Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

KENSINGTON HILLBILLYS ARE BACK

Big names Uhnellys, Asakusa Jinta and Kensington Hillbillys will send some hearts racing, but sometimes it’s the lesser known acts on the smaller stages that leave the strongest impressions.

The latest lineup is now live on the Japanese Fuji Rock site, and the English version will be updated later today, but I’ve saved you time and effort by listing all the new additions below (including some already announced acts playing at multiple stages). With that time saved, use it to look into some acts you’ve never heard of—you never know, you may just find your new favorite band.

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SAVAGES PUT ALL THEIR COLOR IN THEIR MUSIC

The four women who make up Savages don’t seem to be all that concerned with the music the rest of the world is churning out. While their peers are increasingly adding electronic flourishes to their productions — a sample here, an effect or two hundred there (we’re looking suspiciously at you, My Bloody Valentine) — Savages appear content to be sticking to a sound that worked just as well in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Comparisons have been made with Joy Division, Wire and even U2, and a quick listen to songs from their debut album, “Silence Yourself,” offers several points of similarity: the driving basslines, the soaring guitars, the rollicking tom toms (with extra cymbals thrown in for extra measure) and intense vocals that demand your full attention.

Vocalist Jehnny Beth (born Camille Bethomier) has even been likened to Joy Division’s iconic frontman, Ian Curtis, but I suspect that has more to do with the occasional military-style march she breaks into when consumed in the delivery of the song in a live setting than any serious analysis on their vocal characteristics. For one, she certainly offers far more range than Curtis ever had. In “Husbands,” the B-side of the band’s very first single, she impatiently whispers “husbands” over and over again in the chorus as the instruments growl with increasingly ferocity in the background. And in proper punk fashion Beth’s lyrics are arguably far more political in nature than anything Curtis wrote, covering in-your-face social issues that confront the youth of today. “If you tell me to shut up, I would tell you to shut up,” she sings in — you guessed it — “Shut Up,” commenting on the growing confidence of a younger generation with nothing to lose. In bassist Ayse Hassan we’ve finally found a worthy heir to Kim Deal of the Pixies, and the thundering basslines she delivers add a solid depth to the band’s overall sound that might otherwise be lacking. Guitarist Gemma Thompson creates ethereal notes with a heavy dose of reverb that haven’t been heard in perhaps two decades, while drummer Fay Milton keeps everything in sync with a deft use of tom toms that is intermittently shattered by repeated crashes of a cymbal. Milton essentially carries the chorus of “She Will” on her own as she dead-smashes a cymbal with the brutal intensity of someone being punched in the face — at least until Hassan’s bass kicks in. Continue Reading…

WHO DA MAN? BRAHMAN

Yes, it’s time for another lineup announcement, and this one is good.

Not only have over 20 new acts just been posted over on the Japanese Fuji Rock Official Page, but also all acts are now listed according to what stage they’re playing on. Finally, you can start planning your fes schedule! For a closer look at some highlights from the new lineup, as well as the full list of newly added artists, click past that pesky “more” bit right here. Continue Reading…

Reach just a bit higher and you might find some originality

It seems like Japanese rock fans really have become obessessed with rock which is just punk enough for them to feel a bit rebellious but also melodic enough so that it feels somehow like pop, so that they are able to sing the songs at a karaoke box. Originally from Osaka, this three-piece have been playing for about 1o years and gained quite an indie following, but my opininion is that they would get more of a reaction at a festival pushing Japanese rock music only rather than one as diversse as Fuji Rock is. Continue Reading…

How do you describe Rovo? They call their instrumental sound “man-drive trance,” and that’s better than anything I can come up with. “Space jazz improv” and “world prog” both sound horrible.
Former Boredoms guitarist Seiichi Yamamoto heads up the group, and it’s funny how both he and the Boredoms have gone in a more percussion-heavy direction. Two drummers laid the beat, complimenting one another and providing much of the energy; during one long song, one of them kept a steady four-on-the-floor while the other rode the toms – the result sounded like one drummer doing impossible things. On stage, most were subdued, except Bondage Fruit electric violinist Yuji Katsui, whose John Lennon locks melted into drippy strands by the end of the set; his body movements were dictated by his bow, which never stopped its movement across the strings.
These guys are astounding players, but to be honest, an hour was almost too long a set, given that the songs that didn’t have a lot to differentiate them, at least if you’re not familiar with them. Rovo managed to hold my interest through the sounds – heavy guitar treatments, space-bound keyboards, and of course that propulsive, vaguely world-flavoured percussion (once in a while there were some congas involved). Songs would swirl and build in a jammy way, before suddenly dropping hard into a groove. At times, the “trance” tag fit especially well, and some sections of the songs were as danceable as anything your best DJ could mix together. As part of an evening that would go on to include Caribou and Sakanaction, Rovo were more than a suitable inclusion on the White Stage Saturday afternoon.

