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Live Review: The Brixton Academy, Canopies And Drapes And Faron Square At Nagoya Tight Rope, Saturday, November 12

After a few months of forcing one of my friends to travel all the way out to Osaka to do various activities…which, all tended to end in playing Angry Birds…I decided to save him (some) train fare and visit Nagoya for one Saturday night. Having avoided Aichi’s biggest city for a while now, my night out in Nagoya reminded me of what a strange place it was. Osaka…and Kyoto and Nara and Tokyo and anywhere in the world really…isn’t a shining example of human transcendence, but Nagoya seemed particularly dodgy, at least on this November night. We witnessed a man urinating almost proudly along a busy street, his back turned but with no pause as groups of people strolled by. We might have seen a drug deal. Whereas the street stalkers in Osaka play it cool and ask if you’d like a “massage,” the ones in Nagoya practically sprinted up to us to inquire if “you want some sex?” We played a lot of Angry Birds.

Thankfully, this trip centered around a show by three of Tokyo’s most interesting acts at the moment – The Brixton Academy, Canopies And Drapes, and CUZ ME PAIN’s Faron Square. The trio of artists played at Nagoya’s Tight Rope, a place that seemed to fit in well with the general air of Nagoya strangeness. Tight Rope rested on the third floor of a building, sandwiched between a soul bar and a hip-hop club. This placement led to a lot of people peeking into Tight Rope, hearing Toro Y Moi instead of Rick Ross and immediately darting upstairs. Yet once inside, Tight Rope proved a nice venue – a bit narrow, but great sound and a generally good vibe.

Faron Square started, playing what was according to their Twitter account their first band show in a year. The rust sometimes showed, as they experienced a few false starts, but overall the four-piece sounded OK. Faron Square stand out on the CUZ ME PAIN roster quite a bit, and their Tight Rope set reinforced that idea – though they still boast the slightly ghostly glow defining the rest of the roster’s music, Faron Square are the most “pop” act on that bedroom-centric label. The group’s song are less concerned about making you look over your shoulder and more about getting you to dance, at least a little. The keyboard-focused tracks even approach something like bizarro-world yacht rock (this is a compliment, I swear), the music sounding smooth but taking on a stranger bent than “What A Fool Believes.” Considering the individual members of the band make more CUZ ME PAIN-ish tracks on their own, Faron Square serve as a nice splash of variety for the still-young label. Live, the groups vocals sounded a bit too high-pitched, the masking they get on record not present, thrown naked in front of everyone. Faron Square ultimately seem like the type of group better heard at home, though downtime between performances could have been a factor.

Canopies And Drapes played a short set next, running through the entirety of her lovely debut EP. Violet, Lilly, Rose, Daisy was the product of just one person, but for the Tight Rope show CaD’s Chick called upon members of The Brixton Academy to help her bring what are self-contained dreams to life live. This full-band approach resulted in all four songs taking new shapes, the characters from one’s dreams materializing in real life but as, like, dogs or something. Set opener “Stars In Bloom” became an eyes-on-the-floor shoegaze number, while “Perfect Step” was blessed with an extra snap in its back, turning into a legit leg shuffler. One of the EP’s biggest highlights, “Living In The Snowglobe,” suffered from these live additions, that track shining as an example of Canopies And Drapes lyrical smarts, blotted out a bit live. The other EP highlight “Sleeping Under The Bed,” though, killed it. The twinkling frostiness of the recorded version was swapped out in favor of…gasp!…funkiness. It was stupidly danceable, blessed with an energy that made it one of the night’s biggest highlights.

