ChaosResolved
05-07-2006, 02:54 PM
Tracking the Trends
Japan: After the J-Pop
In the midst of a country consumed by pop music, trance, and techno, one would hope that there would be a handful of bands holding the flag of revolution high. And there is. Tracking the Trends takes its first step into unfamiliar territory to extract five Japanese bands worth your time and money.
I've always been interested in the Japanese music scene, for one reason or another. Recently, it's been bands like Mono and World's End Girlfriend, or artists like Caroline, some of the more notable names from the region. Yet, in a place as dynamic as Japan, which a city as spectacular as Tokyo, I knew that there must be more to the city than meets the eye. Surely there must be a blooming instrumental scene much like that of the UK or the US? As far as I have found, there is such a world in Japan, but it is still in its infantile stages. Slowly bands are beginning to pick the guitar back up and level the opposing forces of stagnant music. The only thing hindering my search is my inability to read Japanese, yet I present the following five bands as a selection to the world that rests deep inside the heartland of Japan: Te', Miaou, Sequence Pulse, Toe, and Heaven's Dust.
Te'
Tokyo
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/te.jpg
Website: Te' (http://tee.daa.jp/)
Music: Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/tejapanese)
Leading the new wave of instrumental Japanese bands, Te' vehemently storms the gate with an energetic neo post-rock sound reminiscent of 65 Days of Static without the electronic vibe. Undoubtedly putting out a collection of the longest song titles in 2006, if not the longest, Te's debut album, If That is What is Being Thought, Liberated Sounds Talks the Depth of "Musical" World, is a supercharged fury of guitar licks and intense drumming from a group of musicians who are truly inspired by the world around them. From the fiery "It Must be Called Intelligence..." to the cool "It's Suppose to be Ordinary," If That is What is Being Thought... stretches the boundaries of the new instrumental wave, crashing down the doors with a swiftness similar to its US contemporaries Caspian and Saxon Shore. Several tracks on the album stand out as remarkable works of art. "We Promise with a View..." is an energy packed song; at under six minutes in length, this songs delivers quite a punch. It starts with a short introduction and quickly switches into a wall of noise and feedback, steadily increasing the intensity with exponential growth. "Avarice Would Speak..." and "Existence of Eloquence..." are two tracks that are as aggressive as they are smart. Neither is shy about devastating the sonic landscape around it, but at the same time it's not a relentless assault on the auditory system. All of Te's songs fall within the range of two to six minutes in length, and the album on a whole is a quick listen, especially while taking into account the ferocity of the band's sound. Yet, it's never an unsatisfying experience.
I don't think it would be a stretch to call Te' the hottest instrumental band coming out of Japan right now. This skilled group of musicians has proved its contribution to the genre is meaningful, and they are probably only surpassed by World's End Girlfriend in creativity. You can expect this band to make some great advances in the future; so far it has wasted no time in setting the bar up a notch or two. Many thanks to Status Quo Audio (http://www.statusquoaudio.com) for bringing this gem of an album to the US. Those who are a bit tired of the repetitiveness of Mono should highly consider giving Te' a few minutes of your time. It might just revitalize your perception of Japanese music.
Miaou
Tokyo
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/miaou.jpg
Website: Miaou (http://www.miaoumusic.com/)
Music: Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/miaoumusic)
If we could draw a parallel between Japan's instrumental scene and the rest of the world's, you might want to identify Tokyo's Miaou with the more cinematic bands like Hammock, The Album Leaf, or God is an Astronaut, for this is a band that has a firm grasp of the beauty of the genre's transcendental properties. Mono appears to stubbornly rely on tried and true post-rock formulations, World's End Girlfriend takes a more avant-garde approach, and Te' attacks with a blast of newfound neo post-rock. However, Miaou's music is a subtle addition to the country's already strong resume. Gentle atmospherics glide effortlessly over a landscape of keys, guitars, and drums, centered around a seemingly weightless presentation that takes the liberty of rising to otherworldly extremes. The band's 2005 album, Makes These Things Alright, does just that. Through a network of pop-oriented and ethereal music, Miaou evokes a calm feeling that acts as a sedative to the listener's empirical receptors. The band begs the listener to forget all external woes and simply allow it to wash his mind in a warm pool of memories and sensations. Tracks like "Future Pavilion," "Silent Picture," and "Tiger Note," highlight the band's stronger points. A variety of compositional styles employed throughout the course of the album, supplemented with creative instrumental arrangements, and brought back to the center of the genre with pivotal cathartic releases (see "Tiger Note" and "LASA"). While the band certainly doesn't focus on the cathartic triggering aspect of its music, once in awhile it does meander into the "louder" realm and let off a bit of steam, but primarily the band's attention is set to the cinematic portrait that it paints.