Photo:古川喜隆 For more photos go here.

A whole lot of folks on the White Stage during Mono's gig

To mark their 10th anniversary, Mono played shows in New York and Tokyo in 2009 backed by an orchestra.  During their 2011 Australian tour, they paired up with an orchestra again.  Widely recognized as the top post-rock act in Asia, when Mono were first added to the Fuji Rock ’12 bill, I thought, “Man, wouldn’t it be awesome if they did an orchestra gig in Naeba.”  When Smash  announced on July 5 that the Tokyo quartet would be backed by the 20-piece Holy Ground Orchestra for their White Stage concert, I kid you not – I actually shouted “Yes!” out loud in my living room. Continue Reading…

EXPLOSIONS NEVER SOUNDED SO PROFOUND

Watching Texan guitar band Explosions in the Sky on the White stage play their set from 6:20 I was flushed with the feeling that the way nature interacts with the music being played is such an integral part of the experience of watching each band. I have always been a fan of twilight but the mountains of Naeba, the soothing breeze caressing the audience after a day of quite intimidating sun, and the majestic clouds in the sky made a perfect canvas for the purely instrumental story telling of Explosions in the Sky to unfold. Continue Reading…

SUPERSTARS ATDI CLOSE OUT THE WHITE STAGE

“I just ate a corn dog the size of Cincinatti!” Direct quote from Cedric’s opening banter. Later he would note the soft and hard bidet (for those unfamiliar it is an ass-washing toilet) that he enjoyed this morning, “Check my shit out.” Though unfortunately, as Fujirock.com blogger Shawn notes, this kind of humor is all but lost on about 98% of the audience due to the language barrier.

Also I should warn you that I am slightly biased. I’ll be writing this review via my experience in the pit. Getting knocked around, sweated on and kicked by a few crowd surfers may have given me temporary amnesia. Still, I will do my best to recall what went down.

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Pa pa p p p p p pa

I grew up on hip-hop and was wild about scratch artists. So I flagged DJ Kentaro as a must-see act. DJs get a bad rap at Fuji Rock (does anyone think Fatboy Slim’s headline slot was unforgettable?), but I love scratching.

So it was a bit of a disappointment when Kentaro came on and began playing techno.

It went Pa Pa Pa Pa “Bass, kick it”. Pa P-P-P-P Pa “Bass, kick it”. Pa Pa Pa Pa “Bass, kick it”. Pa P-P-P-P Pa “Bass, kick it”.

Wa wa waa waaaa waaaaaa waaaaaaaa w-w-w-w-waaaaaaaaaaaa. Woooo Wooooo Wah Wah Wooooh. Fllpllplllpllpllp fllpllplllpllpllp.

Then the camera zoomed in on his hand and I realised it was him that was scratching the P-P-P-P bit of the P-P-P-P Pa, which is brilliant, difficult, brave, extraordinary and boring.

Then I remembered that The Stone Roses were playing nearby, so I went to watch them. They were great.

Pic: 深野輝美
More pics: http://fujirockexpress.net/12/11792.html

Love is hardcore

The head of the record company who releases Fucked Up, the Canadian six-piece hardcore group, in Japan told me not to focus on the lead singer Pinkeye during their performance. He insisted the group itself is the main attraction. “They’re really serious,” he said, meaning they play seriously, which may seem to contradict the precepts of punk. Continue Reading…

Chthonic front man Freddy Lim and Japanese K1 Champ Musashi

Chthonic vocalist, Freddy Lim, boasted about being the heaviest band at this year’s Fuji Rock, and with the inclusion of Japanese K1 Champion, Musashi, for guest vocals, the band may have been the downright toughest, badass band in all of Japan.

Chthonic are not known for holding back anything, and when they took the stage a mosh pit formed, later turning into circle pit and on occasion tossing up a member overhead for some good old fashioned crowd surfing.

