Hello, as the Japan week draws to a close with a beats post, which isn't as dance as you might have gotten use to. Trouble with Japanese dance music is it's unstoppable culture of kitsch, where layer-upon-layer of irony free, synthetic cultural artefacts are produced in aid of an innocent good life. One of those turbo dance acts is, Capsule..it ain't spacey thats for sure. DJ Krush and Cornelius provide a more intellektual and laid back attitude towards beats here.
To most of us it's hard to understand this speed of life in Japan, specially Tokyo, all this keeping up appearances as prescribed by it's culture it would drive most westerners to rebel yet you see little of that in Japan. They believe there's a solution to every problem, even the social ones, rent a friend, have a robot pet and the way they drive ahead with their robotic and virtual culture, in ways they leave the West behind. Take a look at some examples on how the Japanese music industry forges ahead.
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Music industry's wet dream, total control over their artist Eguchi Aimi she looks and talks to order.
AKB48 - The Making of Eguchi Aimi
They took computer images of each girl's eyes, nose, mouth, hair and body, face outline and eyebrows. Each feature was then digitally merged to create the 'perfect' group member. The video shocked fans of Eguchi who were convinced that her features were more the result of good genes than the skillful use of computer graphics,' according to ChannelNews Asia.
another successful virtual band from Japan, Ho-kago Tea Time
GO! GO! MANIAC! - ..japanese avant-garde jazz metal
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Toshinori Kondo (December 15, 1948 in Ehime Prefecture) is an avant-garde and jazz trumpeter and the most celebrated improvising musician of his country. He has lived in Japan, New York City, and Amsterdam. In college he was a member of the band "Funky Beaters" and by 1976 he was a member of an ensemble which gained some notice in his native Japan. His early influences were Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. That said, his style is quite distinct from theirs and influenced by his religious studies, among other things. In the mid-1970s his career gained new momentum on moving to NYC, where he worked with members of the 'Downtown' scene, including Bill Laswell and John Zorn; his first solo album coming out in 1979. Back in Japan, Kondo formed International Music Activities (IMA). Releasing "What Are You Talking About?". "Kuuchuu Fuyuu". Taihen backed the trumpet with the rock format of guitar-drum-bass. Metal Position used a similar setting with the addition of Haruo Togashi's synthesizer and piano. Later he moved to the Netherlands where he lives today. In 2002 he worked on an international peace festival in Hiroshima after being approached by the Dalai Lama about organizing one. Kondo is currently known for Free jazz and electronica music. In these, or related, capacities he has worked with DJ Krush and Tom Cora. He is also known for being avant-garde and was a former member of Praxis.
(96 130mb)
01 Toh-Sui 4:56
02 Tobira-1 0:35
03 Mu-Getsu 6:19
04 Ha-Doh 5:23
05 Sun Is Shining 6:51
06 Mu-Chu 6:27
07 Tobira-2 0:45
08 Fu-Yu 4:55
09 Ki-Gen 4:40
10 Ko-Ku 5:23
11 Shoh-Ka 4:38
12 Bu-Seki 4:57
13 Tobira-3 0:43
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Japanese turntablist and producer DJ Krush is one of the few island-nation throw-ups to be embraced by the global hip-hop world. Releasing material through Sony in Japan, Mo'Wax and Virgin in the U.K., and Axiom, Shadow, and A&M in America, Krush's heady brand of experimental, (largely) instrumental hip-hop has been praised by everyone from hardcore underground hip-hop 'zines like The Bomb to the speckless offices of Rolling Stone and Spin. Beginning as a bedroom DJ in the mid-'80s following the Japanese leg of the Wildstyle tour, Krush moved into mobile DJing, backing up rappers, and eventually solo production. Although his Japan-only debut freely mixed elements of R&B and acid jazz with the beefy breakbeat backbone of mid-tempo hip-hop, Krush's work has since tended more toward the abstract, applying heavy effects and sample manipulation to thick, smart breaks, layered, almost ambient textures, and subtle, inventive scratching.
