Japanese Progressive Rock presented by DamoX

Hi, every Japanese progressive rock freak, especially Neo-Prog fan!


TAKU YABUKI UNIT
left to right; Taku YABUKI (keyboards), Mana IWANAGA (bass), Yoshinori IMAI (drums, percussion), and Hidehisa SASAKI (guitar)

Already posted about the gigs by ZONK MONK and DJAMRA, and let me introduce and recommend a phantastyk gig by TAKU YABUKI UNIT, founded by Taku YABUKI, a keyboardist of KOENJIHYAKKEI.

Taku YABUKI was born September 20, 1975 in Wako-City, Saitama-Pref., Japan. Started playing the classic piano in his childhood, he's stumbled upon jazz when he was 21 years old. He's immersed in jazz scene, that let him learn jazz in Berklee College Of Music for half a year after graduating from college in Japan. He's collaborated with lots of Japanese singer, musicians or artists in various subgenres soon after. Now he's much renowned as a keyboardist of KOENJIHYAKKEI formed by Tatsuya YOSHIDA (from May 2007). TAKU YABUKI UNIT were formed in the same period as a keyboard-based jazz rock trio / quartet. The current lineup is Taku YABUKI (keyboards), Yoshinori IMAI (drums, percussion), Hidehisa SASAKI (guitar), and Ryosuke NIKAMOTO (bass).

According to what Ai and Shoko (Zonk Monk) say, the soundscape of Taku could be the origin of Zonk Monk.





They played some songs in their debut album "Modern World Symphony" and newer ones recently performed on stage ... every track sounds Neo-symphonic (Taku's keyboard-sound-based), along with complex polyrhythm and dramatic sounddream.



Looks like Taku's a sincere and serious musician, with a strong intention and enthusiasm for "rock" and "music".
Let me say TAKU YABUKI UNIT should belong to PA!


Look, and listen! Japanese Neo-Prog!!!

Thank you for reading this blog.

Hi, again sorry for my hibernation. Recently I’ve got to be a slow reviewer really ... :P


Japanese heavy jazz rock quartet NEXT ORDER

Already reviewed about NEXT ORDER’s gig in Osaka and today please let me recommend their live album "Live -Intensified" here!


Live-Intensified (2011) - NEXT ORDER

A Japanese heavy jazz rock combo NEXT ORDER were founded as a twin-guitar-oriented quartet in August 2002, by two Nagoya-based musicians - Yuji MUTO (guitar), Atsutomo ISHIGAKI (bass) - and two Osaka-based ones - Takumi SEINO (guitar), Hiroshi 'Gori' MATSUDA (drums). They've gigged with lots of progressive artists like Uz Jsme Doma or Gongzilla since their early days, whilst they signed a formal contract with Lolo Records in 2004 for releasing their material all around the world. Through their borderless musical style amongst heavy rock, jazz, fusion, avantgarde, progressive rock, etc. etc., they've launched their original soundscape toward the audience upon stage. Evidently they've placed emphasis upon a close bond between the audience and themselves, and upon live material, so that all of their creations are live-recorded ones (of course this album "Live -Intensified" too).



The first track "NDE?" (dunno what the tile means though ... "So What?" in English maybe). A heavy tip from the beginning has knocked us definitely. Atsutomo's bass explosion is a killer. The guitar sound combination by Yuji and Takumi is very kaleidoscopic and delicious. Gori's square drumming completely supports their whole play ... even though the guitar duo plays aggressively and violently. Sounds like the guitar duo should be the heroes, but their fantastic play cannot exist without the hard / strict / steady turf created by the bassist and the drummer. This stuff alerts us such a matter. Contrary to the heavy start, the following one "Bearclaw", in spite of the title, gives us something of quiet motivation via a contrast between Takumi's gentle guitar crying and Yuji's hardcore shot. Guess the audience should get immersed in their cool, chilling play down their spine. "L. C. M." is a heavy, complex, jazz-based improvisational institution, featuring deeply rhythmic riffs (by enthusiastic Gori and steady Atsutomo). Full of comfort indeed. "Unbirthday Gift", with meaningful touch in its title, has two appearances - one is fluent sound vision launched with smooth guitar streams, and another rigid footsteps based upon drums and bass steadiness. In "Shimauma", in English "Zebra", obvious gales or speedy flows can be felt around me, as if a zebra runs around upon being chased by flesh-eaters, but amazing at something cool along with their excellent play. Traditional colourful mid-tempo sound space can be heard in "Brother Heat" (but not hot but cool!) ... guess we can enjoy improvised calmness after aggressive explosive stuffs really. But wait, don't be deceived. They're still aggressive ... "Overdriven" reminds me that our brain can be overdriven by their massive attack. Yuji and Takumi squeeze their guitar passion play into our braincore and let us bind ourselves strictly. Enthusiasm rules. And the last "Old Red Chair On The Porch" is a compilation of their soundscape, let me say ... sometimes extemporaneous, sometimes floating, sometimes passionate, sometimes chilling, and sometimes delightful. They'd been kicking us away gradually into the sky overthere, okay?

