Fujirockers: The official Fuji Rock Festival blog

Remember not so long after the White Stripes released Elephant, remixes of “Seven Nation Army” swept through the dance clubs? Well, odds are that you were dancing to Digitalism, the Hamburg DJ duo of Jens Moelle and Ismail Tüfekç. Fans of Daft Punk, Justice, Boys Noize, Soulwax and the like will definitely have their neon-colored Chuck Taylors and electroclash t-shirts out in force for this set of sophisticated dance-rock bangers at the Red Marquee Saturday night. The J-crowd will also be pumped, as the group’s latest album, I Love You Dude, was just released in Japan a couple days ago (official release) and has already jumped to the top of the iTunes Japan electronic music chart (ahead of the FRF Sunday #2 headliner, Yellow Magic Orchestra, or YMO). The new Digitalism album features a few collaborations, most notably a tune, “Forrest Gump,” written by The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas. Continue Reading…

There may be some proof to how good the Boys Noize DJ set was last night at Fuji Rock’s Red Marquee in my not physically being able to write anything at all until now that the sun’s both come up and gone down again. All I have down in my notebook for the show is four words: THA STADIUM RAVE SHIT! There’s just something about Europeans; they know how to pull off that kind of massive sound. The Red Marquee probably holds around 3,000 to 5,000, but this kind of music could power a party that’s triple that big. Boys Noize – or Alexander Ridha, as it says on his drivers license – certainly knows how to pull it off. On the decks, he’s like a beanpole on springs in a florescent orange b-boy cap, and he commands the action like a kid who just realized, “If I twist this knob, I can make 5,000 people jump up and down like maniacs.” Ridha is only 28. Continue Reading…

Below you’ll find some of my music recommendations, but first off, a few nuggets of advice:

What to remember:

- Don’t forget sun protection (hat, extra sunglasses and sunblock). And if you use them like I do, bring your own genki drinks for an added late-night boost. Despite all the stalls at Fujirock, I’ve only rarely seen these on sale.

- Walk the entire length of the fest grounds at least once. That’s right: from the Red Marquee all the way to Cabaret Fiesta and back. At sunset or after dark is best, and make sure to take the boardwalk. Try not to look at your watch. You’ll be glad you did.

- Take the Dragondola up to the Day Dreaming stage at the top of the mountain, even if you just turn around and come back. The view, the fresh air and thrity minutes off your feet will do you good.

What to see:

Trying to point out a handful of shows at Fujirock is like recommending only one dish at your favorite restaurant: the entire menu is delicious, but you only have so much room in your stomach. It’s a foregone conclusion that bands like LCD Sound System, Broken Social Scene and One Day as a Lion will be mind-blowingly great live experiences, so I’ll try to point out some of lineup further down the marquee:

My list after the jump

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For those unable to join us in Naeba or for fest-goers wanting to spend more time with their fave acts, a number of Fuji Rock ’10 artists will be doing additional gigs in Japan around the time of FRF.

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After the trademark which was established by his remixes for Justice, Tiga, Bloc Party…etc and his debut album“Oi Oi Oi”, Boys Noize brought us a totally different atmosphere with the 2nd album “Power”. Somehow it’s just like a revolution that kicks all the mainstream Electro’asses. I’m not saying Boys Noize is a genius or what, but I’m saying he is always making his attitude. When you hear it, you’ll know that it is the Noize of da German Boy.
-Please also check BOYS NOIZE: Diplo gives a rare thumbs up by Dave.

憑藉先前的幾首混音與首張專輯Oi Oi Oi，07年Boys Noize迅速崛起。不過，或許就像牌桌上有新手運，玩久了才見真章一樣，09年第二張專輯在發行前就被視為是真正一窺其實力的作品。 Continue Reading…

About 3am sometime in January I was in a taxi with DJ Diplo heading towards some hot springs in the mountains of north Taiwan. Diplo, which the Fujirockers crew pretty unanimously selected as one of the all-stars of FRF09 and who is currently blowing up bigtime with his Major Lazer project as it tours the US, had just played a set in a Taipei club and was being unusually candid when it came to other DJs of the realm. Most were not exactly getting what one would call a lot of love, and actually, the only other DJ to get spontaneous praise was none other than:

Boys Noize.

Diplo: “That dude, he just mixes up all kinds of strange stuff you’d never think would go together, but somehow – and I don’t know how he does it – he makes it work.” High praise indeed.
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