Krush came to larger acclaim in the mid-'90s through his association with the London-based Mo'Wax label, which released his Strictly Turntablized in 1994 and Meiso in 1996. In addition to 1997's Milight, Krush also featured on a number of various-artists collections, Kakusei appeared on Mo'Wax/Columbia in 1999, followed by the mix albums Code 4109 and Tragicomic the next year. Zen from 2001 was filled with guest MCs while The Message at the Depth from 2003 featured far fewer and focused on instrumentals. Jaku landed in 2004, and two years later the Stepping Stones collection featured Krush remixing highlight from his back catalog.
Kakusei ("awaken" ) is the eighth album released by DJ Krush. It is generally considered to be his most acclaimed work
Continuing his series of solo albums as collaborative efforts, DJ Krush touched down after a slight absence with Kakusei, another invigorating, moody, and powerful release. Krush once again lets his abilities at both musical creation and turntablism work together for great results. Some returnees from Milight surface, including members of Kemuri Productions, who appear on the quietly head-nodding "Inorganizm" and "No More," and Shawn J. Period, who on "The Dawn" works with Krush on a great series of orchestrations to flesh out the track. Vocally, there's not as much going on this time around; aside from brief shout-outs here and there, it's strictly an instrumental affair.
DJ Krush - Kakusei (99 147mb)
01 Intro 1:03
02 Escapee Feat.Asa 3:50
03 Parallel Distortion (Feat. DJ Sak) 3:25
04 Inorganizm (Feat.DJ Hide, DJ Kensei) 6:38
05 Deltaforest (Feat.Jun Sawada) 5:14
06 Crimson 2:33
07 The Dawn (Feat.Shawn J Period) 5:15
08 Interlude 2:08
09 85 Loop 4:57
10 Rust (Feat.KK) 3:14
11 1200 (Feat.Hideo) 5:15
12 Krushed Wall (Feat.Rhythm Troops) 5:01
13 The Kinetics (Feat.Mista Sinista) 3:15
14 Final Home 4:37
15 No More (Feat.DJ Hazu, DJ Yas) 6:09
16 Outro 1:47
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Cornelius (born Keigo Oyamada January 27, 1969 in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese recording artist and producer. Oyamada's first claim to fame was as a member of the pop duo, Flipper's Guitar, one of the key groups of the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene. Following the disbandment of Flipper's Guitar in 1991, Oyamada donned the "Cornelius" moniker and embarked on a successful solo career. Release first solo album, ?First Question Award? (94) followed by a remix album ?96/69 ?Cornelius Wakusei Kengaku?. In 98 he got his first international release with Fantasma, after the succesful release in Japan the previous year.
Fall 98, the remix album FM/CM came about, released in 99 in which year he would be seen at Glastonbury and Roskilde to name some. Being a true multimedia artist he released a movie "Eus" and another book ?Cornelius Wakusei Kengaku?., more remix work and all that not withstanding in 2001 he released "Point" in Japan , a year later the rest of the world got to hear this masterpiece. Point is the best-sequenced and smoothest album I heard that year. It is very clearly set up to be an album as opposed to a collection of singles. It may well have turned out too perfect, too cool, when after 45 min the silence lingers it can only be to wonder how full it was..
