N'toko "Fashion is Danger" Japan Tour (March 2011)

Those with memories that stretch all the back to last autumn might recall the release of Slovenian electro hip hop artist N'toko's excellent Ex Shanti / Future Shanti mini-album on Call And Response in October. We had to dash to get it out in time for his European tour and before the release of N'toko's Slovenian language album Parada Ljubezni, which came out the following month and caused a bit of a stir in the music scene over there.

Anyway, while things on the Japan front have been quiet of late, Ex Shanti / Future Shanti was voted 4th in Slovenian alternative radio station Radio Student's Best of 2010 (with Parada Ljubezni at No.1 making it two N'toko albums in that year's Top Five), as well as being chosen as one of International Hip Hop Market's best of the year.

With all the European and domestic commitments now behind him, however, N'toko is finally ready to take on Japan with a long overdue release party and tour.


Joining N'toko for the Kyushu dates will be Tokyo jazz/hip hop/psychedelic/whatever duo Uhnellys, whose vocalist Kim recorded the track Fashion Crisis with N'toko.

N'toko: Fashion Crisis by callandresponse

The song is named after the monthly party that Call And Response organises with journalist James Hadfield, and as a play on that name and this utterly awesome song by N'toko lookalike Bret McKenzie and Flight of the Conchords, we decided to christen the tour Fashion is Danger.

Anyway, the dates and info:

March 5th @ Tokyo, Higashi-Koenji 20000V
18:00 Open/Start
¥1800 advance / ¥2000 door
Live: N'toko / Quick Explosion Scratch Hurricanes / Takashi Nakayama with LABSiCK Man-Machine ReMiX / Fallopian Disco Force / Steiner
DJs: James Hadfield / Ian Martin

March 9th @ Nagoya KD Japon
19:00 Open / 19:30 Start
¥1500 advance / ¥2000 door
Live: N'toko / ZONZONO / Yuki Kaneko x Juzo / 「Manner Off」 "Unsilence" sound performance

March 13th @ Osaka Sengoku Daitoryo
17:30 Open / 18:00 Start
¥1500 advance / ¥2000 door
Live: N’toko / Acid Peacock / Rough Chord Rudies / Red Dolphins / Unchained Punk / Bashauma

March 19th @ Fukuoka, Yakuin UTERO
18:00 Open/Start
¥2000
Live: N'toko / Uhnellys / Hyacca / bctnx / men's relaxations / Fake doll Nott (electrify set) / Perchume ☆ Mix
DJs: Ian Martin / Miyagawa Electric 808

March 20th @ Kumamoto Navaro
20:00 Open / 20:30 Start
¥1500yen
Live: N'toko / MacArthur A Contti/ Uhnellys / 101nZ / Fuckin'Shits + more
DJs: Esuda / Noizima/ Ito (ex. Jabberwocky)

The Tokyo and Fukuoka shows are both Fashion Crisis events, so I'll be posting individual info about them in the lead-up to the gigs. Also, yes, Perchume is a Fukuoka-based Perfume tribute act. And no, I have no excuse.

Fashion Crisis (Februrary 2011)

Fashion Crisis' February edition is today, with a live double header featuring the cucumber-cool no wave stylings of Miila And The Geeks as they warm up for this year's SXSW and the stream-of-consciousness mutant lounge blues of Issei Kuramoto. This month's special guest DJ will be indie sweetheart Yuppa of Hazel Nuts Chocolate (HNC), Love And Hates, and Twee Grrrls Club fame.

Place: Koenji Bar One
Date 2/4 (Fri)
Time: 8:00PM - Late
Cost: FREE

Live:
- Miila & The Geeks
- Issei Kuramoto

DJs:
- Yuppa (Hazel Nuts Chocolate/HNC & Love And Hates)
- James Hadfield
- Ian Martin

Telephone Club (January 22nd 2011)

Call And Response's first live showcase of the year, rocking those screechy, distortion-loving no wave sounds. It's damn good stuff, but then I would say that.