But things really got going when Lim launched into “Southern Cross” with his trademark vocals that sound like a vampire melting in the hot sun. It’s shrill, high pitched, and downright powerful. Like them or not, you have to credit Chthonic for being original. Lim also extorted the audience to speak some Taiwanese, shouting “Li Ho” in response to his konichiwa.

Chthonic are returning to Fuji Rock after their initial appearance in 2000. Lim said, “it’s fucking great to return” before launching into one of their newer tracks “Legacy of the Seediq,” and other songs like “49 Theurgy Chains” and “Takao”. Guest musician, Shin Ichikawa, a Japanese Koto musician, came on stage and accompanied the band. Also it was K1 champ, Musashi, who guested on vocals and gave a powerful boost to Lim’s high pitched vocal style.

They ended with “Quell the Souls in Singling Temple” bringing out former Megadeath guitarist, Marty Friedman, who shredded and danced between the left and right sides of the stage. His guitar work raised the intensity of the performance, and urged the mosh pit into increasing intensity. Fans of today’s performance will be happy to know that Friedman is working with Cthonic on a new recording as we may yet hear from this collaboration in the very near future.

More photos here: http://fujirockexpress.net/12/14369.html
Photo credit: 中島たくみ

To come clean immediately, it’s impossible for me to write this review objectively. Caribou is Dan Snaith, from my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (though he now lives in the UK). I’ve seen him several times, own all his records – including the ones under his former moniker, Manitoba – and the night before his FujiRock performance, I got to meet his family. Impartial, I’m not.

That said, it was almost like seeing a different band entirely on Saturday. In the midst of opening slots on the Radiohead tour, Caribou (which refers to Snaith as well as his band) hit the stage and launched immediately into their brand of densely layered, occasionally psychedelic, frequently melodic electronica. It’s complex dance music, but the enormous crowd didn’t find it too confusing – they just danced, start to finish.

Snaith, clad simply in jeans and white t-shit, played an assortment of instruments including guitar, keys, recorder, drums and other items. Bandmates Ryan Smith, Brad Weber and John Schmersal didn’t stick to one instrument either – I’m pretty sure Weber was triggering something off his drum kit, but I couldn’t tell…but then again, that was in line with the rest of the music. Sounds kind of entered the songs out of nowhere, and you were never sure who was doing what or when they were going to do it. Every song was a surprise, even if you knew it already.

The set leaned heavily on their latest record, Swim, though most of the songs were rearranged in some fashion, making them at times funkier, at times crazier. When they weren’t playing instrumentals, Snaith sang (with assistance from Smith), his melodies as catchy as anything by a more traditional singer—songwriter. There was nothing traditional about these tracks, though, from “Odessa” to “Leave House” to the remarkable closer, “Sun.” “Sun” built steadily over a driving beat and Snaith’s repetition of the title, until it exploded out over the crowd and the stage went dark.

The rest of the time, the stage was a flickering array of strobes and blue and red beams of light, and the experience was remarkable. You’ll probably get a chance to see Snaith in smaller settings during the rest of his career, but if you can see them in a setting like this, all I can say is: do it.

Photo: 熊沢　泉 For more photos go here.

Sakanaction's Ichiro Yamaguchi Saturday night

At 8:25, the five members of Sakanaction walked onto the White Stage to claps and cheers from the hundreds of fans lining the field in front of the stage. They calmly lined up side to side, and as the intro music stopped they simultaneously opened something in front of them. A second later, the white glow of the Macintosh logo appeared. Sakanaction had taken up position behind laptop computers, and then launched into an electronic dance song.

It was a striking way to open one of the biggest shows in the young Japanese band’s career, but a memorable image. After the initial digital fury, they moved the computers aside and picked up traditional rock instruments…but electronics still played a heavy role in Sakanaction’s songs. Their triumphant set Saturday found the group channeling all the music that had influenced them over the years into a sound all their own, a sonic style simultaneously physical and anthemic. The night highlighted not just one of the best festival acts from Japan right now, but one of the country’s best bands.

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Cloud Nothings gracing the White Stage

Here’s a disclaimer right away – this report comes from my time spent near the front of the White Stage during Cleveland rockers Cloud Nothings early-afternoon performance. It’s the part of the performing area where mosh pits tend to form, where pushes and elbows aren’t acts of violence so much as shared enthusiasm over the energy pouring out of the speakers. Other people watching the show didn’t have to worry about a crowd-surfer’s foot grazing them across the face, but I did so apologies. Cloud Nothings probably think that’s the optimal way to partake of their music – their set was a showcase of blistering rock, fueled by emotions ranging from anger to passion. It was the most fun I’ve had at the festival so far.