Headliners The Brixton Academy provided plenty of highlights as well. I had been told TBA sounded even better live than they did on record, and the show at Tight Rope confirmed that. Prior to this Nagoya trip, TBA’s appeal could be boiled down to two major points:

1. Their songs exude emotional sincerity.
2. They are fun to dance to.

Live, point one fades into the deep background because point two consumes everything else. To put it crudely, the crowd at Tight Rope went batshit for everything the band played. Even something like “Two Shadows United,” which unfolds at a pace better reserved for bedroom dancing, had people nearly moshing. A plentiful amount of alcohol consumed by their 3 A.M. start helped…and TBA helped by popping open a bottle of champagne, passing it into the audience so we could all suckle on it…but really the music made it all come naturally out. The songs from Vivid predictably killed it oh so hard – the delirious “In My Arms,” and ending everything with an encore of “So Shy” you can imagine how that one went (great) – but more surprising were how good tunes from this year’s Bright As Diamonds sounded. “Neons Bright” and “One Time, One Night” carried extra oomph at this setting, TBA executing them perfectly and working everyone into a tizzy. Best of all was “Youth,” a song that on the album comes off as a good number that wants to be bigger than it actually is. Live though, it sounded capital-H Huge, the guitars blasting out like engine turbines and becoming all consuming. It was a might fine performance.

Yet said live show also revealed another truth – Bright As Diamonds would be one of Japan’s best EPs in 2011 if it weren’t one of the year’s more just-above-average albums. TBA played the first five tracks from Diamonds live, ignoring the slog of a second half. It is a front-loaded LP and even the band seems to know it, avoiding the aimless instrumental numbers and less-thrilling late tracks and instead focusing on the really good opening run. Live the band remains a must-see, but Diamonds is merely OK and was easily bested by Dorian’s Studio Vacation in this year’s race for “best imitation of the 80s by people who probably didn’t live in them very long.”

And so the night ended, crowd inebriated to a giddy level, some choosing to continue pounding shots, others slouching over on Tight Rope’s benches, still others probably wandering upstairs to scream “I THINK I’M BIG MEECH.” My friend and I, an hour away from first train, sat content on the stage, happy with how the night turned out. We closed the night out the only way we knew how – by chucking exploding poultry at green pigs.

“Sleeping Under The Bed (Night Vision Remix)”

In which the shining dreamy qualities of Canopies And Drapes original mix of the (still excellent!) “Sleeping Under The Bed” get flipped into late-night, chilly Italo Disco. Night Vision subs in 80s synth lines over the twinkling prettiness that defined the original, making their remix slightly more danceable but ultimately a bit back-alley shady like most of the artists on Italians Do It Better. I haven’t seen Drive but this might fit on the soundtrack? Listen below.

[bandcamp track=1653676292 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Make Believe Mix For October 2011 Featuring Kido Yoji, Canopies And Drapes And Avec Avec

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/27072317″]

Uh oh…introducing a new feature, the (hopefully) monthly Make Believe Mix! Sometimes writing isn’t enough to get people interested in great music…sometimes you just got push a bunch of it towards them and say “just listen to this.” Welp, that’s what we are trying here! With this mix, we hope to share great under-the-radar Japanese music to a greater audience. I’ve never done anything like this before so I’m sure there are some screw ups within the actual mix…please let me know, so I can make future installments sound better.

Below is the list of artists appearing in this mix, in chronological order. Click the links to read more about them and find out how to buy/get their music. All artists featured gave me permission to include their music in this mix.

Kido Yoji “Call A Romance” – From the Call A Romance EP out now on KSR. Buy on iTunes or here.

Moscow Club “Pacific 724” – From the 909 State EP, self-released. Download it and more here.

The Moments “Short Trip” – Self-released, available here along with other tunes.

Super VHS “Girlfriends” – From the Girlfriends EP, self-released. Available here.

Canopies And Drapes “Sleeping Under The Bed” – From the Violet, Lilly, Rose, Daisy EP out on Love Action. Get it here.

Elen Never Sleeps “Blue Dogma” – From the Blue Dogma EP, self-released. Get it here.

Avec Avec “Kuzuha No Sunday” – From the Plastic Soul EP, self-released. Buy it here.

