Wednesday 18 May 2011

Praha Depart & N'toko in Europe (Sept. 2011 updated)

This coming autumn, two of Call And Response Records' favourite acts will be taking on Europe with a three-week joint tour from Oct 21st to Nov 11th. Anyone interested in booking, please get in contact with Call And Response on carrecords [at] gmail [dot] com. For information and links, please see below:

Praha Depart:
Tokyo-based alternative/postpunk band Praha Depart ("Prague Department Store") formed in 2004 around guitarist Tsukasa and vocalist Mai, with drummer Junpei completing the lineup one year later. Starting out bassless, Mai eventually added bass guitar to her vocal duties, as the band honed their sound through non-stop gigging around Tokyo, in the process gaining a reputation as one of the city's hardest-working bands.

Described by The Japan Times newspaper as "irrepressibly danceable gypsy punk", Praha Depart made their first venture overseas in March 2011 with a U.S. East Coast tour, while solidifying their position in the domestic music scene where their swirling, almost psychedelic postpunk grooves have seen them playing alongside Japanese underground legends like DMBQ, performing together with Damo Suzuki, and sending local audiences into a frenzy at packed Tokyo live venues.


Praha Depart are eager to take their sound overseas and bring the same unstoppable energy to audiences the world over.

Praha Depart: Dot

Praha Depart on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/prahadepart


N'toko:
N'toko is an experimental hiphop artist from Slovenia. He first made a name for himself as frontman of a local funk/alternative/hiphop collective called Moveknowledgement. He became well known for his technical skills and speed as a rapper, winning two national freestyle championships in a row. Competitions scored him his first record deal as a solo artist, the result being his albums 'Cesarjeva nova podoba' and 'Dobrodelni koncert ob koncu sveta.' N'toko also released two EPs (Where's Waldo and Elixiryproslam). These records gained cult status among underground hiphop fans and alternative music lovers for their open aproach to rap and spoken word, blending influences from rock, free-jazz, electro, noise and psychedelia to name a few. At the same time, N'toko performed anywhere he could, from poetry slams to impro-sessions and drum n' bass parties, no longer just rapping, but also using his voice as an effect-processed instrument, playing other instruments and often screaming his brains out.

He continues his work with Moveknowledgement, which has morphed into an experimental dub, rock group and went on to record a very original album entitled 'Listen to Nebukadnezar' and its recently released follow-up 'Pump Down!!!'. He is currently on the move between Slovenia and Tokyo, doing solo concerts, playing with Moveknowledgement, a duo with drummer Seijiro Murayama, and DJ-ing in clubs. He firmly believes that it's OK to do anything in music and there should be no difference between musical genres, scenes or cultures.



In the past year, N'toko has been particularly prolific, releasing two albums, both of which featured in Slovenian alternative radio's top ten of 2010, including the English language Ex-Shanti / Future Shanti, on Tokyo label Call And Response Records. He is currently preparing for the release of a new Moveknowledgement album this summer.



N'toko on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ntoko

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Kyushu Pop Festival 2011

Hyacca

After the success of last year's Kyushu Pop Festival, Call And Response Records is very happy to present another evening of mentai-rock, kurobuta-punk and kabosu-pop, now with added basashi-disco.

All bands at this event are either travelling down from Kyushu for the show (the event features bands from Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima), or they are Tokyo-based bands with key members hailing from Kyushu.

Date: May 21st (Sat)
Place: Shinjuku Motion
Time: 16:00-23:00Cost: 2000 adv/2300 door

Zibanchinka

Bands:

Zibanchinka (Kagoshima)
- Avant-garde garage-punk from the dark side of your imagination: video

Hyacca (Fukuoka)
- Dance-oriented post-punk/alternative. Metal bees attacking your brain: video

MacManaman (Fukuoka)
- Explosive post-rock instrumental quartet:video

cynicalsmileisyourfavorite (Kumamoto)
- Disco-hardcore scream freaks: video

bctnx (Fukuoka)
- Fukuoka's newest indie/alternative avant-pop stars: video

She Talks Silence
- Lo-fi indie fuzz-lullabies: video

Dotama-Kachi-World
- Picopico new wave techno-punks: video

Jebiotto
- New wave synth-punk: video

Fallopian Disco Force
- Improvisational avant-disco duo: video (dating from group's previous days as a trio)


Monday 16 May 2011

Happy Birthday James!

