http://oceanboom.com/articles/ Full length articles by our legions of talented writers, bent on bringign you the best of the Music scene in Japan. Feeder 1.3.8.1 http://reinventedsoftware.com/feeder/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en Oceanboom.com (c) 2005-2006 nikuashi@yahoo.com nikuashi@yahoo.com Wed, 01 Nov 2006 23:11:03 +0900 Thu, 02 Nov 2006 00:04:07 +0900 Oceanboom Articlez http://www.oceanboom.com/articles/OCBpL144.jpg http://oceanboom.com/articles/ 144 144 Promoting the music scene in Japan with articles, reviews, images and podcasts. http://oceanboom.com/articles/JNF/index.html From the time that they entered the building to set up their equipment, to the time they cleared the stage there was an immense amount of tension in the hall. It was as if a stick of dynamite had been rammed into a collective orifice of the audience and we were all waiting to be blown to bits like a frog on a national holiday. When they began playing, their music echoed a harmonious, rapid-fire menacing specter throughout the hall, like a bully on the eardrums whose sole motive was to stir your adrenaline to a frenzy. As I felt the audience cringe and attempt to hide their flinches, it was all I could do not to leap from my seat and start throwing the furniture. While some songs like “Anti-War” are centered on a speed-metal meets psychobilly chord progression with an anthemic chorus, many of their songs such as “California” and “Make Noise Together” are energetic but non-threatening and would have inspired any normal, unabashed audience to dance. With its chorus as catchy as a few miles of barbed wire, I would bet a lot of money that “Spit to the Sky” had never before been played without working its crowd into seizure.]]> Mon, 15 May 2006 00:00:00 +0900 Japanese Artists in Japan jumpnfall-the-baddest-punx-in-the-west-of-japa http://oceanboom.com/articles/ClassicTour/index.html For the Japanese leg of his Asian tour, Vandal put together an ensemble cast guaranteed to make waves in both the Shirahama and Osaka hip hop scenes. The first addition to the tour was Vandal’s partner in rhyme, Symbolik (a.k.a. Kwame Newman), a founding member of both Canada’s Cryptic Souls Crew and the Symbolik Music Crew. After adding Symbolik’s charisma to the tour only thing remained missing: a DJ. Luckily, the 2003 DMC (Disco Music Club) World Champion, DJ Dopey (a.k.a. Jon Santiago) was on hand to add some beat breaking skills to the cause; thus, completing Vandal’s three way sonic assault on Japan. After locking the tour’s framework these three “b-boys” made their way to Japan’s West Coast with hopes of giving audience members a taste of Canadian hip hop fury. The first stop on this two day rollercoaster ride through Japan’s westside hip hop scene was at Club Footprint, a small venue located across from the white sanded beaches of Shirahama.]]> Fri, 18 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan the-rebirth-of-a-classic-tour-vandal-symbolik-an http://oceanboom.com/articles/common/index.html Later in the show, Common took a few moments to express his feelings and concerns about the recent tragedies in New Orleans. Since Common attended college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he is quite familiar with the harder hit areas. This gave his heartfelt sentiments a sense of urgency that exceeds those coming from entertainers far removed from the situation. He also voiced his belief that all people around the world possess the power to help each other during times of despair. After opening his heart to the audience, Common took a seat behind the piano and introduced his finale with an enchanting solo before going into Be’s motivational final track, “It’s Your World,” to conclude his 90 minute set. During his passionate finale Common’s words seemed to melt into each other as the lighting combined with the band’s gentle sound sent ripples of warmth drifting through the crowd. Lighters were raised and audience members swayed as Common’s emotional story conveyed an inspirational message about people being controlling their own destinies.]]> Fri, 16 Sep 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan club-quattro-shows-some-common-sense http://oceanboom.com/articles/edrush/index.html While Ed Rush and Optical were preparing for the fervor part of the evening’s festivities (in a hotel), a series of local Osaka JDB DJs known as Black Beatz Box used the humungous speakers placed at each corner of the dance floor, to start the evening off with an arsenal of seismic beats. The early portion of the evening started slow as club-goers trickled into Club Triangle; but once hometown hero, DJ Kenzi (part of the Black Beatz Box crew), stepped up to bat, the explosion of energy transported audience members into another dimension. Enhanced by laser lighting intertwined with high-octane visual stimulation, DJ Kenzi’s vivacious set sent spine-tingling rollercoaster-like shockwaves throughout the congested crowd.]]> Fri, 02 Sep 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan ed-rush-and-optical-warriors-come-out-and-play http://oceanboom.com/articles/ss2005/index.html For two days straight in early August, Osaka and Tokyo are simultaneously overrun by hordes of musicians and fans looking to let loose in honor of the summer season. While Ozzfest and Lollapalooza wreak havoc across American soil, Summer Sonic is Japan’s way of getting into the action and contributing to the summer rock festival frenzy which has become traditional worldwide. In its fifth year, Summer Sonic has been successful in attracting talented artists from across the globe to perform in Japan. Such artists include Coldplay, Radiohead, The Beastie Boys, NAS, Green Day, and James Brown to name a few. What makes the Summer Sonic festival unique, however, is that it takes place in both Osaka and Tokyo at the same time. How does a rock