Self-Promotion Plus: Reviewing Canopies And Drapes’ EP In The Japan Times

Wrote a review for Canopies And Drapes’ debut EP Violet, Lilly, Rose, Daisy for the Japan Times. Check it out here. I’ve been hinting at how much I like this four-song collection for a while on, but now here is a summary of my thoughts on it. As mentioned in the review, CaD’s went and made two of the most gorgeous songs I’ve heard all year in the already blabbed about “Sleeping Under The Bed” and the super-pretty opener “Live In The Snowglobe.” Both of those are must hear songs of 2011.

Oh, in other news…Pitchfork wrote something up about K-Pop. Maybe “Gee” can now be included in a Girl Talk set?

Music Alliance Pact October 2011

The October edition of the Music Alliance Pact (MAP), is here! On a special Saturday at that! This project brings together blogs from all over the world to share great music – expand your horizons. This month, we are highlighting Tokyo’s Canopies And Drapes, the project of Chick from Nu Clear Classmate. She just released her debut EP Violet, Lilly, Rose, Daisy and you’ll definitely hear more about it soon…for now though, I can just say it’s really good. Buy it here.

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a .zip file of the whole 34-track compilation via MediaFire.

JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
Canopies And DrapesSleeping Under The Bed
Sleeping Under The Bed twinkles from the get-go, Tokyo solo artist Canopies And Drapes setting up a glowing dream of a song about hearts melting like ice cream and perfect lovers. Yet this, the highlight off her debut EP, conceals some darkness around the corners. The minimalist structure allows for some chilly synths to stand out, and then she steps back from all the gooey love talk for a frank final line: Where should I go? I got lost. It sounds gorgeous from the start, but grows more complicated with time.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Flopa/MinimalAtolondrÛn
A couple of months ago, the indie supergroup formed by Flopa Lestani, Mariano “Manza” EsaÌn and Ariel Minimal reunited for several sold-out concerts in Buenos Aires. The experience was so positive that Flopa and Minimal decided to step into the studio to record some songs, and the result is an EP called ReducciÛn de DaÒos. AtolondrÛn was written by Flopa and is our favorite track from it, but you can download the whole EP for free from their website.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Option CommandBreak Even
Option Command (who has previously released gorgeous music under the name Broken Chip) hails from the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney. Where his former project often focused on texture and mood, Option Command is a more beat-oriented project. Break Even sounds like playing Atari in a canyon, and is a good blend of the two musical personas. Both are worth checking out.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
LirinhaAdebayor
Jose de Paes Lira, best known as Lirinha, is the former vocalist of Brazilian group Cordel do Fogo Encantado, who have produced some of the most consistent works in terms of updating regional sounds from Brazil’s northeast. In Lirinha’s first solo album, the results are somewhere between alternative rock and a new take on mangue beat. His excellent CD is available for free download at his website.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
Sound Of LionsEnders
Yes, Sound Of Lions borrow somewhat liberally from 90s trip-hop generally, and Portishead in particular. However, as Enders – and the rest of their debut, 11:44 – demonstrates, they’re so good at making the old genre sound fresh and new, it’s easy to overlook a little thievery when the end results are so incredibly listenable.

CHILE: Super 45
NuevacostaTodo F·cil
Four-piece outfit Nuevacosta released their debut offering, Costa Brava EP (available for free at their website) this year under the Casa Joven and Espacio Cellar labels. Through these six songs, the band explores new wave sounds and early 90s Chilean pop, creating dark, lo-fi, atmospheric soundscapes.

CHINA: Wooozy
Eat Alien’s BrainSick Body Dance
Eat Alien’s Brain are an electro duo from Chengdu, who formed in August 2010. Loco and Umar, both in their early 20s, use music to express their attitude towards freedom. Their sound is hard to define – electro/dance with a bit of Nintendocore/chiptune/crunk. They were highly recommended by the NME, who described them as “Crystal Castle bound up with Burial and Sepultura”.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Laura DrescherI Do I Will
I can’t really tell you much about Laura Drescher other than she was born in Spain, raised in Denmark, and that she released both an EP (Polyest) and an album (Hallucinations Of A Good Life) last year. Oh, and she’s not sore on the eyes either. It’s gloomy and groovy electronica – here represented by I Do I Will from Hallucinations Of A Good Life – and if you like what you hear, head for SoundCloud where you can download both album and EP for free.

ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog
DaleySmoking Gun
A new blue-eyed soul boy from Manchester, Gareth “Daley” Daley looks set to be the first genuinely interesting British artist to operate in that area since David McAlmont or Lewis Taylor. He was a nominee on this year’s BBC Sound of 2011 poll, has already tasted chart success, having sung on Long Way Home from Wretch 32’s top-5 debut album as well as on the Gorillaz track Doncamatic, which he co-wrote with Damon Albarn. Now he’s signed to A&M and working on his own debut album, due out in 2012, with Suede guitarist and Duffy producer Bernard Butler as well as Dre of Dre & Vidal (Alicia Keys, Usher) and Shea Taylor (Ne-Yo, BeyoncÈ).

FINLAND: Glue
Koria Kitten RiotAn Anthem From The 80’s
Koria Kitten Riot is the project of singer-songwriter Antti Reikko and it brings well-crafted pop songs, full of detail and ambitious instrumentation. It puts together the intimacy of the songwriter and grandiose arrangements in a manner that reminds us of Bright Eyes. An Anthem From The 80’s is a melancholic song about long-gone happy times and is taken from Koria Kitten Riot’s second album, The Lows & The Highs, out this month.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
BOYThis Is The Beginning
BOY are a little hyped in Germany right now. Valeska and Sonja just released their debut Mutual Friends via Groenland Records, which features warm and cosy folk-pop songs. They are written and sung so well that you instantly forget summer was awful this year and start enjoying the Indian summer.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
The You And What Army FactionI Used A Blade To Carve Me A New Smile
The You And What Army Faction set their distortion pedals on stun and amplify each strummed string to produce a crushing, absorbing and raw wall-of-sound repetition where chaos and beauty ravish each other within the same song. Their artful contrasts and angular arrangements are imbued with instrumental dexterity and coherent ideas and balanced between formlessness and structure, melody and cacophony. Here’s a vibrating preview from their upcoming sophomore album.

ICELAND: Icelandic Music Maffia
RuddinnCover The Distance
Ruddinn is one guy, Bertel ”lafsson from Hafnarfjˆrur, who has released three albums to date. Ruddinn works primarily alone but receives a helping hand occasionally. He mixes electro pop with indie guitar and a dash of 80s shoegaze. Cover The Distance, a track from his third album I Need A Vacation, features Heia EirÌksdÛttir of the band Hellvar on vocals.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
BRNDLSStart Bleeding
BRNDLS have helped shape today’s Indonesian garage rock scene with their harsh sound, raw attitude and foul-mouthed frontman. Also known as The Brandals, they have just brought out their latest album that stole the XTRMNTR concept and delivered their most well-produced release to date.

IRELAND: Nialler9
TieranniesaurIn The Sargasso
Strutting disco-infused funky indie tunes that recall the experimental new wave pop visions of ESG and Tom Tom Club don’t come by every day. So Tieranniesaur standout. This Irish six-piece revel in fun, old-school danceable thrills and their self-titled debut album is one of the best releases Ireland has to offer this year.

ITALY: Polaroid
A Classic EducationForever Boy
Produced by Jarvis Taveniere of Woods, Call It Blazing is undoubtedly the most eagerly-awaited indie rock album in Italy this year, but not only in Italy. A Classic Education have released two EPs and a single, traveled the US, Canada and UK, played SXSW and CMJ, and are touring Europe with British Sea Power right now. They are definitely one of the best things to have happened to the music in my country in the past decade. Their sound is magnificent, warm, ambitious and timeless.