James Hadfield, my longstanding partner in the Koenji Fashion Crisis event, had his birthday party today, and I spun a few tunes. Here's my best recollection of the set I played. Crowd pleasers one and all:

Happy Birthday to Me - Puffyshoes
Gloria - Miguel Angel & Los Sharps
Why Don't You Smile Now - The Downliners Sect
Neon Rainbow - The Box Tops
Yellow Rainbow - The Move
Sunshine Superman - Donovan
Itchycoo Park - The Small Faces
Evil Hoodoo - The Seeds
Laissez Tomber Les Filles - France Gall
Comment Le Revoir - Chantal Goya
Well Respected Man - The Kinks
After the Lights Go Out - The Walker Brothers
The Seventh Seal - Scott Walker
Jesus Christ - Big Star
Rock'n'Roll Suicide - David Bowie

Sunday 8 May 2011

NEW RELEASE: "Hatsubai Chushi" by Zibanchinka

Call And Response's latest release, the debut album by Kagoshima garage/postpunk quartet Zibanchinka, is now available in a limited release. Currently it can be bought from Enban in Koenji, and I'll be introducing it to other independent outlets over the next few weeks. A wider release will follow as soon as possible, but in the wake of the March 11th earthquake, the distributor is having an extended attack of jitters over a band name that means "subsidence".


The album is called "Hatsubai Chushi" ("Stop Sale") and features 15 tracks for 1,800 yen (plus tax). I'll post new details of stores where the CD is available as they come, and for those unable to get hold of it via Enban or its web site, here's the song "Watashi no Nakami wa Almond" to whet your appetite:

Zibanchinka: Watashi no Nakami wa Almond by callandresponse

And here's the song being performed live at a Call And Response event in Tokyo a couple of years ago:



Enjoy!

Saturday 7 May 2011

May 6th Fashion Crisis DJ set lists

From what I can remember, here are the set lists for the three DJ sets I played at Fashion Crisis last night. The first one had a lot of pretty heavy Japanese underground noise punk, the second was more 80s electro, and the third was a bit more 60s and 70s influenced.

1st set:
Binocular Depth Inversion 1 - Squimaoto
Golden Ball - Stereolab
Ikkyokume - Nisennenmondai
3.2.1.0! Explosion - Ni-Hao!
Hikaru Mirai - Limited Express (Has Gone?)
Sess - Artless Note
Mad Cheergirl - The Mornings

2nd Set:
Coco Pino - DAF
Get Innocuous - LCD Soundsystem
The Robots - Kraftwerk
Los Ninos Del Parque - Liaisons Dangereuses
Ana - Videosex
Odbrana - Idoli
One After 909 - Laibach

3rd Set:
All Along the Watchtower - XTC
Sono Ki ni Sasenaide - Candies
Anata ni Muchuu - Puffyshoes
Nagisa no Hors d'Ĺ“uvre - Zibanchinka
Yummy Yummy Yummy - 1910 Fruitgum Company
(I've got) Levitation - The 13th Floor Elevators
Dead Finks Don't Talk - Brian Eno
Mannequin - Mir
I Want More - Can

Thursday 5 May 2011

"May The Fourth Be With You" set list:

Here's my SF-themed set list from last night's Star wars party at Shibuya Echo. Thanks to the lovely people who came along, and yeah, the ELO track was for you, Miha and Matt.

Video Trailer Mix - Sigue Sigue Sputnik
starship.6 - Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
The Force - The Droids
Fred Vom Jupiter - Andreas Dorau
Cosmic Surfin' - Yellow Magic Orchestra
Gingakei Made Tonde Yuke - Candies
Voices Green and Purple - The Bees
I Told Her on Alderaan - Neon Neon
Twlight - Electric Light Orchestra
Twilight - The Raveonettes
I Come from Another Planet, Baby - Julian Cope
Science Friction - XTC
Spooks in Space - Aural Exciters

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Fashion Crisis (May 2011)

May Fashion Crisis will be our last show with electro-hip-hop MC N'toko for a while, since he returns to Slovenia at the end of the month. However, as a send-off from the Fashion Crisis crowd, it looks like turning into a bit of a Balkan special, with fellow Slovene electropop idol Kaki making her live debut, and the usual DJ culprits no doubt digging further into the depths of Yugoslavian 80s new wave.

Place: Koenji One
Date: May 6th
Time: 8:00pm-last train
Cost: FREE

Live:
- N'toko
- Kaki

DJs:
- James Hadfield (Time Out Tokyo)
- Ian Martin (Call And Response Records)
- Rally (The Mornings)