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Frontier Backyard Fly Their Flag On Saturday

Japanese outfit Frontier Backyard came ready for their 11:30 A.M. They used Funkadelic’s “Get Off Your Ass And Jam” as intro music, a move that had the crowd around the White Stage clapping before the five-piece (usually a trio, but joined by Cubismo Grafico’s Chabe and Riddim Saunter’s Taichi Furukawa on synths) played a single note. They had extra water bottles to douse the crowd with. Lead-singer Syuta-Low Tagami pulled out a brown Frontier-Backyard flag, and then proceeded to run around the crowd waving it, attracting an even larger crowd around him. They had towels ready, which served as a nice visual aid when they told the crowd to “put your towels up.” Most importantly, they brought energy, delivering one of the most energetic sets of the weekend during what should have been a lethargic spot.

The group’s take on rock music is unrelentingly cheery, the sort of propulsive noise that seems like it could fly off the rails at any second, yet Frontier Backyard always manage to keep it together. The group, formed in 2001, are products of the 90’s, when all sorts of new types of music filtered into Japan. During their 45-minute jaunt, Frontier Backyard incorporated elements of punk rock, ska, J-Pop and even hip-hop ,highlighted by Tagami’s frantic vocal delivery, and his love of call-and-response shouting with the crowd. Tagami was less a lead singer and more of a cheer captain, dashing around the stage and keeping the crowd involved, giving them cues when to jump and to twirl their towels around in the air. Any traces of Friday-night hangover weren’t present from anyone at Frontier Backyard’s set.

Photo by 直田亨, see more photos here.

Years ago, Sapporo’s Tha Blue Herb was a difficult listen for heads who liked hip-hop for the funk. The abstract beats of DJ Dye combined with the stream-of-consciousness flow of Boss the MC – speedy, not particularly on the beat, because it kept shifting beneath him – made for an unusual, original sound (note that producer O.N.O. is indeed a member, but doesn’t seem to perform with them).

Their Fuji set showed the group in a less abstract mindset, and there was more boom-bap than skitter-skatter in the beats. It works, though; Boss is free to show he’s got the vocal chops to match up with more standard MC styles. That doesn’t mean they have stopped doing their own thing, though. Much of the set consisted of tracks without beats, simply piano lines, Pink Floyd samples, and at one point, a lengthy monologue (possibly a prepared spoken word piece, possibly a improvisation) delivered entirely to the side-stage camera instead of the audience, with the images projected on the White Stage’s video screen. The show wasn’t wildly visual; in fact other than some dancing about on Dye’s behalf, and the occasional step-and-swagger by Boss, there wasn’t much to watch. At the same time, Boss’ charisma held it together – not just the force of his words, which the audience seemed to take to heart, and not just his delivery, which is passionate and fast-paced, but his persona itself.

Tha Blue Herb have been in the game for a long time, and while he’s no longer the new kid on the hip-hop block in Japan, he now has a toughness that he seems to have earned, and it can be riveting to watch his steely-eyed gaze. He seems angry, intense, and intent on spreading his message. For much of the audience, it seemed to have been received, especially when they broke into an oddly heartfelt conclusion with their older (and admittedly much more abstract) “The Future Is In Our Hands.”

Photo: 深野輝美 For more photos go here.

James Blake sings friday night at the White Stage

James Blake offered an alternate-universe take on a festival performance during his headlining set on the White Stage Friday night. Most music festival top billings aim for the anthemic, music graced with huge choruses that will get a massive crowd of strangers to pump their fists in unison while singing or waving flags (see the sort of footage festivals use to promote themselves). Blake and the sizeable crowd that watched him, though, imagine an experience where people come together to appreciate individual sounds, who don’t scream when the chorus comes around but when the singer loops his own voice.

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THIRD COAST KINGS VOCALIST SEAN IKE ADDS THE SOUL TO FUNK

The sun at Fuji Rock was blazing as Third Coast Kings hit the White Stage on Friday afternoon, but this eight-element proper deep funk and soul outfit from Detroit managed to ramp up the temperature even further.

