we first saw hana no youni 花のように at a launch event for tokyo flashback 6 , the fairly famous series compiling mainly psychedelic/noise bands. Most of the bands are actually pretty conventional but there are always a few luminous orbs in the psych-shifting dust.
hana no youni is such an orb. they are young and have a non-nihilistic approach to a psychedelic folk formed by waves of repetition that build up and break into beams of happy/sad conjunctions.
But it looks like they are splitting up or on some lengthy break after this year, according to the singer's little blog and their homepage. Four more lives before christmas, we plan to go to at least the last one. There will be happy/sad conjunctions.
I don't know why bands split up but I always assume a sexual mash-up motive. The accordionist, a petite girl who plays her instrument like a bucolic farmer, now has her own band COCOdeKikkories
no you tube footage. Don't go searching for it by yourself, hana no youni is also part of the title of some song sung by the ridiculous pop twat gackt and it doesn't bear thinking of stumbling upon it unknowing and innocent you poor people. So if I said that - "hana no youni are a bit like a song-based godspeed, if godspeed were carefree japanese youngsters, well-groomed and with colourful trousers and other garments, and played folk songs with extended wave-like build-ups" - you would have to take my word for it.
matsukura yukiko 松倉如子
movingly voiced singer woman
che-SHIZU
psych-folk dreamy atonal melodious hazy tokyo fixture
'hana no youni' rock - in as much as they share a song title (night train) with sorely overlooked j-pop
ReplyDeletefunsters chiba sprawl
Along this line of conversation, I was delighted to find three cd's made for me by you and delivered in delightful Mio packagaing some time ago that, with all the moving around the country, I had forgotten about:
ReplyDeleteGodspeed - Yanqui U.X.O (I think it is a 'Y')
Boredoms - Vision Creation New Sun
Fushitsusha - A death Never to be Complete
Of course, you also gave me the wonderful Ground Zero, which I sent back to you once copied onto Mac, as people kept stealing yours. It has become one of my most favourite things to listen to whilst writing (creative or journo).
I now intend to copy these other three also, for extended earphone pleasure listening (Olia bought me some wonderful earphones, good for bass tomfoolery and listening to all the little bits of music).
*adej, I agree...Chiba Sprawl are sorely, and indeed criminally overlooked.
Un-Exploded Ordinance
ReplyDeleteMat I have one of your cds I think called Trapdoor No Fucking Exit. Do you remember?
ReplyDeletethat is a famously great cd by the new zealand people "the dead C". I knew it would be safe in your hands.
ReplyDeleteBut isn't it called trapdoor fucking exit . .. . no "no" in there. it is good title.