Full of passion, full of comfort, full of sensitivity, and full of innovative deluge via their stage and live-recorded album. Recommended.




Thank you for reading this blog.

Thanks Pierre. I believe they'll be added somewhere in PA anytime soon ...

Finally! A Japanese jazz-related rock combo NEXT ORDER will release their 6th album "The End Of The Beginning" upon July 27, 2013.


The End Of The Beginning (2013) - NEXT ORDER

"The End Of The Beginning" is NEXT ORDER's sixth 'live-recorded' album. In this creation, their playstyle and soundscape have got more deeper, more kaleidoscopic, and more crystallized, let me say. The first track "Beyond The West Side Hill" ... what an impressive shot Gori's first drumming be, that is followed by mellow jazz rock scape spreading out based upon Atsutomo's deeper bass swamp. One of different manners from their previous work is that they could stir up dreamy, psychedelic guitar sounds and strict, rigid and heavy, deep rhythm riffs, without separating them into several components. Such a mixture like a renowned bottle of blended whisky can get much appreciated by lots of jazz rock fans, methinks. Also "The Beginning" has two opposite sides of stories - stillness and movement are well harmonized, amazingly. Down tempo in this stuff cannot let us down because of such an altered states of appearance. The opening of "Killer Hornet-2" reminds me something stoner like recent Napalm Death or Kyuss. Although splendid improvised drumming by Gori passes through in the middle part, basically three guitarists (especially Yuji?) play aggressively and violently here and there. Cannot help feeling their appearance as mad scientists, very cool indeed. Anyway, Let's relax our muscles in the shoulders in the following track "Unknown Seed", featuring Takumi's spoken guitar. Comfortable structures can be felt amongst sharp-edged jazz-rock-ish strokes. No difficult thought needed in this one, please leave yourself into the seed garden. 'Kaleidosoundscape' can be heard as the previous album "Live-Intensified" ... guess it's their characteristic upon playing. "Precise Rewind" ... interesting title really. Suppose they played precisely as the tape into reverse. Actually not difficult to listen to like the title, but very smooth, precious, and atmospheric one. Their precise, well-calculated production and play should make us feel so, I guess. And as the title says, "Paradigm Shift" notifies us their drastic alteration into heavily guitar-based hard progressive rock (sometimes swift, and sometimes stoner). Their stage with colourful gems called soundscape can be enjoyed fully, we can understand via their theatrical development. The following "Pound For Pound" is in the same vein and they might squeeze lots of heavy / metal rock elements into this shortest track ... the latest speed 'kick' might have knocked the audience out obviously I imagine (yeah Gorieeee!). The last "Frogs And Hay", completely upon the opposite ground to the previous two, can be suitable for a stable ending of strongly intentional jazz rock / fusion by them, with some tips of hard shuffles of guitars / drums. Some reverberatory images and overtones all around should notify us we can but attend their 'real' gig.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Edited by DamoXt7942 - July 24 2013 at 19:12

^ Wow sweet.

Would you let me do their addition if you don't mind?

Hi, innovative freaks!

Oboreta Ebi No Kenshi Hokokusho (The Autopsy Report Of  Drowned Shrimp) have released their debut album "Anomalocaris" in March, 2013, and I've finished my review for that!


Anomalocaris (2013) - The AUTOPSY REPORT OF A DROWNED SHRIMP

For us who have already had an experience to join their fantastic show on stage, it's curious how they can replicate visuality upon the auditory creation, and they completely produced another shrimpy world just as we'd expected. Bravo. Yes you know, especially the fourth track (one of their masterpieces on stage) "Washawasha! Ggyagyagyagya!" can be called as an incarnation of their enthusiastic show with aggressive funky soundscape. Sounds like a killer scene lots of colourful shrimps gathers together and appears one upon another, this track perfectly represent their mischievous soundmind mixed with funk, psychedelic, heavy, and hip hop popping out from a jackinthebox. Reminds me the audience in front of them hop step and jump along with their kinky shots ... oh yeah headbangers! "Anomalocaris", the titled track and one of their masterpieces like the previous one mentioned above, is something like terrorism created theatrical symphony of their sound compilation. Sounds like giant shrimp zombies would have got revived one after again, along with quite exaggerated symphonic sounds tinged with psychedelic, avantgarde tips. Cannot avoid palpitating and chilling due to their grateful dead exaggeration. Hot stuff. On the other hand, the first one "Exoskeleton" is a complete stoner rock led mainly by Boss-Ebi the boss bassist. Deep, deep riffs interwoven with alternative rhythms and texture, are obviously appropriate for knocking our brain away and immersing our stomach into just the beginning. Followed by "Psychedelic Underwater", that is funky psychedelic eccentricity with danceable grooves letting the audience fall into shrimpy movement. Another playtime of percussive bubble bobble is the third "Artemia-Nauplius", a pleasure with kaleidoscopic sound gem pieces. In conclusion, we can say their first album "Anomalocaris" be amazing as a replication of their fantastic show, whilst this stuff would drive us crazy for their coming gig definitely. Recommended in this sense.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Edited by DamoXt7942 - August 07 2013 at 13:15

If I may intrude on our new Admin hero... hearty congratulations Keishiro!  