MALTA: Stagedive Malta
BeangrowersThe Priest
Beangrowers are a rare and delicate breed of band – managing to be intelligent without being ponderous, fun without being silly, outrageously poppy without being cheesy, and rocking without being clichÈd or predictable. This female-fronted three-piece are Malta’s biggest music exports, with a following on both sides of the Atlantic. This track is from their album Dance Dance Baby, which has just been re-released digitally.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanamÈrika
RobotaTroqueladora
Dystopian scenarios are inherent to industrial music, with narratives and textures well explored by artists on the Mute roster – from Throbbing Gristle and The Normal, to Suicide and Add (N) to X. Mexico City trio Robota particularly share Add (N) to X’s aesthetic based on a vintage electronic junk sado-fetishism. Troqueladora is taken from their “vibrant” second album, Vulgar Display Of Power. No, there’s no relation with Pantera other than pure cyber-punk irony.

NETHERLANDS: Unfold Amsterdam
Chris KokSounds Of Sirens
Since studying ‘pop’ at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Chris Kok has spent the past couple of years working on songcraft and stepping out to play live at every opportunity ñ be it contests, open mic nights, festivals or art openings ñ all while freely distributing his music online. The graft seems to be paying off, and now working with a full band, even his most intimate acoustic troubadour pieces are taking epic turns. Sounds Of Sirens is the kind of atmospheric pop Snow Patrol should be making, and that’s merely one template from his sonic arsenal. Look out for a full album from Kok and his band Civil Union later this year, plus listen to his new self-titled acoustic EP (including a version of Sounds Of Sirens) on Bandcamp.

NEW ZEALAND: Einstein Music Journal
St. RupertsbergIn Albania
Wellington octet St Rupertsberg began in 2009 when Kate Whelen assembled a group of female musicians to start a rather unique band. Now, after gaining rave reviews from critics and audience members at this year’s Campus A Low Hum festival, word of the group’s musical prowess has spread. Performing together like a multi-talented musical circus, the band members take turns playing various instruments, including trumpets, clarinets, trombones, synthesisers and percussion. But the main highlight is an all-inclusive vocal chorus. Their debut EP is available now from Bandcamp.

NORWAY: Birds Sometimes Dance
AutonomiaSteiner ≈ St PÂ
Autonomia are a great and hidden gem from the large underground of Norwegian music, with members from veteran bands such as Freeshine, Dunderhonning and Far From Tellus. Singing in Norwegian, their music is eclectic and it can shift from sweet and rough indie-pop with H¸sker D¸ guitars to long, slow and heavy post-rock/post-hardcore anthems reminiscent of bands like Envy and Neurosis.

PERU: SoTB
RoyalvaletEscorpio y Rimel
Royalvalet is a project formed by musicians who had their beginnings in other bands. When it comes to composing a song, each member gives his contribution with full freedom, there are no creative limitations. Led by Salim Vera, Royalvalet began in March 2010 and have released three highly creative rock singles to date.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
The Klinton KingsRulin’
The Klinton Kings is the project of Lewis M, a recent graduate of Oporto College of Arts and Music. He has just a few songs available online. However, his most promising single, Rulin’, which was recently available on a CD of new Portuguese acts, transmits a maturity and creativity rarely heard in most first singles. A debut album is expected in 2012.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Moonlight BreakfastStill
Self-characterized as a retro electro band, Moonlight Breakfast is one of the freshest presences on the Romanian alternative music stage. In only a couple of months after getting together for this project, they reached the top position in Romania’s alternative radio charts.