festival concurrently take place in two cities more than 300 miles apart from each other? Being a two day event, the artists who are scheduled in Osaka on the first day take a two hour bullet train ride to Tokyo for the second day, and vice versa. ]]> Sat, 13 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Music Festival: Foreign and Japanese a-tribute-to-summer-sonic-2005 http://oceanboom.com/articles/MCM/index.html From the first sounds emitted by the monstrous speakers at the Open-Air Stage, The Mad Capsule Markets’ audience engulfed itself into the largest mosh pit I have seen since bearing witness to the last two shows that Pantera played in Denver, Colorado in 2001 at the Denver Coliseum (R.I.P. Dimebag!!!). There were three gated sections near the front of the Open-Air Stage for the duration of the festival, and each section housed pits that were several hundred people strong each. As TMCMs rolled through their set, all the while switching between scales during songs like a manic switches moods, the crowd screamed along in Japanese and English demanding more and more reasons to pulverize their neighbors.]]> Sun, 14 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Japanese Artists in Japan the-mad-capsule-markets-and-the-perfect-pit http://oceanboom.com/articles/mbm/index.html Meat Beat Manifesto gave Osaka an invigorating two-hour performance filled with audio/visual mayhem that altered the brain activity of every member in the audience. In the time since Meat Beat Manifesto last played Osaka, the world of electronica has gone through many facelifts, but Dangers and crew are always one step ahead with their experimental sounds and progressive live performances. Once again Meat Beat Manifesto has taken the challenge of creating new places for electronica to travel, and in the process inspiring young lovers of music to make good use of their musical instruments.]]> Tue, 07 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan seeing-sound-meat-beat-manifesto-at-club-noon http://oceanboom.com/articles/turntables/index.html n Japan, there are many turntablists who have made names for themselves around the world by amazing audiences with lightning quick speeds and acrobatic-like animated live performances from behind the decks. Recently, Japan gained recognition as” the Land of the Rising DJ” due to hometown hero, DJ Kentaro, winning the most prestigious DJ award: The DMC (Disco Mix Club) World Title (a title shared by famous DJs such as Q-bert and Craze). In the wake of DJ Kentaro’s victory, two Japanese DJs have worked endlessly to push the standard of modern turntablism and help the scene reach the next level of evolution. Osaka’s virtuosos, DJ Yasa (short hair) and DJ HI-C (long dreaded hair with mustache), both known for their skillful wizardry from behind the decks, have taken a DJ Shadow-esqe approach to turntablism by incorporating sophisticated video imagery with their cutting-edge sound. In 2004, this dynamic duo joined forces and began performing together under the name Kireek.]]> Sat, 25 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Japanese Artists in Japan visual-turntablism-at-club-footprint http://oceanboom.com/articles/tahiti80/index.html The most memorable highlight of the evening, however, came during the final song of the first set, “Changes.” Before the song began, Boyer introduced it as “our first single off the new album,” and instantly the crowd’s cheering raised a few decibels. With bodies fluctuating throughout the strobe-light effects, the vibe of the show went from a rock concert to a dance party. But instead of ending the song after its initial five minutes, the group slowly continued the beat with Congo drums, which transformed the song into a hypnotic tribal drum session. During the early stages of this piece, Boyer borrowed Resende’s bass, while Resende picked up a drum stick and gave Marchand, the drummer, and extra hand. The continuity of the beat was never broken during this instrumental interchange. The colliding of multi-layered complex guitar, keyboard, and drum solos created a hybrid sound that resonated throughout the venue. As the energy grew, so did the visual effects and volume. By the final moments of the near ten minute jam session, Club Quattro radiated with both the calm of a Jack Johnson show and the energy of an all-night rave party: paradox redefined.]]> Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan tahiti-80-breaks-the-language-barrier http://oceanboom.com/articles/andyc/index.html To get to the DJ booth, Andy C and company were forced to walk through a dance floor completely filled with sweat-covered JDB enthusiasts, all ready for his vivacious set. Once the headphones hit Andy’s ears, the crowd began to close-in on the stage. Andy’s set began slowly, getting the crowd to bounce a bit, but after a few minutes, and some quick finger maneuvering, Club Triangle instantly turned into a madhouse. As the beats per minute increased, so did the power and intensity. It was as if Andy had poured some sort of mystery chemical into his mixer because the instant his sound reached the crowd’s ears he controlled their bodies, and resistance was futile. By the time the needle hit the wax of his fourth record, everyone in the club had been drawn in to Andy’s magnetic field, like a spaceship being pulled into a black hole. ]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan andy-c-and-red-one-bring-the-nightlife-to-japan http://oceanboom.com/articles/JJGlove/index.html “Where’d all the good people go?” crooned a gentle Jack Johnson before a sold out crowd at Osaka’s famed Zepp Auditorium. Since the release of his newest album, In Between Dreams, Johnson’s popularity in Japan has been on the upswing, with no signs of falling anytime soon. Hours before the show began, hordes of flip-flop wearing fans congregated outside the Zepp’s entrance in order to secure a front stage position. Floor tickets being general admission, it was first come, first serve; and it didn’t take long before the floor was at full capacity, leaving barely enough room to breathe.]]