Japanese Progressive Rock presented by DamoX

http://d.hatena.ne.jp/Poseidon/?of=62


The above link has a number of interesting live performances from a number of Japanese prog bands, including Mizukagami, Interpose+, Bondage Fruit etc.

Damo - Opabinia is a kind of cross between experimental, RIO / Avant-Garde and Jazz Rock fusion, and appears to be a one-off band formed by members of other bands (Bondage Fruit / Altered States / ROVO).

Another short-lived Japanese psychedelic project - I'm glad to introduce you all!

(SORRY NO ARTISTS' PHOTO AVAILABLE...)

PEOPLE were formed during a short term in 1971 as an (nearly) occasional 'shooting star' project to produce a novel psychedelic rock by blending their rock sounds and Buddhist Shomyo (sutra). All the members were renowned and talented Japanese session musicians - Kimio MIZUTANI (guitars, sitar), Yusuke HOGUCHI (keyboards, voices), Hideaki TAKEBE (bass), Kiyoshi TANAKA (drums, percussion), and Rally SUNAGA (gong, percussion). Calling Naoki TACHIKAWA as a producer and a director, they released a solemn and mysterious psych rock album 'Ceremony ~ Buddha Meet Rock' (1971), which was much appreciated by worldwide psychedelic rock fans.



Blended Rock with Buddhism was approved only by a part of psychedelic rock maniacs.

Prologue is the suggester - like a percussion, a dazzling variety of wooden clogs' clip-clops come here. And down-tempo drumming and orchestration can put enthusiasm into you coming across the meeting. However, yet you cannot realize this wondrous rendezvous only on it. Trust me, the curtain of this meeting will rise just the next track Shomyo Part 1. Gong. Beat, beat, dub, dub...eerie atmosphere will wrap you up, and Kimio's 'eavy 'uzzy guitar solo with a wooden percussion can shoot some rock flavour. A sutra - the Buddhist (and also Japanese) solemn culture - comes into the rock sounds and this song can be realized completely. This mono-tone sutra should be as impressive as such persistent guitar waves...absolutely the friendship between Buddhism and Psychedelic Rock. In the latter part, the rhythm gets slower a while and Kimio's aggressive guitar solo plus eccentric drumming and comfortable wooden kicks starts - with eerie sutra and thingy around him - as if he wears a Buddhist sound surplice. Maybe this mixture was (and is) hard for you and us to clarify...therefore this project might be short-lived I consider. Gatha, the third one, is much graver for you I imagine. Kimio's sitar can blow your mind terribly in spite of such a quiet airspace. Oh sorry terrifically, not terribly. :-P ...Jokin' aside, quieter percussion, filling up the space between sounds, should be fantastically solemn as well. Honestly, on the religious ritual percussion (wooden, metallic, or so) must push all believer into trance, passion and happiness. In the next Flower Strewing Hideaki's repetitive bass tones can get active, and give a hypnotic and transcendental atmosphere on this song based on Shomyo - sutra. Even such a mono-tone bass sound can throw dream and fantasy for you, if the bass player is a believer... Shomyo Part 2 is very simple but simultaneously very important. Here are a simple wooden percussion, quiet guitar and bass sounds, easy-listening keyboard solo, and a rhythmical sutra - you know, that's all. No need for you to consider, you can act naturally in such a simple Shomyo. I wanna emphasize that this song is a masterpiece in the album on the point of view - namely, 'simple is the best for Religion'. Prayer Part 1 & 2 are exactly trans-senders - primeval percussion and shouts in a trance by trippin' ladies sound rather weird and painful...at least for me. Epilogue may be a burnt-out situation...with pretty twitters and magnificent orchestration...but no human breath at all...what a vacant impression...?

PEOPLE left such a problematic and suggestive stuff for us psychedelic progressive rock fans, and it's absolutely right. On the contrary, sad to say, very hard to listen from beginning to finish. Therefore, as mentioned above, this project might break up soon a while.


Thank you for reading this blog...and HAPPY NEW YEAR! ٩(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾)۶


Edited by DamoXt7942 - December 31 2009 at 09:03

I very much appreciate reading this blog!

