Fujirockers: The official Fuji Rock Festival blog

Spencer drew a sparse and tired crowd at the intimate Gypsy Avalon

Everybody and his uncle was watching LCD Soundsystem a hundred meters away at the White Stage, but I reckon they were missing out. And I’m not just saying that because I need a hook for a story. I’m saying that because I don’t really like LCD Soundsystem. I thought with a name like “Spencer” it would just be some dude with an acoustic guitar warbling bedroom love songs in a language I don’t understand (that would be Japanese), but I heard the post-rock drumming and twittery electronics and I was like, damn, now I’ma have to get up out my hammock to see what’s going on over there.

Reverb heavy, Sigur Ros slow, repetitive simple acoustic arpeggios, and moody like 2010, I was feeling well relaxed when I had to get up and go to Atoms For Peace after only ten minutes. And I’ll let you in on a secret: the hammock was a little better than Spencer (sorry guys, but I’m sure you understand: it was a hammock), and Spencer was a lot better than Atoms. Seems I did everything backwards. Le sigh…

-Kern

photo by kouji. more here

(And you know you want to see a picture of me in that hammock: Continue Reading…

Anyango is the stage name of Eriko Mukoyama, a 29-year-old Japanese woman whose incandescent voice and skill at an eight-stringed African lyre called the nyatiti have brought musical renown and an official position as goodwill ambassador between Japan and Kenya. Her set very authentic east African music on Sunday afternoon filled the entire slope above Gypsey Avalon, almost to the very top. And afterwards, the CD-buying crowd turned into a veritable scrum.

The nyatiti has a very twangy, plucked instrument, and Mukoyama plays it sitting down, holding it in place with her feet. The singing is the high-toned chirping of east African song, and no matter the song, it almost can’t help but sound joyous and celebratory. It was far too peppy for sleeping in the grass – a traditional Sunday-at-Avalon ritual – and a considerable number of happy feet were up and dancing. Continue Reading…

Who Is That Masked Woman, Why It's the talented Martina Topley-Bird!

Perhaps taking the “Rock” portion of the fest name too literally, Martina Topley-Bird paused a few tracks into her Gypsy Avalon Sunday evening set and said, “Something tells me I should play a loud song now, but I don’t have any.”  Spectators were more than content with the take of “Overcome” that originally she recorded for Tricky’s 1995 “Maxinquaye” debut that she offered up instead. Continue Reading…

The Real Jam

How many Sunday morning jam sessions (official ones) can there be at Fuji Rock? The answer is: your guess is as good as mine. I mean, Sunday morning is clearly for the keeners and the freshers and those of us that have to do this. Everyone else is ripening in their tents, sleeping off Saturday’s boozy festivities. So Sunday morning jam sessions are, like, soooo not on their radar. But there must be a few, since I ended up at one on the Avalon stage when I should have been at another at Field of Heaven. Continue Reading…

How anticipated was Narasirato Pan Pipers final FRF gig Saturday night at Gypsy Avalon?  People were already dancing before the performance started, eagerly bouncing and clapping along while members of the band ran through their sound check.

And while the Avalon MCs sucked out a bit of the pre-concert energy with their lengthy speech about the act’s history, Narasirato Pan Pipers quickly raised the excitement level again as soon as they bounded on the small stage and a member shouted “Are you ready for our show?”

And what a show it was with lots of traditional clothing, choreographed dance moves, and some way cool instruments.  Stopping between numbers to talk with the crowd, a lot of the banter seemed lost on the predominantly Japanese crowd, but Narasirato Pan Pipers soulful, upbeat playing definitely was not.

Photo report here.

*Photo by 輪千希美

Christian Vander sat at what looked like a Yamaha electric mini-grand in t-shirt sans sleeves, hunched over and haggard like a certain someone from Notre Dame. I admit I was hoping for some drums, but I reckon his band Magma the day before was the place to see that.

Tom Waits would be the go-to Anglophone comparison for anyone who plays weird and moody songs on a piano, but I’d be revealing my ignorance if I settled for that. It was the kind of music you’d imagine an eccentric and lonely rich man playing, alone by candlelight in a dungeon somewhere, periodically laying his head on the keys in despair. (Wasn’t there a Muppet skit like that once?) All very down-tempo and moody, in English, French, and some Mel Torme meets Speaking In Tongues scat.

Continue Reading…

Rosemary

The rootsy sensibility of the France-based quintet Moriarty reflects its members’ far-flung origins, which, in addition to France, includes the US, Switzerland, and Vietnam. In fact, once you absorb the more obvious influences–folk, country, blues, and some trad Irish–the music feels sui generis, or, at least, confounding of convention. Their latest album is a “soundtrack” of what appears to be a non-existent film about “Puss’n Boots,” except that all the songs are more famous for being from other “soundtracks” (mostly operas and musicals). Bizet’s “La Habanera” is done as a Delta blues and “I Feel Pretty” as a kind of kindercore ditty. Though the instrumental component is clever and technically adept, it’s Rosemary Stanley’s vocals that make the strongest impression. Possessing a classically bell-like soprano, phrasing as eccentric as the young Joni Mitchell, and a sense of humor that I still haven’t fully processed, Stanley slathers all the rustic textures with her urban intelligence. Continue Reading…

All you need to know about this trio is that they packed the Gypsy Avalon stage tighter than I’ve ever seen it. See the picture. And if the singer was an octave higher, only dogs would be able to appreciate it.
There’s a guitar, a bass and a set of tom-toms. I can rarely understand Japanese when it’s sung, but I assume the songs were something like “I liked a boy and he liked me, so everything was quite alright” or “It’s sunny, we’re happy, but even if it were raining we’d still be happy because then the flowers could grow”.
At one point, the three ladies take a break to let the audience pose questions. I think this is the first time I’ve ever witnessed a Q&A session mid-gig. “Have you taken a onsen up here yet?” shouts an audience member. “No, not yet,” say the ladies. Back to the music.
After the next tune, which may have been about how delicious ice-cream is, the bass player points out that an insect has landed on the guitar, and the trio discuss whether to let it stay there, or to remove it. Before they can reach a consensus, said insect departs voluntarily, and we all go back to the songs about sunshine and joy.

