NEW RELEASE: N'toko, "Fight Like a Girl" (CAR-83)

N'toko: Fight Like a Girl (CAR-83)

1. Time Machines

2. Fight Like a Girl

3. Smash

4. Snob (Featuring Volatile)

5. Mass Appeal

To coincide with his return to Japan for the summer, Slovenian electro-hip hop musician N'toko has a new EP available for free download via Call And Response Records, featuring five new songs recorded over the past six months. The Fight Like a Girl EP evolved out of a series of experiments with new production ideas and the result is a work with a more laid-back sense of exploration and adventure, smearing his characteristic synth-based sound across the songs like Nutella over toast one moment, forcing it through brutally tight bottlenecks the next. As with most of N'toko's English-language work, the lyrics duck and weave, spinning through a chicane of stream-of-consciousness wordplay, sci-fi imagery and surreal collages of seemingly random images, all combined with a sense of wit and playful disregard for convention.

All music by N'toko, except "Snob" by Volatile. All vocal recording, mix and mastering by Igor Vuk, except "Snob" mixed by Volatile. Released by Call and Response Records.

Download the entire EP via Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/?pk4c1wkgtbd6c1x

N'toko
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ntokomc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ntokomc

Blog: http://ntokomc.blogspot.com

Praha Depart live in Canada videos

As followers of this blog will no doubt know, Praha Depart were in Canada last month, and while they were there Mr. Rob Perry was filming them in his capacity as the tour's official cameraman. Here are the two Praha Depart clips, and you can check out his videos of the other bands -- Group Inou, Charan Po Rantan and Zazen Boys -- on the NMFT Vimeo page.


Sweet Wave

Praha Depart - Sweet Wave [Toronto - 2012.05.18] from Rob Perry on Vimeo.

Bird Strike

Praha Depart - Bird Strike [Toronto - 2012.05.19] from Rob Perry on Vimeo.

Busy July at CAR Records

The Kyushu x Nagoya Electric Pop Festival was a blast. Huge crowds on both days and some stunning performances. I'm not going to pick out best or favourite bands because it's really unfair on everyone else who was awesome as well, but I will say a special well done to Kobayashi Dorori, Hakuchi, Chainsaw TV and Odd Eyes, who made a great impression on a lot of first-time audience.

The rest of this month's a bit quiet, but there are a couple of nice shows with CAR people involved, and then things get very exciting again in July, so here's a quick rundown.


Date: June 17th (Sun)

Place: Shibuya Lush & Home

Event: N'toko live, along with Uhnellys, Yolz in the Sky, The Girl and more.

Date: June 30th (Sat)

Place: Koenji Amp Cafe

Event: Chicks Riot party, with a DJ turn by Ian Martin.

Date: July 6th (Fri)
Place: Koenji One (Tokyo)
Event: Fashion Crisis, with live performances from Kaki (from Slovenia) and Canopies & Drapes and DJs N'toko (also from Slovenia), Ian Martin and James Hadfield.

Date: July 6th (Fri)

Place: Kobe Helluva Lounge

Event: Praha Depart play live with Kobe's Hunting Pigeons.

Date: July 7th (Sat)

Place: Amerikamura Ikoiko (Osaka)

Event: Boys and Girls Summer Party, a festival put on by good friends Big Jugs Experience, with CAR artists N'toko and Praha Depart joining Boys of Hong Kong, NONONO, Riot Dance Party, Mana Hardcore (Tokyo), Hunting Pigeons, and The Creams.

Date: July 13th (Fri, midnight)

Place: Koenji DOM Studio (Tokyo)

Event: Telephone Club, with live performances by N'toko, Jebiotto! and more, and DJs from the Youth is Wasted team.

Date: July 14th (Sat, midnight)

Place: Shibuya Echo (Tokyo)

Event: N'toko live.

Date: July 16th (Mon, holiday)

Place: Higashi-Koenji UFO Club (Tokyo)

Event: Electricity in Our Homes (from UK) with Anisakis, She Talks Silence and Jesse Ruins, with DJs Gikyo Nakamura and Ian Martin.

Date: July 20th (Fri)

Place: Yakuin Utero (Fukuoka)

Event: Telephone Club Fukuoka, with live acts N'toko, Rim (a tribute band to unsung CAR legends Mir) and more, and DJs Emix and Ian Martin.

Date: July 21st (Sat)

Place: Kokura UN (Kitakyushu)

Event: Live acts N'toko, Jebiotto! and more.

Date: July 22nd (Sun)

Place: Kumamoto Navaro

Event: Live acts N'toko, Jebiotto! and more.

I'll have more info up as the events get closer and more details are confirmed.

Fashion Crisis (May 2012)

This month's Fashion Crisis gets the month off to a weird start. Laptop-wielding geek-genius Uuuco.i supplies live sonic discombobulations, and we've got guest DJ sets from the impressively bearded Evil Penguin and Fidel Villeneuve, who was clean-shaven the last time we checked. Expect the usual combination of Balkan post-punk, Indo-psych, proto Afro-disco and garage skiffle. Forward!

Place: Koenji One
Date: June 1 (Fri)
Time: 8:00pm-last train
Cost: FREE
Live:
- Uuuco.i (U + Uco)
DJs:
- Evil Penguin
- Fidel Villeneuve
- Ian Martin (Call And Response)
- James Hadfield (Time Out Tokyo)