Miaou clearly has the ability to reach its appeal to a wide variety of global listeners. While not following the current instrumental trends, Miaou most closely relates to bands such as Below the Sea, The Album Leaf, and Hammock, all of whom hold a similar devotion to beauty and aesthetics rather than form and composure. Makes These Things Alright is a wonderful addition to the band's catalogue and would be a welcome import in the states. Currently the band is working on new material, for a release which they hope to have completed by the year's end.
Sequence Pulse
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/sequencepulse.jpg
Website: Sequence Pulse (http://www.sequencepulse.com/)
Music: Sequence Pulse (http://www.sequencepulse.com/)
Sequence Pulse's sophomore album, Railroad to Heaven squeezed in at #49 in DecoyMusic's Top 50 instrumental albums of 2005 (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6776). The album is a smooth ride from beginning to end, but the most notable track is the title track, which clocks in just under thirteen minutes in length. Pulsating drums and shimmering guitars track this track of an epic voyage, steadily climbing through the clouds and ascending to a spectacular zenith. Halfway through the song the band breaks through the clouds and reaches the upper atmosphere, tempting to escape the earth's gravity and float peacefully through the galaxy. However, this isn't the projected path of the song, and it begins an ascent back towards the earth. Again the band navigates smoothly, hitting only the minimal resistance in reentry, and sticking the landing perfectly. The rest of the songs more or less conform to a pretty standard instrumental dogma. Some tend towards the heavy/loud structure, whereas others exhibit a more jazzy influence. "Flowage" adds a bit of a kick to the end of the album, disturbing an otherwise quiet listen with an emphatic finale, which draws a resounding familiarity to the likes of Mono.
Sequence Pulse is really in its element in "Railroad to Heaven," which is leagues above the rest of the tracks on the album. For a band that has shown that it can tackle lengthy compositions without tiring the listener as well as making it different enough that it doesn't draw immediate comparisons to Mono, I ask why they aren't doing more songs like "Railroad to Heaven." The rest of the album drags in comparison, working little more than to set up the beautiful artwork that is "Railroad to Heaven." I suppose we shall half to wait until the band's next album, when they either embrace the instrumental force trying to escape inside of them, or levitate back to more primitive methods.
Toe
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/toe.jpg
Website: Toe (http://www.toe.st/)
Music: Toe (http://www.toe.st/multimedia.html)
While Toe has a tendency to come off as a more generic sounding instrumental band, I'd be hard pressed to lump then together with "one of those bands that sounds like Explosions in the Sky/Mono/Mogwai/Sigur Ros/GY!BE/etc...". So, Toe must be doing something right to avoid sounding like all the familiar cliches in the genre. Admittedly, Toe plays much more with a math-rock influence than its Japanese contemporaries, yet at the same time it is much less caustic sounding than the majority of the US led math-rock movement. I'd conjecture to say that this would have to be a direct results of metal's slowly creeping influence on the math-rock genre in the US and UK (probably the two biggest spots for math-rock), whereas Japan's contribution to the metal world pales in comparison. Thus, Toe is a more restrained mathy feel, still laying down some complex sounding songs, but not berating the listener with aggressive riffs and bombastic drumming. Toe's debut album, The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety, displays an impressive ability to function within genre boundaries, as well as a general growth from its earlier ep, Songs, Ideas we Forgot. There is much that the band offers that is inspirational: the crisp drum work on "All I Understand is that I Don't Understand," the swirling melodic presentation of "I Still Do Wrong," and the shimmering momentum of "Everything Means Nothing."
Although Toe demonstrate that it has a grasp on what it wants to be doing musically, it does leave room for improvement. Notably, the band could work on filling in its sound. While the band tends to shy away from over the top aggression, it neither fills the space with added instrumentation or electronic aid. As a result, the drum and guitar approach feels a bit weak, and hopefully on Toe's next release it is polishing its sound and filling in all the gaps.