> Sun, 29 May 2005 00:00:00 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan jack-johnson-and-glove-bring-the-big-chill-to-jap http://oceanboom.com/articles/G3/index.html The 2005 version of the tour brought G3 to the island of Japan, where, for the first time, Japanese fans had the chance to see three guitar wizards performing together on the same stage. Thanks to world touring, each guitarist has individually made a positive impression on his Japanese fans.]]> Sun, 29 May 2005 00:02:05 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan joe-satriani-and-g3-ignite-japan http://oceanboom.com/articles/ronisize/index.html Club Triangle was at full capacity by the time Roni Size started his set. Before his performance was a slew of artists including the underground California-based dynamic duo of Deuce Eclipse and Zion-I, that got the crowd’s attention with their witty lyricism and awesome sound. After Deuce Eclipse and Zion-I tore the roof off, it came time for Roni Size to rebuild it.]]> Fri, 01 Apr 2005 00:01:52 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan osaka-supersized-roni-size-live-at-club-triangle http://oceanboom.com/articles/zioni/index.html Once the clock hit 1:25 a.m., these two guys walked on stage. The first one was this tall guy who was sportin an Afro, MC Zion, and the next was a Nicaraguan dude with 2 really long braided pigtails, Deuce Eclipse. Once they got on stage this tall and sleek looking DJ, Amp Live, got behind the wheels of steel and pumped out a beat. As the crowd was bouncing to Amp Live’s beat, MC Zion started his rap, and about 10 seconds after, Deuce jumped in and the show truly began. These guys were on the ball, placing their strong proverbial lyrics over the carefully calculated beats of the DJ. All the Japanese people in the audience, as well as everyone else, were taking pictures and waving the “Westside” gesture with their hands. There was one song during the set where both Zion and Deuce synchronized their voices and started to rap in speeds that exceeded 120 beats per minute without pausing for breath. That was impressive.]]> Fri, 01 Apr 2005 00:01:45 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan rappin-to-the-rising-sun-zioni-and-deuce-eclips http://oceanboom.com/articles/REM/index.html Some of the most interesting and personal parts of the performance came during the breaks in between the songs. There was a moment when Stipe took a shot of sake before starting a song, and it was obvious he was not prepared for the taste because his whole body shook, and he closed his eyes as to wait for the taste to wear off. Also before starting “High Speed Train,” Stipe went into a story about how he often played Tokyo when he came to Japan, but on his last tour he rode the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) for the first time to Kyoto, and that helped inspire him to write the song. ]]> Fri, 18 Mar 2005 00:01:35 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan rem-makes-landfall-in-japan http://oceanboom.com/articles/djmakoto/index.html In early February, I had the chance to witness first hand what all the hype was about. It was very different from a show in Miami to say the least. The venue, Club Karma, is a coffee shop/restaurant that becomes a nightclub after dark. So it seemed a bit weird to have a drum and bass show in such a small venue, but the lovely Ms. Chizuru assured me that there was plenty of space. I returned to Club Karma before DJ Makoto’s set, and to my surprise they had opened up another room which looked like a closet from the outside, but was actually a huge open-area room with a DJ booth and dance floor.]]> Fri, 11 Feb 2005 00:00:47 +0900 Japanese Artists in Japan dj-makoto-drum-and-bass-extraordinairedj-makoto http://oceanboom.com/articles/chembros/index.html The Chems are proof that electronic music is still young and has a huge following among today’s music listeners. They also prove that plugging albums through mass media is one way to get your sound heard across the world, but it is not the only way. Concerts and Festivals allow artists to show their sound live to their listeners, and in doing so it gives the listener a better understanding of what was trying to be accomplished on the album, as well as a great memory. The absence of the language barrier within The Chems sound also played a major role in the success of their sold out Tokyo show. The Chemical Brothers’ 2005 tour of Japan was truly an anomaly within the world of international music in Japan. It is not often that two DJs sell out major concert venues in Japan without any media push, but it does happen. The Chemical Brothers are definitely “dai neenki” (super popular) in Japan, and just to prove it, when they finally did release the album, there was a video for the single, “Galvanize.” By the time the concert in Osaka took place it was sold out just like Tokyo, and “Galvanize” was the number one single in the Japanese Music Charts. ]]> Wed, 09 Feb 2005 00:01:08 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan the-chemical-brothers-galvanize-japan http://oceanboom.com/articles/switch3/index.html For those unaware, Osaka and Tokyo are not the only places in Japan that can attract rock music from all over the world. In the south of Wakayama Prefecture there is a small town by the name of Shirahama, known for its white sanded beaches and heavily populated summer tourist season. Imported from Perth, Australia, the soft white sand generates a paradise-like atmosphere for those lucky people able to witness it.]]> Fri, 28 Jan 2005 00:01:14 +0900 Foreign Artists in Japan switch-3-rocks-the-beach-australian-style