Wearing suits that were much better suited to downtown Detroit in the 1970s than high summer at Naeba, the band wafted through six highly technical funk-by-numbers tunes before a vocalist was even sighted.

During this time, it was a little hard for the crowd to really get into tunes. But we did admire the attire. Bassist Steve Barker easily won the best tie award, sporting a neckpiece comprised of various shades of brown and yellow cream last sighted in wardrobes circa 1976. And while handing out gongs for style, trumpet player Ryan Dolan grabbed the best sunglasses award without too much competition, wearing a pair of shades that looked like it came straight out of “Chips.”

And while on the subject of “Chips,” it’s probably worth noting that many of the opening songs of Third Coast Kings’ set could easily be used as background music in a modern-day remake of the motorbike cop show featuring Jon and Ponch.

And then singer Sean Ike came on stage and, suddenly, the Third Coast Kings were an entirely different band. Continue Reading…

Esau testifies

When last we left The Very Best at the Prince Hotel they were laughing at rappers. That may have been premature, since it turns out the group does have a rapper to fill in the showmanlike aspects of their live show. Mo-Laudi, a rapper from South Africa, would fill in the vocal lacunae between Esau Mwamwaya’s lyrics, and boost the group’s brand by setting up a call-and-response pattern between songs based on the name. “I say ‘Very’ and you say ‘Best,” he would continually chant, making a rather obvious point, but still there’s that name. It takes balls to call yourself “the very best.”

Still, Mo-Laudi had one thing right. He wore a T-shirt with the legend “Africa is the future.” Musically, at least, that’s true, and it’s the past, too. No one challenges the idea that almost all pop music we care about was born in Africa, and if The Very Best proved anything with their late afternoon set it’s that African forms are what it’s all about. The chanting style of the group’s first hit, “Julia,” set the standard. With every break beat that producer Johan Hugo set up the crowd would explode in a frenzy of good feeling. “Are you happy,” Esau would ask, stating the obvious. What else is African music supposed to accomplish except making people happy? It’s such an elementary concept that the group’s genius is just a given.

After the show I went backstage and talked to all of the members. They were totally taken with the reaction. “We haven’t played a live show in almost a year,” Hugo told me. “This made me realize what we’ve been missing.” Guitarist/supplemental vocalist Seye, with his sky-high fade and his ultra-cool wardrobe, was the sartorial focus of the live show (he took care of Ezra Koenig’s vocal on “Warm Heart of Africa” perfectly), and even during his showcase, “We OK,” when he subbed for K’naan, he flubbed the roster of African cities, but understood it was the sentiment, not the facts, that counted. The song killed anyway.

As did almost every other cut. The one political song, “Yoshua Alikuti,” caused a virtual explosion with its hooky chorus, and Seye’s vocal on “Kondaine” brought the house down. The crowd reacted as it should have, viscerally, without second or even first thoughts. Johan set his machines to perform their task and smoked. He knew that African music makes its own statement.

DJANGO DJANGO HEAT UP THE WHITE STAGE

“That’s it, I don’t need to see another set today, “ commented Mark Thomas, a UK citizen standing near the Heineken tent at the far end of the White Stage.
Thomas was quite impressed with the Scottish four piece, so much so that his musical desires were sated. Earlier in the set, Thomas called out requests, correctly predicting the last two remaining songs, “Default” and “Stomp”.

But it didn’t go totally as planned, as tuning problems created some delays, and even threatened to prevent the band from playing “Defualt.” Earlier, technical challenges as befell the drummer and led the set to go a little overtime. These snafus did little to break the enthusiasm of the audience which stretched beyond the beer tents and started up the hill. Even passing food traffic was delayed by the jamming Scotsmen.

Lead vocalist, Vincent Neff, entertained the audience with between song patter, commenting that it was the band’s first time in Japan, and “wasn’t it fun to be at a ski resort in the offseason?” Onstage, the band’s youthful enthusiasm also manifested itself in matching t-shirts, shorts rolled up above the knee, and what appeared to be matching haircuts as well.“Waveforms” is a jamtastic tune, with three members of the band converging on the keyboards, leading to a delightfully entertaining finish.
Photo Credit 写真：熊沢　泉

Cloud Nothings Playing “Stay Useless” At KEXP

It seemingly happens every year, if not every few months – a few young bands eschewing sonic trends and instead sticking to just guitars, bass and drums come along at the same time and suddenly we have a “rock revival” on our hands. Some of the fuzziest groups from 2012’s incarnation of the “rock is back!” meme will appear at Fuji Rock, including the earnest chug of Japandroids and the mosh-pit-friendly Fucked Up. Cloud Nothings, added to the Fuji Rock Festival line-up earlier this week, continue this trend towards straight-ahead rock, their take on garage rock and 90’s emo resulting in some of the best rock music released so far this year.