Heaven's Dust
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/heavensdust.jpg
Website: Heaven's Dust (http://www.heavensdust.net)
Music: Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/heavensdust)
If you are anything like myself, you might be wandering through all of these Japanese incremental bands and saying to yourself, "isn't it funny how different music has developed in the east and the west, yet there is very little difference between all these Japanese bands that have been presented here in comparison to their European and US counterparts." And you would be correct. Take the above four bands, move them to California, and probably Temporary Residence would be trying to sign a few of them. Throw them in Canada, and maybe Constellation Records puts out a few of their albums. There's not a lot separating them from the rest of the world, but in a lot of critics eyes, that's the beauty of the instrumental genre, that is really erases boundaries. However, I must still report that there are bands in Japan that are utilizing traditional instrumentation. Heaven's Dust is one such band, although it's not really an *instrumental* band, per se. Heaven's Dust is primarily a progressive/metal outfit that has a healthy array of instruments gracing its work. Higher than Heaven, Louder than God comes across as a twisted form of A Perfect Circle, infused with an Asian influence that sets it apart from the rest of the pack. Songs range from instrumental to linear rock to metal, all the while keeping true its claim of harnessing the traditional sound.
Heaven's Dust is a breath of fresh air for this critic. I've always wondering why so foreign bands strive to sound like an American band. I suppose it's all for the cash, but in my opinion, it's the ones that really set themselves apart that succeed the most–bands such as Sigur Ros, Under Byen, Mew, The Grand Silent System, and others. Heaven's Dust is keeping its roots firmly planted, and for that I give the band much respect.
~Jordan Volz
~~~~~~~~~~
Relative Links:
Tracking the Trends:
US Instrumental Rock :
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8023) (Part II) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8355) (Part III) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8953) (Part IV) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10507).
Experimental British Rock:
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5080) (Part II) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5512) (Part III) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6377) (Part IV) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10879).
Swedish Post Rock:
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4442).
Australian Underdogs:
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4257).
Ohio Alternative:
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3348).
Top 50 Instrumental Albums of 2005:
(1-10) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6772) (11-20) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6773) (21-30) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6774) (31-40) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6775) (41-50) ( http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6776).
Japan: After the J-Pop
In the midst of a country consumed by pop music, trance, and techno, one would hope that there would be a handful of bands holding the flag of revolution high. And there is. Tracking the Trends takes its first step into unfamiliar territory to extract five Japanese bands worth your time and money.
I've always been interested in the Japanese music scene, for one reason or another. Recently, it's been bands like Mono and World's End Girlfriend, or artists like Caroline, some of the more notable names from the region. Yet, in a place as dynamic as Japan, which a city as spectacular as Tokyo, I knew that there must be more to the city than meets the eye. Surely there must be a blooming instrumental scene much like that of the UK or the US? As far as I have found, there is such a world in Japan, but it is still in its infantile stages. Slowly bands are beginning to pick the guitar back up and level the opposing forces of stagnant music. The only thing hindering my search is my inability to read Japanese, yet I present the following five bands as a selection to the world that rests deep inside the heartland of Japan: Te', Miaou, Sequence Pulse, Toe, and Heaven's Dust.
Te'
Tokyo
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/te.jpg
Website: Te' (http://tee.daa.jp/)
Music: Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/tejapanese)
Leading the new wave of instrumental Japanese bands, Te' vehemently storms the gate with an energetic neo post-rock sound reminiscent of 65 Days of Static without the electronic vibe. Undoubtedly putting out a collection of the longest song titles in 2006, if not the longest, Te's debut album, If That is What is Being Thought, Liberated Sounds Talks the Depth of "Musical" World, is a supercharged fury of guitar licks and intense drumming from a group of musicians who are truly inspired by the world around them. From the fiery "It Must be Called Intelligence..." to the cool "It's Suppose to be Ordinary," If That is What is Being Thought... stretches the boundaries of the new instrumental wave, crashing down the doors with a swiftness similar to its US contemporaries Caspian and Saxon Shore. Several tracks on the album stand out as remarkable works of art. "We Promise with a View..." is an energy packed song; at under six minutes in length, this songs delivers quite a punch. It starts with a short introduction and quickly switches into a wall of noise and feedback, steadily increasing the intensity with exponential growth. "Avarice Would Speak..." and "Existence of Eloquence..." are two tracks that are as aggressive as they are smart. Neither is shy about devastating the sonic landscape around it, but at the same time it's not a relentless assault on the auditory system. All of Te's songs fall within the range of two to six minutes in length, and the album on a whole is a quick listen, especially while taking into account the ferocity of the band's sound. Yet, it's never an unsatisfying experience.
