Tag: deep-dives
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Mami Yamase: A Retrospective Look Into the Idol that Went From Cute to Punk
“Holding hands with trembling little fingers, searching for hidden signs, holding onto unforgettable memories” — lyrics from “Go! (ゴォ！)” by Yamase Mami. The magnificent ’80s! A decade where Japanese music reached a new peak compared to previous decades, with the influence from iconic and important figures as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Masataka Matsutoya and many more,…
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THE SUSUMU HIRASAWA FILES VOL.3- BEFORE THE FREEZE
The year is 1984, and the world is moving incredibly fast. Everyone is carrying a Walkman, listening to new music and AOR, and adjusting their eyes to the bright neon lights that weren’t on these streets before, or at least not in this density. Young people frequent clubs, go on late-night drives in stylish cars,…
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bed: Japan’s Most Revolutionary Band is About to Turn Tokyo Music Upside-Down
Shibuya, 2:30am. You are at a party in Dogenzaka’s clubasia with 600 other people. The night so far has provided an eclectic mix of EDM DJs, rappers, and a psychedelic rock band. You follow the crowd to the main hall. The techno DJ is turned down. You hear a few electric sparks, then the sound…
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All About Chou-Chou Merged Syrups
“True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written, in writing what deserves to be read, and in so living as to make the world happier and better for our living in it.” With these words, Pliny the Elder conveys a sentiment that holds a very intense, very concise flame to it. With Chou-Chou…
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Love, Zombies and Rock ‘n Roll: Revisiting Guitar Wolf’s Wild Zero (1999)
“Love has no borders, nationalities or genders! DO ITTTTT!” Every great band needs a movie to immortalise their exploits on the silver screen. The Beatles have A Hard Day’s Night, the Spice Girls have Spice World, and garage punk power trio Guitar Wolf have 1999’s sci-fi shlock horror masterpiece Wild Zero. Guitar Wolf certainly need…
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FILM: POST-APOCALYPTIC PUNK: A look at Gakuryū Ishii’s Burst City (1982)
“The city is our ally and we are its warriors. Reject the darkness now and explode with the city!” If I ever owned a dive bar, the film Burst City is what would be constantly playing on the TV at any given moment. Released in 1982 and directed by Gakuryū Ishii (formerly Sogo Ishii), Burst…
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BRANCHING DIVE: Ai Kamano
JP ALT presents its first branching dive— An analytical glimpse and introduction to Ai Kamano of Haisuinonasa. Detailing her influences, her extended world of projects, and all areas of art that can be tied into and interwoven with her vision. When we listen to ‘Logos’ by Haisuinonasa, through the barrage of cryptic guitar repetitions, mathematically…
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In search of lost tunes: Nakasi, the flowing Soul of the East Asian Underground
From Shinjuku to Taipei, Nakasi was the raw, analog heartbeat of the East Asian working class. It was ‘Early Taiwanese Jazz’ that breathed with the working class, a “rustic and urban-rooty” soul fighting its final battle against the silent-roar of the digital age. Shōwa-era Tokyo— a concrete jungle where neon lights intertwined. Before electronic perception…
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Tokyo Flashback: Remembering P.S.F. Records
In the early ‘80s, Hideo Ikeezumi (1949-2017), at this point a bulk buyer for a large record store chain, became increasingly frustrated with the limited and unadventurous selection found in most Japanese shops, and decided to open his own. At Modern Music in Tokyo, Ikeezumi specialized in carrying free jazz, psychedelic rock, avant garde and…
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THE SUSUMU HIRASAWA FILES #2:THE P-MODEL DAYS
New Year’s Day 1979, Hirasawa family house in Kameari, Tokyo. The members of freshly dead Mandrake and Susumu’s brother, Yuichi, sat around and discussed the band’s future. Progressive rock wasn’t cutting it anymore for Mandrake, and the growing pains connected to the genre’s decline in Japan propelled them to change their artistic direction. At the…