There was a sea of seated bodies present on the Gypsy Avalon hill for Ichiko Aoba’s afternoon performance.  As the stage’s MC introduced the singer-songwriter, Aoba pulled out her keitai and took photos of all the people hanging out on the grass around her.  Armed with only a guitar, she performed a 30-minute set that showcased material from her “Kamisori Otome” debut that was issued this past January.  Built around subtle, intricate instrumentation, Aoba’s vocal-driven fragile folk and acoustic bedroom pop was well received by the lounging crowd and those heading up to the nearby hammock area situated next to the Gypsy Avalon space to really stretch out and get comfortable.

The photo report of Aoba Ichiko’s performance is here.

*Photo by 近澤幸司

Ozomatli

I loved Phil’s idea to watch the band rated lowest on Pitchfork. It reminded me of my very first editor and the first time he asked me to write a movie review. It went roughly like this:

Him: (Handing me a videotape in a plan white case): “Can you knock out a review of this tonight?”

Me: “Sorry, I’ve got no time to watch it tonight.”

Him: “I asked you to review it, not watch it.”

Me: “I don’t even know what it’s about.”

Him: “It says on the box, it’s called ‘Lionheart’. It’s either about Richard the Lionheart or some brave geezer. Just say the acting was wooden, the plot predictable and make a pun about bravery. And give it one star. People like reviews that slag something off.”

So I did. And that piece of advice stuck with me, along with his lessons about how to doctor pictures to match what you wrote or believe. And in the spirit of enjoying the bad reviews, here are the acts I’m excited about, complete with their best (worst) review on Amazon: Continue Reading…

MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD

In a recent interview in the Guardian, Martina Topley-Bird expounded on her current touring duties with Massive Attack, which involves being one of several singers in their, well, massive show and also acting as the opening act, where she sings, plays various instruments, and is accompanied by one person, a guy named Ninja who plays guitar, drums, and kalimba. The songs are quiet and soulful, making for quite a contrast with MA’s huge production.

She’ll be doing both at Fuji as well, though her solo set will be restricted to a stage that makes more sense, Gypsy Avalon, on Sunday afternoon. Though Martina has released material under her own name in the past, she’s only recently started playing concerts as a solo act. Apparently, it was something of a survival tactic. “A lot of people knew me only as a singer and didn’t realise I could play instruments as well,” she told the Guardian. Then Damon Albarn saw her perform and not only offered her his studio to record her songs, but released the resulting album, Some Place Simple, on his own label, Honest Jon’s. Continue Reading…

JB IN SOUL POWER

The festival folks just announced the lineup of movies that will be screening during the wee hours of the festival at the Outdoor Theater Fuji Eigeki near the White Stage for those punters who are too pooped to take in the Red Marquee or the Palace but still up for some entertainment. As usual, the films are mostly musical in form, though they are showing Torajiro Hibiscus no Hana, the 25th entry in the long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo comedy series and which takes place in Okinawa, originally released in 1980. That’ll be screened Friday night at 11:30. It will be followed by a documentary about the late mayor of Fuji Rock, Kiyoshiro Imawano. Continue Reading…

In

Ukulyric

Human Cannonball and Wheel of Death

Quietly slipping in under the radar the other day (Don Coglione’s Crystal Palace update notwithstanding) have been some minor tweaks to the Fuji Rock 2010 line-up.

The complete Palace of Wonder, Gypsy Avalon, Day Dreaming and Silent Breeze details have been scheduled, as have announcements for the death spectacle that is the Palace Arena, Fischerspooner at All Night Fuji, and DJ Alexis from Hot Chip added to Sunday night’s Red Marquee lineup. Continue Reading…

Spotted this guy on a side trail. Can’t do this in Shibuya…

We’re now live from the fest at: http://www.fujirockexpress.net/09e/

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Flickr and Vids to come.

jinki

Juana Molina was a TV star in Buenos Aires. Then she dropped out and recorded music for years. Her backing band in Naeba this year includes at least 30 or 40 backing vocalists…all her.
I will be there.

Yes, Juana tried other musicians, but instead decided to work mostly with herself. Packing at least 2 sequencers, keys and percussion, the dizzying columns she builds simply by looping her voice and guitar. It’s easy to imagine a studio filled beyond fire standards on some of the tracks from “Una Dia.”

Yes, it’s all/mostly her, but as we heard last year , you can do a lot with one voice. Her lyrics (Spanish), come last, she says, mainly because the sound/song structures themselves are the goal. She’s not trying to tell a story in words, but you can certainly write your own over her soundtrack.
Get the song/watch the film on her SITE:
Fantastic intro/interview from the awesome RADIOLAB
Live on KCRW HERE (click “Watch”)