I don't think it would be a stretch to call Te' the hottest instrumental band coming out of Japan right now. This skilled group of musicians has proved its contribution to the genre is meaningful, and they are probably only surpassed by World's End Girlfriend in creativity. You can expect this band to make some great advances in the future; so far it has wasted no time in setting the bar up a notch or two. Many thanks to Status Quo Audio (http://www.statusquoaudio.com) for bringing this gem of an album to the US. Those who are a bit tired of the repetitiveness of Mono should highly consider giving Te' a few minutes of your time. It might just revitalize your perception of Japanese music.
Miaou
Tokyo
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/miaou.jpg
Website: Miaou (http://www.miaoumusic.com/)
Music: Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/miaoumusic)
If we could draw a parallel between Japan's instrumental scene and the rest of the world's, you might want to identify Tokyo's Miaou with the more cinematic bands like Hammock, The Album Leaf, or God is an Astronaut, for this is a band that has a firm grasp of the beauty of the genre's transcendental properties. Mono appears to stubbornly rely on tried and true post-rock formulations, World's End Girlfriend takes a more avant-garde approach, and Te' attacks with a blast of newfound neo post-rock. However, Miaou's music is a subtle addition to the country's already strong resume. Gentle atmospherics glide effortlessly over a landscape of keys, guitars, and drums, centered around a seemingly weightless presentation that takes the liberty of rising to otherworldly extremes. The band's 2005 album, Makes These Things Alright, does just that. Through a network of pop-oriented and ethereal music, Miaou evokes a calm feeling that acts as a sedative to the listener's empirical receptors. The band begs the listener to forget all external woes and simply allow it to wash his mind in a warm pool of memories and sensations. Tracks like "Future Pavilion," "Silent Picture," and "Tiger Note," highlight the band's stronger points. A variety of compositional styles employed throughout the course of the album, supplemented with creative instrumental arrangements, and brought back to the center of the genre with pivotal cathartic releases (see "Tiger Note" and "LASA"). While the band certainly doesn't focus on the cathartic triggering aspect of its music, once in awhile it does meander into the "louder" realm and let off a bit of steam, but primarily the band's attention is set to the cinematic portrait that it paints.
Miaou clearly has the ability to reach its appeal to a wide variety of global listeners. While not following the current instrumental trends, Miaou most closely relates to bands such as Below the Sea, The Album Leaf, and Hammock, all of whom hold a similar devotion to beauty and aesthetics rather than form and composure. Makes These Things Alright is a wonderful addition to the band's catalogue and would be a welcome import in the states. Currently the band is working on new material, for a release which they hope to have completed by the year's end.
Sequence Pulse
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/sequencepulse.jpg
Website: Sequence Pulse (http://www.sequencepulse.com/)
Music: Sequence Pulse (http://www.sequencepulse.com/)
Sequence Pulse's sophomore album, Railroad to Heaven squeezed in at #49 in DecoyMusic's Top 50 instrumental albums of 2005 (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6776). The album is a smooth ride from beginning to end, but the most notable track is the title track, which clocks in just under thirteen minutes in length. Pulsating drums and shimmering guitars track this track of an epic voyage, steadily climbing through the clouds and ascending to a spectacular zenith. Halfway through the song the band breaks through the clouds and reaches the upper atmosphere, tempting to escape the earth's gravity and float peacefully through the galaxy. However, this isn't the projected path of the song, and it begins an ascent back towards the earth. Again the band navigates smoothly, hitting only the minimal resistance in reentry, and sticking the landing perfectly. The rest of the songs more or less conform to a pretty standard instrumental dogma. Some tend towards the heavy/loud structure, whereas others exhibit a more jazzy influence. "Flowage" adds a bit of a kick to the end of the album, disturbing an otherwise quiet listen with an emphatic finale, which draws a resounding familiarity to the likes of Mono.