Hey Japanese progressive rock freaks, I'm back finally!

And let me say many thanks to my Japanese mate honganji for recommending such a superb combo ... KANZEON!


Aki FUKAKUSA (Kanzeon, Far East Family Band)

It’s said a Japanese one-off project KANZEON were formed in (maybe) 1980 by Aki FUKAKUSA, a founder / bassist of Far East Family Band, and a keyboardist Shin'ichi SUZUKI. They saw the light on Side A of a vinyl titled "Made In Japan", released by Numero UENO (the owner of Made In Japan label, later) in 1981. KANZEON had recorded some material for their production from 1980 until 1981 with collaboration from several renowned Japanese session musicians like Kiyohiko SEMBA, but sadly got disbanded in 1981, just in the depths of progressive rock scene. Finally in 1991, Made In Japan Records released their material as a self-titled compilation CD, that cannot find easily now, in fact.

Kanzeon (Compilation, 1991) - KANZEON

At first let me say thanks to honganji for suggesting such a great Japanese obscure gem. KANZEON were a Japanese one-off project formed by Aki FUKAKUSA, a founder / bassist of FAR EAST FAMILY BAND, that be renowned all over the world as a Japanese psychedelic progressive rock band. Aki played in this project not only as a bassist but also a koto player, whilst KANZEON's soundscape sounds not only psychedelic but eclectic (featuring a couple of Japanese instruments like koto, fue, shakuhachi, tsuzumi, and yokobue), filled with Japanese / Oriental sound traits and Japanese words ... much influenced by Shin'ichi SUZUKI's keyboard work I guess, though.

In the first track "Yokobue" they gave the first cry with thunder storm, after that massive rock symphony featuring heavy rhythm riffs and sharp-edged keyboard shots. Their melody / chord lines, keeping ethnic flavour, show a straightforward advance for innovative, aggressive symphonic complexity. Although a bit Neo-symphonic footsteps can be heard via keyboard plays, they got no place to compromise in their playstyle and composition. The second out "Sora No Ue", played on the stage in a Japanese live house legend Kichijoji Silver Elephant in 1981, is more psychedelic, leaning toward Far East Family Band, than the first bullet. And they pushed their ethnicity with Japanese traditional instruments out more directly than FEFB. In collaboration with several Japanese session musicians like Kiyohiko SEMBA, they splendidly have done a unification of rock and Japanese folk (yeah this is progressive rock really!). Anyway "Sora No Ue" recorded in a studio can be listened to in the fourth track ... please compare one with another ... the live version sounds more "lively"  and more "organic" than the studio one, doesn't it? As if a dramatic theatre would go ahead for an impressive ending, they played sometimes strictly-with-music and sometimes improvisationally. Gradually they got more and more powerful, enthusiastic ... this stream can be called as one magnificent sound world, let me say.

"Setsuyubo" (to be honest, we're afraid we might not read this Kanji title precisely) reminds me Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". Obviously their symphonic psychedelia should get inspired by Pink Floyd ... especially in Roger's era. So beautiful is a fusion of heavy bluesy downtempo knocks with depressive Japanese voices and ambient ghostly atmosphere with chilling synthesizer blizzards. Some phrases are slightly pop-ish but who cares? Their psychline heard here, there, everywhere is beyond expression, like Aki's former combo. The last "Toryanse" is a famous Japanese nursery rhyme, that contains quite terrible sense (you can go forward but never come back ... omg). Female voices arouse such an atmospheric sound-spectacle along with old-fashioned traditional Orientalism / Japanesque-ism. We get into a dead end and of course cannot come back to our mind. Can feel lyrical, thrilling, and theatrical song parade in this obscure, but fascinating creation. Very regretful they'd got disbanded with only one gem left in the progressive rock scene.


Thank you for reading this blog.

Just want to drop in with a quick suggestion to listen to mr. Takehisa kosugi's solo album catch wave. I think this is something you would immensely enjoy.

seventhsojourn wrote: If I may intrude on our new Admin hero... hearty congratulations Keishiro!   ptf

Killa sounds indeed. I've sent them PM for getting more info.