Place: Koenji Penguin House
Date: 1/22 (Sat)
Time: 7:00PM Open / 7:30PM Start
Tickets: 1800yen + drink (adv) / 2000yen + drink (door)

LIVE:
- otori - Indecently young and talented post-punk/no wave shrieksters.
- Mir - Synth-based merchants of new wave bleakness.
- tacobonds - Leading lights of stop-start Tokyo avant-power-prog.
- Uruseeyo - Poetic minor chord distortion addicts.
- Saba - Another of Tokyo's youngest and most virile noisemeisters.

Fashion Crisis (December 2010)

The last Fashion Crisis of 2010 with this month's guest DJ the incomparable Clay Jarvis, and an acoustic live performance by candy-punk duo Puffyshoes.

Place: Koenji Bar One
Date: 12/4 (Sat)
Time: 7:00p.m.~11:00p.m.
Cost: FREE

LIVE
- Puffyshoes (acoustic set): Honey-sweet, lo-fi 60s girl group melodies in a stripped down, acoustic form.

DJs
- Clay Jarvis (Teenage Desires/Vee Dee)
- James Hadfield (Metropolis)
- Ian Martin (Call And Response Records)

Telephone Club in Fukuoka (November 20th 2010)

A quick note on tomorrow's Telephone Club event in Fukuoka, just to say there are six fantastic bands, including several CAR favourites and that anyone in town on that day should definitely make it down.

Place: Yakuin Utero
Date: November 20th (Sat)
Time: 6:30/7:00
Cost: 1800yen + drink

Bands:
- Nontroppo
- Hyacca
- MacManaman
- Zibanchinka (from Kagoshima)
- The Mornings (from Tokyo)
- Cynical Smile is Your Favorite (from Kumamoto)

DJs:
- DRGN
- Ian Martin (Call And Response Records)

NEW RELEASE: "Ex Shanti / Future Shanti" by N'toko

Call And Response released the new English-language album by Slovenian rapper N'toko this Wednesday (October 6th). Writing about the album on his blog, N'toko describes his aim to create:

"...music that draws from electropop, Bollywood, and French house while keeping the darker, more aggressive and underground attitude of old school hiphop (I'm talking about guys like Public Enemy, Erik B and Rakim), EBM, industrial, goth."

Ex Shanti / Future Shanti (CAR-88)
1. Superhuman
2. Astroboy and Catwoman
3. Masterplan Intro
4. Masterplan
5. Posing
6. Pillow Fight
7. Fashion Crisis
8. Ex Shanti / Future Shanti
9. Masterplan (BeatMyth Remix)



The result is a sometimes dark, always playful, mini-album that fuses hip hop with 1980s electro and technopop sounds, and a post-punk attitude.

Partly recorded in Japan during his stay in the country through late 2009 and early 2010, Ex Shanti / Future Shanti also features the track Fashion Crisis, named after the Call And Response event, and recorded with guest vocals by Kim from Uhnellys.


N'toko is on tour in Europe at the moment, and will be touring Japan starting on March 5th next year.

Available at:
Bridge Inc.
Tower Records
HMV
Amazon

Fashion Crisis (October 2010)

The next monthly Fashion Crisis at Koenji Bar One is this Saturday. With regular DJ James Hadfield off touring Europe's fashion capitals, taking his savoir faire in search of the finest haute couture, and no doubt sampling cordon bleu, displaying sangfroid, and dabbling in je ne sais quoi (or else just getting wet somewhere in England), there will be a fresh roster of guest DJs joining me for your enjoyment.

Place: Koenji Bar One
Date: October 2nd (Sat)
Time: 7:00pm~11:00pm
Cost: FREE

DJs:

- Lotus: not only the geek-chic fanzine goddess of Weekend Never Dies fame, but also an October 2nd Birthday Girl.

- Wizz Jones: after his awe inspiring set at September's event, there was no choice but to invite him back for a reprise.

- Evil Penguin: the mysterious, evil moustachioed Tasmanian deck wizard from Super Deluxe's Test Tone events promises a selection of deep, dark new wave.

- Ian Martin: fresh from scandalising the music world in the pages of the Japanese press, I'll be back to my old self, playing the usual mix of David Bowie, various stuff, David Bowie, and more Bowie.