My interest for japanese prog has grown very much lately, and my favourite japanese prog album (and also one of my favourite albums in general) is Yoninbayashi - Ishoku Sokuhatsu. This is pure 70's excellence, and everyone who likes prog should hear it Among my other favourites are also Cosmos Factory, Far East Family Band, Bi Kyo Ran, Flower Travellin' Band and Flied Egg.

Japan has many excellent progressive bands, and it's always great to discover something new, which I have done thanks to this blog  Arigato!

Karamasov wrote: I very much appreciate reading this blog! My interest for japanese prog has grown very much lately, and my favourite japanese prog album (and also one of my favourite albums in general) is Yoninbayashi - Ishoku Sokuhatsu. This is pure 70's excellence, and everyone who likes prog should hear it Among my other favourites are also Cosmos Factory, Far East Family Band, Bi Kyo Ran, Flower Travellin' Band and Flied Egg. Japan has many excellent progressive bands, and it's always great to discover something new, which I have done thanks to this blog  Arigato!

Thanks Arigato Karamasov!
You're an intellectual of Japanese progressive rock I imagine.

Anyway, in Progarchives:
YONINBAYASHI (Eclectic)
COSMOS FACTORY (Psych/Space)
FAR EAST FAMILY BAND (Psych/Space)
BI KYO RAN (Heavy)
FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND (Psych/Space)
FLIED EGG (Not in PA but now under evaluation)

Please check more Japanese bands here.

Damo - I'm loving the Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden album Report From Iron Mountain at the moment. Could you recommend other Japanese bands with a similar style to this?

Thanks

Takeshi

Hello Keishiro! As I told you, I often get Japanese prog CDs to review. One that impressed me quite a bit is Baraka's Shades of Evolution - excellent, guitar-based instrumental prog. I know the band have released another six or seven albums before that. Are you familiar with them?

Raff wrote: Hello Keishiro! As I told you, I often get Japanese prog CDs to review. One that impressed me quite a bit is Baraka's Shades of Evolution - excellent, guitar-based instrumental prog. I know the band have released another six or seven albums before that. Are you familiar with them?

Raff, always appreciate you much reviewing lots of Japanese progressive albums! 

I'm not familiar with them but too much love BANDVIVIL, Issei TAKAMI's another project.
Please check Kazuhiro's and my review about their one and only album.

About BARAKA, gonna check soon...let me have time.

Sorry but please let me get derailed out of Japan.
Today please let me introduce a psychedelic progressive rock outfit from Baltimore - SRI AUROBINDO, with full of East-oriented flavour.
In them I as a Japanese can feel some cool Japanese air... this is the reason I wanna recommend them to you here.


SRI AUROBINDO (From left to right - Mike FURNIERE, Mike ROMANO, Brandon ARINOLDO, and Danny CHENAULT)


SRI AUROBINDO were formed as a four-piece Baltimore rock outfit in mid-2000s. The four Baltimoren genies - Brandon ARINOLDO (bells, hand drums, tambourine, voices), Danny CHENAULT (drums, acoustic guitar), Mike ROMANO (keyboards, tambourine, sonic decimator pedal, bass), and Mike FURNIERE (flute, banjo, guitar) - have got motivated more than enough and tried to produce their original psychedelia with essence of East-oriented psychedelic music, Psychedelic Progressive / Space Rock, Krautrock, Oldies, indie rock, or some ethnic music. 2009 was the golden year for them - the eponymous debut album and a grand EP "Return Into Earth" were released, both of which can amaze and craze lots of fans and reviewers. Their passion for Neues cannot die...they got started to record the new album "Cave Painting" late 2009.



Return Into Earth EP (2009) - SRI AUROBINDO


Michael Furniere, a multi-instrumentalist of SRI AUROBINDO, said to me in Japanese "Heiwa (Peace)". Yes, SRI AUROBINDO play that improvised and peaceful (heiwa-full?) psychedelia with their terrific skill and imagination for progressive rock.

