Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 by Victoria Goldenberg
Dance music usually evokes an image of communality—people shaking and grinding in a club to a recognizable pop song, possibly remixed. Miho Hatori’s take with her band New Optimism is about dance as an individual, cathartic expression. Alternately swaying gracefully and thrusting her fists to surreal music with tribal-sounding rhythms, the ex-Cibo Matto singer turned the personal into performance at New York City’s Santos Party House on Oct. 16. Even when audience members joined Hatori onstage at her request, each displayed an idiosyncratic dance style instead of moshing collectively. (Costumed musician-designer Bad Brilliance stole the show, headbanging with the giant, yellow balloon atop his outfit.)
Hatori is a fascinating person—creative, opinionated, quirky and direct. She’s also self-aware and considers her New York City residence a good match for her personality. I began the interview by asking how she felt about performing later that night, a throwaway question that usually nets a canned response about being excited but works well as a lead-in. Hatori repeated the question with a chuckle, shrugged and said casually, “I don’t know.”
She grew up in Tokyo, where her early experiences with music included a DJ gig and working at a record store. She moved to New York City in 1993 and got involved with its thriving local music scene. She met Yuka Honda and formed the legendary duo Cibo Matto, a satellite band for Japan’s burgeoning pastiche music scene, Shibuya-kei. Their music combined hip-hop, bossa nova, swing and more with food-fixated lyrics, such as those of 1995 single “Know Your Chicken.” (more…)
Tags: bad brilliance, barack obama, bossa nova, brazilian girls, cibo matto, dance, ecdysis, food, hip-hop, interview, jesse murphy, know your chicken, live report, miho hatori, new optimism, new still life, New York City, one of one, santos party house, shibuya-kei, swing, the killing of a chinese cookie, Tokyo, victoria goldenberg, yuka honda
Posted in Electronic, interview, pop | 6 Comments »
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…)
Tags: 2ch, 2channel, 32º Convención de Juegos de Mesa y Comics, Add new tag, amuro namie, anime, B'z, beatles, beatles: rock band, CD, cosplay, devilman, digital download, english, Far East To East Showcase, flavour of sound, fujishima mineko, german, hamasaki ayumi, hirata hironobu, independent label, interview, japanfiles, knitting factory, korea, l.a.m.f., l.a.m.f. ii, like a mineko fujishima, loud cut, madonna, major label, matsui hideki, melt banana, mexico, new york, New York Anime Fest, New York Anime Festival, New York City, rolling stones, shimada osamu, Sony, star mine girl, sumaga, Swinging Popsicle, taru, the studio, utada hikaru, victoria goldenberg, video games, visual kei, Webster Hall, wham
Posted in Photo, interview, pop, rock | 1 Comment »
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.
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Tags: AKB48, ambient, Björk, blood, cabaret, carmen, chocolate soul music, classical, concert, Echostream, Far East To East Showcase, fra-foa, fujishima mineko, Gelatine, gie ji gaii, go on, habanera, hirata hironobu, indie, j-rock, japan girls nite, japan nite, jpunk, junketsu wa aka, Kokusyoku Sumire, live report, lolita, loud cut, mikami chisako, new york, New York Anime Fest, New York Anime Festival, New York City, obama, perfect loop, punk, rainbounds, ryoko, sachi, seiko, shimada osamu, snow-ism, Superglorious, Swinging Popsicle, takeshita jun, the studio, tomo, tony, victoria goldenberg, violin, visual kei, way forward, Webster Hall, yuka
Posted in Electronic, Photo, indie, pop, review, rock | No Comments »
