This SimpleViewer gallery requires Macromedia Flash. Please open this post in your browser or get Macromedia Flash here.
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
Posts Tagged ‘New York Anime Fest’
[photo] BOOM BOOM SATELLITES @ Irving Plaza 10/10/10
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 by Kathy Chee[photo] X Japan @ Roseland Ballroom 10/10/10
Monday, October 11th, 2010 by Kathy Chee
This SimpleViewer gallery requires Macromedia Flash. Please open this post in your browser or get Macromedia Flash here.
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
[photo] Far East to East Showcase Panel @ New York Comicon 2010
Sunday, October 10th, 2010 by Kathy CheeSuperglorious hosted a panel for the Far East to East Showcase at New York Comicon. The panel introduced the artists performing at FETES and allowed attendees a chance to get to know the music and ask a few questions. When queried about their craziest fan moment, Puffy AmiYumi reminisced on a marriage contract received in the mail. Boom Boom Satellites said they enjoyed all aspects of their celebrity status as musicians and hoped to have more of their music featured in movies.
This SimpleViewer gallery requires Macromedia Flash. Please open this post in your browser or get Macromedia Flash here.
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
[Review] BOOM BOOM SATELLITES – OVER AND OVER
Friday, October 1st, 2010 by Kathy Chee
For a band that started in Europe and has toured with Moby and Garbage, Over and Over is long overdue. Their first US release greatest hits album spans over a decade of electronic beats from 1997 to 2007. The tracks are all newly remixed, retaining the original flavor with a kick of spice. That is, they’re new if you didn’t pick up the best of album 19972007 back in January. Over and Over is a repeat of the first disc on Boom Boom Satellite’s Japanese release greatest hits album from January 27, 2010.
It’s a good attempt by Sony to infuse some Japanese flavor (other than your typical Jpop and Jrock fare) into the US market. Over and Over starts out big with “Kick it Out” and “What Goes Round Comes Around.” Both tracks are full of fast beats reminiscent of The Chemical Brothers, but with BBS’s precise work mixing in and mixing out various instruments and sounds. “Looking Glass,” a 1 minute ambient noise interlude, could easily have been replaced by something meatier. But the meat does come immediately after.
“Pill” is catchy, dirty and dark like your best NIN club track from the Downward Spiral. The Portishead-esque “Light My Fire” segue ways the album into a more down tempo kind of listening pleasure. And this is where BBS really shines, mixing in different vocal tracks, playing with sounds, noise and dragging it out across a downbeat. It leaves you swaying and itching to move while knowing the next track may just drag out the auditory joy even longer.
It’s a shame that Sony didn’t just release 19972007 in the US. The second disc rounds out the tracklist from the first disc. Their first single, “Push Eject,” and their Dark Knight feature, “Scatterin’ Monkey,” are both on the second disc of 19972007. For now, US audiences will just have to spin this CD Over and Over.
Official Website – http://www.bbs-net.comJoin purple SKY & Samurai Beat Radio at New York Comicon 2010
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010 by Kathy CheePitching Japanese Music to American Media – A Discussion Panel at New York Comicon 2010
Join purple SKY magazine and Samurai Beat Radio at New York Comicon on Saturday, October 9th for our panel on pitching Japanese music to traditional American media such as radio and newspaper. Learn how to make a proper introduction to editors. Listen in as we discuss the differences between journalism and promotion, and pick up tips on how to work with Japanese labels.
When: Saturday, October 9th from 4pm to 5pm
Where: Room 1E13 (Jacob Javits Center)
[review] Gelatine: Gie Ji Gaii
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 by Victoria Goldenberg
Sometimes you have to see musicians live to get them. I had previewed the bands playing the Far East to East Showcase at Webster Hall prior to the event on Sept. 27 , and Gelatine didn’t grip me instantly. My first impression, based off performance videos of singer Seiko shrieking and marching around in a diaper, was that the New York-based Japanese band belonged squarely to the subset of wacky Japanese punk rock, where the hyper music is matched by the band members’ eccentric stage presence. Though I enjoy several such bands, Gelatine didn’t strike me as adding anything new or distinctive to the formula.
That impression changed when I saw the band live. Entering The Studio after attending AKB48’s glossy and highly packed pop concert, I was struck by the dim lighting and intimate feel of the tiny bar in Webster Hall—and how well opener Gelatine matched them. I wasn’t wrong about the band’s strangeness. A bondage-clad Seiko shrieked, stomped and headbanged to the wild music, guitarist Jun delivered his MCs in a novel metal growl, and keyboardist Waiko wore a schoolgirl uniform. But their music and performance had a distinctive dark, deranged mood suited to an underground club show.
Gie Ji Gaii is Gelatine’s first album, released nine years into the band’s lifetime, and it recreates the live experience admirably. The raw production is easy on the ears and makes me feel like I’m back in The Studio on Sept. 27. Even without the visual element, Gelatine’s murky punk has a prominent gloomy undertone that adds dimension to their music and anchors their hyperactivity, a refreshing change of pace from peers content to be superlatively happy. “Let’s Go Gelatine” sounds chaotic and agitated for a band theme song. The grungy, stop-start “‘Cause My Mom Said So” sounds manic, angry, evil, disturbed, and mischievous–all at once.