RUSSIA: Big Echo
InWhiteSea
One of the cutest Russian indie-pop bands, InWhite is looking forward to their upcoming album. Sea is a beautiful piano-driven song that can carry you away from a seaside to the storm.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Panda SuI Begin
The title track of Panda Su’s second EP illustrates her appeal: dark, intelligent pop with all sense of vulnerability left intact. Apart from her occasional on-stage face paint, the Panda Su package is never black and white. Her music often draws on experimental sounds, but never at the expense of melody. Her lyrics, both fragile and cryptic, demand attention ñ I Begin finds Su repeating the poignant lines, “I should try to remember/I should try to forget”. It’s apt that Su Shaw named the outlet for her music after an endangered creature – songs of this quality really are rather rare.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
EtcBig Girl’s Blouse
Etc is truly one of Singapore’s best-kept secrets. There are no fancy fashions or trends associated with the duo of Ben Harrison and Harvey Chamberlain, just well-written guitar-rock to a steady beat. Harrison’s jangle-raggedy guitar work is exciting and tasteful enough to balance perfectly atop Chamberlain’s near-primal approach to the beat, yet also easy enough for that slacker sway. They have an album in the works, but we’ll make do with their generous online singles in the meantime.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
140Say It Better
Meet your new favourite power-pop, tongue-in-cheek, somewhat satirical band. Meet 140. They recently released their debut single Say It Better, a synth-drenched pop song. But not to be stereotyped or confined, the band’s next single could range from indie-rock to anything they feel their listeners would like. With a unique, zany and out-there approach, 140 is band whose mantra is to do things differently. In fact, it’s experimentation that will keep everyone engaged and interested in this provoking new set of creatives.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Mighty CoalaSeoul
Indie-pop band Mighty Coala has been around for many years, but it wasn’t until this month that their first album For Bright And Healthy Mornings, mixed by Yeol Park of August MAP band Pigibit5, was released. With a preference for short songs that are both fun to play and listen to, Mighty Coala offer a rich sound with plenty of curiosities. Seoul is an uplifting tune dedicated to the city where they live and the city they love.

SPAIN: Musikorner
Las TocayasHombres
Las Tocayas, despite their name, are not an all-girl band; they’re actually two girls and a boy who met through an internet forum dedicated to Spanish indie band Los Planetas. If we said that their influences include The Flaming Lips, Surfin’ Bichos, Nacho Vegas and The National, you wouldn’t believe us, but, yes, we mean it. Their music can be described as hedonistic and their lyrics are rather irreverent and joyful. Maybe, as they confess, they’re more inspired by everyday life, television, their gossiping neighbours and Jon Secada. Hombres is a hilarious ode to men and what we can and cannot expect from them.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Poor LifestyleThese Times
Hardcore and punk should be immediate and Poor Lifestyle certainly is. You may argue that this song is breaking no new ground and I’d say you’re right – that’s the beauty of it. This song will be coming out in Sweden on a split 7″ with friends The Wallrides sometime soon.

SWITZERLAND: 78s
Evelinn TroubleI’m On Fire
Evelinn Trouble has, in her still very young career, gone through some major changes. The Zurich resident started off as an 18-year-old releasing a very intimate singer-songwriter record, alone in her bedroom. She was soon discovered and heartened by the Swiss indie scene and last month brought out her sophomore record Television Religion, which presents her as a ‘femme fatale’. It’s great pleasure seeing her grow.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
Young ManEnough
The compositions of Colin Caulfield, playing under the moniker Young Man, have come full circle on his latest LP titled Ideas Of Distance. An achingly beautiful album with more layers than an Arctic explorer, Enough is a track that boils up slowly like water left on the stove. Except each rising bubble is a different sonic explosion and instead of bursting on the surface in watery, translucent explosion, you can see the melodic colors dispersing in swirls of steam.

VENEZUELA: M˙sica y M·s
LimpiacabezalesMÈrida
Limpiacabezales was formed in 1998 by Claudio Sanchez, Orlando Toro and Carlos Eljuri. After a few shows in several cities across Venezuela, they released their first EP this year, which features five songs that serve as a teaser for their album, expected to come out later this year.

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Canopies And Drapes performing live in Kyoto. Photo courtesy of Canopies And Drapes