Sequence Pulse is really in its element in "Railroad to Heaven," which is leagues above the rest of the tracks on the album. For a band that has shown that it can tackle lengthy compositions without tiring the listener as well as making it different enough that it doesn't draw immediate comparisons to Mono, I ask why they aren't doing more songs like "Railroad to Heaven." The rest of the album drags in comparison, working little more than to set up the beautiful artwork that is "Railroad to Heaven." I suppose we shall half to wait until the band's next album, when they either embrace the instrumental force trying to escape inside of them, or levitate back to more primitive methods.
Toe
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/toe.jpg
Website: Toe (http://www.toe.st/)
Music: Toe (http://www.toe.st/multimedia.html)
While Toe has a tendency to come off as a more generic sounding instrumental band, I'd be hard pressed to lump then together with "one of those bands that sounds like Explosions in the Sky/Mono/Mogwai/Sigur Ros/GY!BE/etc...". So, Toe must be doing something right to avoid sounding like all the familiar cliches in the genre. Admittedly, Toe plays much more with a math-rock influence than its Japanese contemporaries, yet at the same time it is much less caustic sounding than the majority of the US led math-rock movement. I'd conjecture to say that this would have to be a direct results of metal's slowly creeping influence on the math-rock genre in the US and UK (probably the two biggest spots for math-rock), whereas Japan's contribution to the metal world pales in comparison. Thus, Toe is a more restrained mathy feel, still laying down some complex sounding songs, but not berating the listener with aggressive riffs and bombastic drumming. Toe's debut album, The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety, displays an impressive ability to function within genre boundaries, as well as a general growth from its earlier ep, Songs, Ideas we Forgot. There is much that the band offers that is inspirational: the crisp drum work on "All I Understand is that I Don't Understand," the swirling melodic presentation of "I Still Do Wrong," and the shimmering momentum of "Everything Means Nothing."
Although Toe demonstrate that it has a grasp on what it wants to be doing musically, it does leave room for improvement. Notably, the band could work on filling in its sound. While the band tends to shy away from over the top aggression, it neither fills the space with added instrumentation or electronic aid. As a result, the drum and guitar approach feels a bit weak, and hopefully on Toe's next release it is polishing its sound and filling in all the gaps.
Heaven's Dust
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/heavensdust.jpg
Website: Heaven's Dust (http://www.heavensdust.net)
Music: Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/heavensdust)
If you are anything like myself, you might be wandering through all of these Japanese incremental bands and saying to yourself, "isn't it funny how different music has developed in the east and the west, yet there is very little difference between all these Japanese bands that have been presented here in comparison to their European and US counterparts." And you would be correct. Take the above four bands, move them to California, and probably Temporary Residence would be trying to sign a few of them. Throw them in Canada, and maybe Constellation Records puts out a few of their albums. There's not a lot separating them from the rest of the world, but in a lot of critics eyes, that's the beauty of the instrumental genre, that is really erases boundaries. However, I must still report that there are bands in Japan that are utilizing traditional instrumentation. Heaven's Dust is one such band, although it's not really an *instrumental* band, per se. Heaven's Dust is primarily a progressive/metal outfit that has a healthy array of instruments gracing its work. Higher than Heaven, Louder than God comes across as a twisted form of A Perfect Circle, infused with an Asian influence that sets it apart from the rest of the pack. Songs range from instrumental to linear rock to metal, all the while keeping true its claim of harnessing the traditional sound.
Heaven's Dust is a breath of fresh air for this critic. I've always wondering why so foreign bands strive to sound like an American band. I suppose it's all for the cash, but in my opinion, it's the ones that really set themselves apart that succeed the most–bands such as Sigur Ros, Under Byen, Mew, The Grand Silent System, and others. Heaven's Dust is keeping its roots firmly planted, and for that I give the band much respect.
~Jordan Volz
~~~~~~~~~~
Relative Links:
Tracking the Trends:
US Instrumental Rock :
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8023) (Part II) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8355) (Part III) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8953) (Part IV) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10507).
Experimental British Rock:
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5080) (Part II) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5512) (Part III) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6377) (Part IV) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10879).
Swedish Post Rock:
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4442).
Australian Underdogs:
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4257).
Ohio Alternative:
(Part I) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3348).
Top 50 Instrumental Albums of 2005:
(1-10) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6772) (11-20) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6773) (21-30) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6774) (31-40) (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6775) (41-50) ( http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6776).