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Old 2007.04.06, 05:00 PM   #68
bebio
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Posts: 139
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Ah, thank you both for your kind replies ^^
It's always a pleasure for me to discuss interesting music with people around the globe.

>Fukurou

Well, yes I have some stuff online. But a warning: The music I have online has nothing to do with the musical tastes I've mentioned haha ^^
My solo project is basically just me and an acoustic guitar, and it's in the vein of solo artists like Nick Drake, Kings of Convenience, Jose Gonzalez, or Vashti Bunyan. But I've been recording some "lo-fi" demos in my bedroom, and some friends are going to add piano and back vocals and percussion later.

I have another project, called Shibuya-K, but so far all I've finished was a remix for a japanese band called M.O.V.E. This is a strange story: I had registered in a website called acidplanet, and they had a remix competition for M.O.V.E. I was excited for this opportunity, even though I had never heard of M.O.V.E. before. And the funny thing is that I downloaded the samples into the computer but because of an internet failure, the connection fell just right after I'd downloaded the last sample. So, I had lots of small samples, but I could not hear the original song to hear how it sounded like. Even so, I decided to go ahead and remix all those bits and pieces without listening to the original. I closed myself in my bedroom for about 3 whole days, and left with a finished remix that I uploaded to the contest. Only after I uploaded the remix I decided to hear the original. And man, I was quite disappointed. My remix is hardly the bees' knees, but with all modesty I think I actually prefer my version over the original.

Now my next plan for Shibuya-K is to do an album that mixes club beats with edgy rock, like Soulwax, LCD Soundsystem, and also other songs that mix dub with traditional Japanese instruments. I already have several ideas, but no finished songs yet. I'm kinda waiting to focus on them after I graduate this year, when I have more free time. I also want to try and contact Japanese musicians and try to convince them to collaborate with me on some of the songs, which would be really exciting for me.
But alas, all I have right now (and will have for some time) is the darn MOVE remix. you can hear it for a bit of a laugh.

And I play with friends, as a bass player, and I think their music is so much better than mine... Now that I've made these warnings, to succesfully lower your expectations, here goes the links:

Lavimpa (my solo acoustic stuff): http://www.myspace.com/lavimpa
Shibuya-K (only a remix): http://www.myspace.com/shibuyak

And for my friends with whom I've collaborated:
http://www.myspace.com/aboutowake
http://www.myspace.com/northernsoundz
http://www.myspace.com/polepole


>CatchFiveBats:

Actually, that split album with Merzbow is missing in my collection. I'd love to listen to it in mp3 eventually.

As for Melt-Banana, I've only heard 2 or 3 mp3 a long time ago. I'm definitely curious to check out more.

For me, the fascination in Halcali is that I can truly feel their "personality" in the songs they make. It's true they have been produced by a lot of people, but their songs don't sound like they came from a mass-production company. A lot of J-pop feels void and empty of feeling for me. But I feel that Halcali is not faking their music. Somehow, their songs feel sincere to me. Their naivety doesn't feel fabricated, or forced. I don't know how to explain it, but I think the girls sound naturally genuine when they sing about their wacky topics. Strawberry Chips could be a really corny song, but it really moves me emotionally. I get all nostalgic about my teenagehood years when I listen to it. And they make a reference to Figo (the portuguese soccer player) in one of the songs of Halcali Bacon. That can only be a plus in my book ^^

And Twinkle Star for me is plain genious, especially the video. That gorilla is priceless.

As for Mr. Bungle, what album did you hear? I'd recommend California as a starting point, because it is their most accessible CD. Disco Volante is just plain crazy. Because Mike Patton is always experimenting with his vocals, liking what he does can be a hit-or-miss affair, but If you listen to California and you don't like it, I'd recommend you listen to Fantômas' "The Director's Cut", or Peeping Tom's self-titled album. In each of those albums Mike sings in completely different ways, and you might like them more.

But it's ok if Mr. Bungle is not quite your cup of tea... They have some songs even I don't listen to all that much.

Sorry for the long post...
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