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
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.
Unmistakably jazz with a strong dose of rock experimentalism and down-tempo post rock jams, Japan's Henrytennis is indeed the "progressive/rock/jazz" band they profess to be. Formed in 2002, the band has only released a single album thus far. Perhaps this famine of material is the result of the several line-up changes (and the unfortunate loss of Chie Takizawa's voice and flute) the band has already undergone. Another reason could be that they are simply a live band focusing on live shows.
While on tape they do have the air of a band a bit more used to free-form expression, their sole album Eight Rare Cases does contain a lot of well developed moments. While you may not see it in their various live clips, they at one time seemed to have a more vocal slant, featuring dual male and female leads. The songs on the album are blissed-out and hazy, with swinging underpinnings and a smokey atmosphere. More twee-pop than jazz or rock, they are fleshed out with plenty of tiny xylophones and reverbed-out Rhodes-esque keys and guitars. These softer tracks are surrounded by more frenetic instrumental songs. While not in the same league as the much heavier Downy or sgt., they do at times come close, providing a softer alternative. Instrumental bands like Miaou and Mono also come to mind, though Henrytennis is definitely the more jazz influenced of the bunch.
The band seems to be very active in the live scene, even playing shows in New York. They host their own regular showcase called "Fuck Up My Underground Era" featuring a huge range of bands like Audio Safari, Gutevolk and Miaou. They obviously have their ear to the ground and a broad range of skills to draw from. Here's to hoping they manage to keep the band stable enough to release more material. It might also be nice if they brought the dual vocal style back as well, as it serves to really set them apart from the crowd. Just a friendly suggestion. The world could always use more pretty songs like "Landmachine."
"The Electronic Flute" - Live 2005 (Original line-up)
J-Pop and J-Rock are only the beginning. The modern Japanese music scene is just as vibrant and varied as any other music scene in the world. I'm Zac Bentz, writer, musician, designer and all around Japanese music fanatic. Here I hope to share with you a comprehensive (!!) list of Japanese artists and bands (with a strong focus on underground and indie acts) that you may or may not have heard of, in the hopes of expanding our mutual awareness of Japanese music.
I don't mean to suggest that everything I listen to is great. Quite the contrary, I hope that you will take the time to recommend your own favorite artists in the comments so that we can all learn a bit more about the huge range of Japanese music that's out there.
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