After taking a break last year, Call And Response Records’ Koenji Pop Festival is back in 2016, trying to answer that question once more with another all-day explosion of musical colour from all across the musical spectrum.
The event also kicks off the celebrations for 20000V/二万電圧’s 5th anniversary in its new Higashi Koenji location, so come along and help us pay tribute to this legendary live spot.
March Fashion Crisis is an irregular edition in aid of Slovenian electro/hip hop artist N'toko and his mini-album Ex Shanti / Future Shanti, released last October on Call And Response. It's his first gig in Japan since the release, so instead of the usual free Friday night party, we're doing a proper live event at a proper live venue, with a bunch of ace live bands, plus regular Fashion Crisis DJs me and James Hadfield.
Place: Higashi-Koenji 20000V Date 3/5 (Sat) Time: 6:00PM - 10:30PM Cost: ¥1500 advance / ¥1800 door
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.
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.
Call And Response is a Tokyo-based independent record label and event organiser, specialising in post-punk, new wave and assorted experimental pop trash.
