead we are giving stylized manga-like illustrations of the girls. In fact there will be a series of anime shorts released featuring the members of the band. I am intrigued to say the least!



The Beaches live up to their name, bringing a broad pallet of traditional Japanese sounds blended with reggae rhythms and tropical island vibes. The playfull keyboard sounds also add a dose of new-wave, propelling The Beaches into territory far beyond what you might expect.

There you have it. Simply put, this is a fantastic collection of bands from all over the spectrum. I strongly urge anyone out there who can attend one of these shows to get your tickets now and prepare to go nuts. I don't think you'll be disappointed.