People often go to concerts because they’re fans of the performers’ recorded music, but Gelatine is one band for which the opposite works better. See them live first, then check out the CD. You’ll understand their music better that way.
[interview] Swinging Popsicle Swings into New York
Friday, October 16th, 2009 by Victoria Goldenberg
Swinging Popsicle makes an unlikely link between indie music and anime/video game fandom. While its laid-back retro rock isn’t the typical soundtrack for animated entertainment, the unassuming trio has played at conventions in North America and composed the music for the well-regarded 2009 PC game Sumaga/Star Mine Girl, introducing their 12-year catalogue to a new audience. But singer Fujishima Mineko, bassist Hirata Hironobu and guitarist Shimada Osamu make indie pop with broad appeal: It’s cheerful, melodious and driven by soulful yet understated vocals. As Hirata puts it, “everyone from kids who like to watch anime to older generations can enjoy our music.” On Sept. 27, they performed their second New York City gig at The Studio at Webster Hall as part of the Far East to East Showcase, a concert connected to New York Anime Festival.
The cold weather caught Swinging Popsicle off guard this time. When they played a solo show at the Knitting Factory in 2007, it was on a balmy May night. Shimada soon regretted wearing short sleeves in an unusually biting September.
Sumaga’s manufacturer organized Swinging Popsicle’s appearance at NYAF. For Hirata, it was a chance to return to a city whose talented people inspire him. Or, as Fujishima describes New York: “It’s cool.” (more…)
[live report] Far East to East Showcase (Gelatine, Echostream, Swinging Popsicle, Kokusyoku Sumire)
Monday, October 5th, 2009 by Victoria Goldenberg
When pop group AKB48 ran across the stage waving at their fans during their debut American concert, the members were in perfect sync. When Fujishima Mineko of Swinging Popsicle ran across the stage high-fiving the audience at the Far East to East Showcase, she nearly hit her head on a speaker.
The New York Anime Festival closed with two polar opposite Japanese concerts at Webster Hall on Sept. 27. Pop fans could enjoy AKB48’s slick choreography and endearing adorableness. But two flights down at The Studio, the music was totally underground. The second annual Showcase, presented by Superglorious and NYAF, covered punk, ambient, indie pop and cabaret in four distinctive bands. It was an intimate affair all about the originality, raw energy and spontaneity that make small club gigs so appealing.
Gelatine conveyed a simultaneously dark and comical mood through the two-prong thrust of its frenetic punk music and menacing stage presence. This New York City band formed in 2001 to play both original music and that of singer Seiko’s old band, 10Yen Ana-kinoko. Its first record, the murky Gie Ji Gaii, finally came out this year. Gelatine’s chief draw is Seiko, who has the confidence and twisted humor to perform in a diaper and act like nothing’s strange about it. This time she wore a bra and bondage leash, which seemed almost tame in comparison. Though leashed, Seiko behaved more like id unfettered: swinging around from the mic stand, stomping in place, and moving from cute shrieks to aggressive snarls within seconds. The rest of the band was ready to meet Seiko at every capricious turn, and they complemented her bizarreness with their own. Guitarist Takeshita Jun literally growled his MCs about glamorous topics like the sweat in his eyes. Rock ‘n’ roll, indeed.
(more…)
[press release] Swinging Popsicle @ NYAF – Far East To East Showcase
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 by Kathy Chee
Swinging Popsicle to perform at New York Anime festival!
Info at:
http://www.superglorious.com
http://www.mediumatlarge.net/2009/08/far-east-to-east-showcast-at-nyaf.html
Last year, the New York Anime Festival and our friends Karaterice launched the Far East To East Showcase at The Knitting Factory. It was a celebration of indie, punk, rock, and pop both from Japan and NYC. This year, NYAF and Karaterice — now with the super name Superglorious — are bringing FETES back, and bringing it into the iconic Webster Hall.
From Japan, FETES hosts Kokusyoku Sumire and Swinging Popsicle, and from NYC, FETES features Echostream and Gelatine. (Bios are available at nyanimefestival.com.) Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 the day of the show and available now at www.ticketweb.com and www.websterhall.com. The doors open at 5:30 PM, and the show starts at 6:30 PM on September 27. FETES is open to audiences of all ages.
Kokusyoku Sumire, Swinging Popsicle, Echostream, and Gelatine are four amazing bands — bands selected not because of their involvement in anime, but selected because of the intensity and integrity music.
For more on the Far East To East Showcase, Superglorious will hold a FETES Press Panel on Saturday, September 26 at the New York Anime Festival. Superglorious will also maintain a booth at NYAF all weekend long where various FETES artists will appear.
Superglorious Official website – http://www.superglorious.com/
JapanFiles Official website – http://www.japanfiles.com/
Swinging Popsicle Official website – http://www.swinging-popsicle.com/