The music of Cornelius could be described as experimental and exploratory, and often incorporates dissonant elements alongside more familiar harmonically "pleasing" sounds. This tension, plus his practice of bringing in sounds and samples from mass culture, pure electronic tones, and sounds from nature ( Point) lead him to being sometimes categorized as an "acquired taste"
Even sleeker and more stylized than Point, Sensuous lives up to its title, with intricate textures and lush atmospheres that are almost tangible, and melodies that evoke visions of lines stretching off into the horizon or tunneling into infinite spirals. However, this is also Keigo Oyamada's most thematic and conceptual Cornelius album, concentrating on just a few well-chosen elements -- wind chimes, delicate acoustic guitars, precise electric ones, fuzzy '80s synths, and layers of vocals -- and either elongating them to the point of no return or chopping them into pointillistic pieces. With all of its lines, loops, and fragments, at times Sensuous feels more like an ever-changing sonic painting than an album of individual songs, a concept brilliantly illustrated by the flowing paint on the album's cover. And while repetition is one of Sensuous' major themes, Oyamada never applies it the quite the same way twice. When the last song fades out on the wind chimes that opened the album, Sensuous becomes one giant, dazzling loop. (Iin Flac and Ogg)
(06 278mb)
01 Sensuous 4:21
02 Fit Song 3:59
03 Breezin' 3:50
04 Toner 1:32
05 Wataridori 6:56
06 Gum 3:45
07 Scum 0:38
08 Omstart 4:38
09 Beep It 4:02
10 Like A Rolling Stone 3:28
11 Music 4:52
12 Sleep Warm 4:42
Cornelius ? Sensuous (06 110mb)
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Capsule is a Japanese eletronic duo formed by Yasutaka Nakata (co-producer, art director, responsible for all lyrics and music) and Toshiko Koshijima (vocals). They debuted in 2001, when their their first single was released by Yamaha Music. In 2003 Yasutaka created his own label Contemode and has produced other artists on the label. On their first album, their sound was standard J-Pop, but with "Cutie Cinema Replay", they changed to Shibuya-kei sound, then later, slowly moved towards Electro Pop. Meanwhile they've released 11 albums in 8 years, busy bodies aren't they and they even took some time out in 2007 duh, their last currently is World of Fantasy. Well this here is their 8 th album released 3 years ago. Somewhere between Cutie Cinema Replay and this record, Capsule went from an adorable Shibuya-kei duo with memorable hooks and sterling production to a full-on techno pop duo with memorable hooks and sterling production. While their previous joyride FRUiTS CLiPPER was coated with syrupy goodness, this is definitely an edgier album, with only "Pleasure Ground" and "Adventure" capturing some of that that major chord bliss that was the bulk of their repertoire prior. Capsule have morphed here into a Daft Punk-ravaging, electrofuzz monolith, and their 2008 album More!More!More! was a huge success.
(08 109mb)
01 Runway 1:20
02 More! More! More! 4:13
03 The Time Is Now 6:33
04 Jumper 6:56
05 Phantom 3:55
06 Gateway 0:39
07 Pleasure Ground 4:48
08 The Mutations Of Life 4:25
09 E.d.i.t. 6:00
10 Adventure 6:30
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elsewhere on this blog
Japan 3
Toshinori Kondo - Taihen ( 84* 69mb)
Rhotation 39
Toshinori Kondo & IMA - Konton ( 86 ^ 82mb)
Japan , Sayonara
DJ Krush - Jaku ( "tranquility") (04 * 98mb)
Japan Tea Lounge
Cornelius - Fantasma (97 * 77mb)
Fantasma Remixes (60mb)
Japan Zen
Cornelius - Point (01 * 85mb)
PM Point Humans remixes ( 88mb)
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Source: http://rho-xs.blogspot.com/2011/06/rhodeo-1125-j-beats.html
The Postal Service
St. Christopher
The Lucksmiths
The Ting Tings
Here is my latest 60s favorite: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, a British band that existed from 1964 to 1972. My first contact to this band occurred when I was record shopping on the Internet and a best of CD by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (later referred to as DDDBMT) was recommended to me. I read reviews and decided to order the CD ? it hardly cost anything. When I got the CD it ended up in my CD shelf and I never really came around to listen to it. I probably listened to a couple of songs, thought ?sounds weird? and decided to put it away and listen to it some time later. Strangely, this is what happens to quite many CDs I purchase...
