Tag: shoegaze

japanese music you should be listening to – part 4

Plasticzooms – Personal Communication
wearing an einstürzende neubauten and spacemen 3 shirt in your music video is a great way to have me instantly like you. Plasticzooms are a japanese postpunk band currently living in Berlin.

Scanch – うそつき天国 (Liar Heaven)
Hard rock and glam rock mainstays since 1982, Scanch is fronted by Rolly Teranishi, (seriously watch that link) a major celebrity now doing TV and Film appearances as well as anime voice acting. He’s basically Japan’s Marc Bolan/David Bowie/Mick Jagger/Rip Taylor rolled up in one. He played Frank n Furter in japanese productions of The Rocky Horror Show and is known to cult movie audiences as the psycho bowling alley serial killer in Sion Sono‘s horror film “Suicide Circle“. I have to remember which Scanch video it was where the keyboard player caught on fire from an accidental flash pot explosion but they kept the camera rolling anyway.

Ningen Isu – Farewell to the World
Their name translates as “The Human Chair”, the name of a creepy short story from Japan’s literary master of horror Edogawa Rampo, the band started in 1987 and are masters of their brand of intellectual heavy metal, and big fans of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson and KISS. I also speculate they may have been the inspiration for the popular heavy metal comedy manga “Detroit Metal City“.

Histujibungaku – Addiction
major label alt-rock trio from Tokyo, founded by the singer when she was in junior high school. Their name translates as “Sheep Literature”.

japanese music you should be listening to – a prelude (updated jan 2025)

Sheena Ringo – tsumiki-asobi (playing with blocks)
Japan’s avant-pop, psychedelic-jazz uber-diva Sheena Ringo started out in the 90s as a grunge rock firebrand during Japan’s indie rock boom era. For more superb 90s alt-rock check her first 2 albums Muzai Moritorium and Shouso Strip. For an update on her latest music see my blog post here.

Perfume – Edge (triangle mix) Live 2020
Its believed that Perfume are not actually just 3 girls from Hiroshima but in fact 3 girls time traveling from the future to show us how pop music will be done 100 years from now. Not just Japan’s biggest technopop idol band for the past 20 years but a collaboration between Shibuya-kei era band Capsule‘s songwriter and producer Yatsutaka Nakata, the group themselves, their high tech choregrapher Mikiko and a vast army of lighting, video, animation and stage mechanical technicians. The end result is a string of lush and catchy albums and live shows that would surpass even Pink Floyd’s fever dreams.

Expand to full-screen for best effect!

NiNa – Happy Tomorrow
Late 1990s supergroup consisting of Kate Pierson (B52s), Yuki (Judy & Mary), Mick Karn (Japan) and the founding members of Plastics. They made just one album together and its essential listening. Infectious soaring pop!

bothneco – choco-mint flavor
Vocaloid dreampop at its absolute dreamiest from a mysterious anonymous composer known only as bothneco. No information anywhere about who they are, but a playlist of wonderful songs are up on youtube.