Japanese Prog Bands

Does anyone here like Japanese prog rock bands?
What are some of the bands? Any recommendations?

Alatas

Thanks a lot for the information. If you come up with the ELP clone, lemme know.

Munirah

erlenst wrote: I think he is thinking about Ars Nova, which is a bit ELPish. However it is much much darker and sinister than ELP ever was. Great stuff.

Yes, that's it, thanks erlenst. There is another japanese prog band signed on Musea which is a pure ELP clone with a cliched cover showing a castle but which name once again escapes from my mind.

The Japanese seem to have a huge appriechiation of all kinds of music and prog is no exepion in fact many european prog bands found that Japan was there last strong hold of major commercial success. As a result there are many Japanese prog bands that sound alot more like prog than anything we've had since the end of the 1970s. Ain Soph are particually good and i recommend them to any fan of Egg or Hatfield

The Japanese have one of the strongest avant-rock/RIO/noise scenes, that started off in the mid-90s and is currently still going strong. Some highlights:

Tipographica - four albums, three of which are impossible to find... super-complex, somewhat jazzy rock that would appeal to fans of stuff like Blast
Il Berlione - a little less complex than Tipographica but still pretty disorientingly weird at times. They have their fusionish moments too; two albums, the first is good and the second is too lite-jazzy for me at times.
Koenjihyakkei - pretty amazing post-Magma zeuhl band. Four albums, though the first two are impossible to find. Their latest one just came out and is supposed to be really good, but I haven't heard it yet.
Ruins - mostly a drums/bass duo that's totally ferocious and one of the main influences behind the recent American "brutal prog" scene... huge discography, prog fans might want to start with Symphonica which adds keyboards to the mix for a slightly more accessible sound.

Lots of other names of note, like Happy Family, Lacrymosa, Zypressen, Bondage Fruit, Korekyojin, Melt Banana, and plenty more I'm forgetting. Less proggy but no less avant/experimental are the "noise" folks like Merzbow and the skewed pop of groups like Omoide Hatoba (whose members have worked with Ruins before in a group called Ruinzhatova.

There's a good, if outdated, article on Japanese avant-prog here.

Ars Nova are not ELP clones by any stretch,just that they are a 3 peice band lead by a keyboard player (a nice female one at that!).Musically they are commendably original in approach.

Another Japananse band worth mentioning is Gerard.They are VERY LOUD and about as subtle as a brick ( I like them though )

richardh wrote: Ars Nova are not ELP clones by any stretch,just that they are a 3 peice band lead by a keyboard player (a nice female one at that!).Musically they are commendably original in approach. Another Japananse band worth mentioning is Gerard.They are VERY LOUD and about as subtle as a brick ( I like them though )

Ars Nova, has a very special sound. It has nothing to do with ELP, and If you say so, you no nothing about ELP or about Ars Nova. The whole aesthetic-musical proyect is diferent.

I would say that Ars Nova, has more to do with Solaris´s 1984 album (martian Chronicles) than with ELP.

The are great you should defenetly give it a try!

hey! what about:

-ARS NOVA
-PROVIDENCE
-LES RALLIZES DENUDES: Heavier Than A Death In The Family
-RUINS
-ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE
-FUsh*tSUSHA: Allegorical Misundertanding
-THE BOREDOMS: Seadrum/House Of Sun (2005)
-GHOST: Hypnotic Underworld (2004)

Hey guys, thanks for all your responsed. Great help!

Although their are not here, CASIOPEA are freaking good