Cloud Nothings started in 2009 as the solo project of Cleveland’s Dylan Baldi, who at the time was a college freshman. On trips back home he would record songs in his parent’s basement and then post the results online. His Cloud Nothings’ songs caught the attention of a small record label, which released Baldi’s first EP Turning On. This brief record carries all the hallmarks of being recorded underneath a living room – each song is glazed with feedback, and making out Baldi’s lyrics can be tough. Yet despite not-top-notch recording quality, Turning On’s tunes sound great, each song blessed with a great hook.

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2 4 Africa

Given the stylistic breadth of the Fuji Rock roster each year, a theme is hard to come by and chiefly the product of some accidental confluence of zeitgeisty preferences and booking serendipity. This year’s could be 90s Britrock owing to the huge profiles of each of the headlining acts, but Britrock tends to dominate Fuji in any year so any consideration of such would merely be an exercise in pedantry. Last year’s mini-blowout of celebrated groups from Africa is more like it and provided a clutch of amazing memories that are still fresh in the minds of those who were lucky enough to witness them. Though Fuji’s eclectic mission has always guaranteed it will provide a showcase for African music–unarguably the motherlode of the rhythmic sensibility behind Western pop–the It’s-a-Small-World mindset that has dominated pop in the past decade makes African collaborations more visible, as exemplified by last year’s second most exciting show, the Congotronics vs. Rockers jam at the Orange Court. The most exciting? Malian lovebirds Amadou & Mariam. Continue Reading…

James Blake Performing Live At Titan Floor, Namba Hatch In 2011

James Blake will be pulling double duty on the first day of the Fuji Rock Festival. He’s scheduled to headline the fest’s White Stage and he’s also been penciled in for a DJ set that Friday. This isn’t just a move to cram in as much time with the English artist as Fuji Rock can, but rather a necessary addition to showcase all of Blake’s sides. Most musicians become buzzed-about entities because they hit upon a specific sound and run with it – Blake became a critical darling because he has darted from style to style, shifting his sonic approach with almost every release.

Blake began recording music as a university student in 2009, his early recordings leaning towards the pre-Skrillex type of dubstep popular in England at the time. He started picking up more attention in his home country, grabbing the attention of BBC1 DJs. He continued creating dance-centric music up until the middle of 2010, cresting with the CMYK EP. That release, his first to get widespread critical love, remained focused on wobbly dubstep, highlighted by the Aaliyah-sampling title track. Blake became a bit of a rising star in the dubstep world.

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CHTHONIC SCREAMING BACK TO FUJI ROCK

Freddy Lim has a powerful on-stage presence, throwing back his shoulders to deliver vocals somewhere between a scream and a  screech.  Lim admits he may sound like a vampire. Or more precisely, a vampire melting in the sun.

Chthonic (pronounced Th-onic) is Taiwan’s most successful musical export, an metal band that toured with Ozzfest, played fests like Wacken & Download, major label distribution (Universal), and production by Anthrax guitarist, Rob Caggiano.

Formed in 1995, Chthonic quickly adopted black metal’s uniform of corpse paint and goth vampire gear,  toiling between DIY gigs and underground clubs before receiving their first big break in 2000 with an  invitation to play Fuji Rock’s Red Marquee.

“It was our first overseas concert, and looking back on it, I was shocked, but we’ve gone on to play in Japan 7 times, and our last album has sold thousands of copies and is still on the Oricon Chart,” said Chthonic front-man, Freddy Lim.

Lim is a quick learner, and was able to learn as much backstage as onstage. As the first Taiwanese performer at Fuji Rock, he would become a key player in a newly emerging musical market. The following year, Lim would organize the Formoz Festival, featuring top draws such as Megadeath, Biohazard, and Yo La Tengo as well as Japanese acts, Garlic Boys and Yellow Machine Gun.

And as his on-stage exploits grew and his music promotion flourished, Lim took on a number of social causes, becoming a sort of “Bono” of Taiwan.

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