Filled with their laidback flight and their improvised but well-cooperated play, this great huge sound-story named Return Into Earth goes forward like a flying eagle called SRI AUROBINDO. This story gets started with quiet percussion (Cymbal and Gong hits) and dry, surrealistic flute solo. As if a maiden or a nymph dances and gradually flies into the heaven... Exactly the percussion ensemble (double drum & percussionists are here!) with exotic (especially Oriental) mood in their inner space do have such an atmosphere, everyone can feel - it's right indeed, but I also feel that keen flute's and stumbling guitar's sounds are fascinatingly or magically comfortable. Of course trust me the bassist play strictly just as the pacesetter all of them...without steady rhythm section this spacey sound-story cannot burst in such a way. From the middle to the latter parts twin guitars keep growling loudly and construct complete psychedelic clouds in the sky where the "eagle" flies. And the guitars complete feeling the cool air, the eagle slowly tries to go down into the ground...calmly and solemnly.

Over 32 minute sound-story cannot be long and boring at all - let me call this absolutely Oriental Ambient-ish Space Rock with magnificence and magical toxin.

Peace - heiwa. :-)


Thank you for reading this blog.

This is absolutely a Japanese proto-psychedelic progressive project let me say!



Kuni KAWACHI, born in Fukuoka, Japan on July 7th, 1940, has enjoyed playing piano since he was young. In 1964, Kuni and his younger brother Chito KAWACHI formed a five-piece Latin rock outfit SUNRISE in his hometown. Highly approved by a famous Japanese 'new classical music' composer Toshiro MAYUZUMI, they appeared on stage in Tokyo with changing the band name to THE HAPPENINGS FOUR. Around the Japanese music scene in those days, terribly infested with lots of childish pop bands, they got renowned with marvelously skilled and foreseeing play (without any guitar).

KUNI KAWACHI AND HIS FRIENDS was Kuni's side project in the heyday of THE HAPPENINGS FOUR, with Joe YAMANAKA (voices) and Hideki ISHIMA (guitars) - soon later Joe and Hideki formed FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND, therefore KUNI KAWACHI AND HIS FRIENDS is considered as 'Pre-FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND' - and released their one and only album 'Kirikyogen' in 1970, much appreciated by Japanese progressive rock fans. (Anyway, in some rock music database we can find the project name was 'Kuni Kawachi and Flower Travellin' Band', that's a great mistake. )

After disbanding THE HAPPENINGS FOUR, Kuni works hard as a solo musician, a producer / arranger on TV programs for children, or a composer for commercials and jingles.


Kirikyogen (1970) - KUNI KAWACHI AND HIS FRIENDS

Hard-edged Joe's voices and Hideki's psychedelically flickered guitar solo (just like Flower Travellin'!), and less noticeable but steady pacemaker Kuni's keyboards - this project is, without any suspicion, Kuni KAWACHI's show, not of Flowers.

In this project and album, Kuni undertook the composition, arrangement and production of all songs. Guess he might have a strong intention to construct a Japanese psychedelic hard rock up by six hands of the ensemble (oh, sorry but there were some guest musicians playing the rhythm section). Therefore the lyrics are all in Japanese language and Joe sang loudly the Japanese lyrics, opposite to English ones in Flower Travellin' band later. A bit more mysterious and eccentric his 'Japanese' voices are...that's the reason they could not be approved much all over the world I'm afraid. (Okay today I do let everyone here accept them completely! :-P) The lyrics seem to be very simple but actually should be philosophical and deeply meaningful (e.g. a great actor / actress in a small theatre as a metaphor for actions of each people all over the world, or 'men's scientific investigations of women' etc. etc. ), but Joe's voices are loud, rough, less delicate unlike a Japanese singer. Based on heavy riffs, sometimes floated and sometimes spacey and sometimes brain-shaking Hideki's guitar solo can remind us the heavy-psychedelic sounds of Flowers. But wait, this project should be exactly in the vanguard of Japanese psychedelic (and heavy) progressive rock scene.

Hope you can enjoy this pioneer of Japanese psychedelic progressive - although they should not have an intention to build the current huge Japanese progressive scene at that moment methinks.


Kuni-san Doll...pretty...eh?


Thank you for reading this blog.

Oh, honganji ... Lolita complex? ... auuu, just kiddin'.

Jokin' aside, as for MIDORI I've heard a while before and felt they should be still only in the experimental post-punk area (upon both musical and visual styles), with less progressive kicks.

To be honest, not my glass of whisky ...

And this sleeve?



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