Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

MAGNIFICENT MIMI, PUERTO RICO REPRESENT

Midnerely Acevedo, stage name Mimi Maura, struts sexy and sings sweetly mature to match, in chameleon blue Doc Martens. Her vocal style coupled with Sergio’s sax attack antics and guitar cameo, between hopping around his gray afro bouncing happily along, Fernando Ricciardi on drums making sure the beat (cue snare solo) goes on.

The trio teams with the Ishikawa Michihisa Session, 6 more talented fellows on guitar, congas, percussion, sax and trumpet. Sergio’s energy persuades the stoic fellows to loosen those hips and 2-step in time with the music. Have a little fun guys!

With dub, reggae, a Bob Marley cover “Judge Me,” a guest vocalist Naruko I think was her name, and an acapella encore or three, by high noon, if you weren’t blazing from the sun, you might still be blistered and glowing from Mimi’s presence.

Hailing from Puerto Rico, the heat was not a problem at all. And with 8 albums under her belt, as well as a number of international collaborations, since her start at the age of 14 with a metal band called Rencor, she has burgeoned to emit an aura of class and confident refinement.

She was totally making eyes at the cameraman in the pit.

Photo Courtesy Smashing Mag Julen Esteban-Pretel. See more here.

DJ Nobu last year on the decks at the Red Marquee

All-Night Fuji, a special Friday night rave DJ Royal Rumble of sorts, way back in the Orange Court where you can be freaky as you wanna be, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the festival. And my top pick for Sunday night, Annie Mac closing out the fest in style with one last surge of dancing frenzy, for the win!

Ringing in the 10-year anniversary of Fuji Rock Festival, the bludgeoning jungle-y DnB tracks of DJ AKI, Future Terror artist DJ NOBU, DJ KRUSH, techno axe murderer Ken Ishii, DJ “Psy-Trance” Tsuyoshi, and that is only half the lineup. (Already I have twice been obliterated by DJ Aki who is equally as energetic on stage while he plays as the furious dancers in the dust rising just trying to keep up with his raunchy 280bpms!)

In Osaka and seemingly the whole of Kansai, government has put the sledgehammer to all-night parties. And yet they are putting nuclear reactors back online, disregarding the 80-some percent of the population who begs and protests otherwise. Major bummer. Anyway, unless you live in Tokyo (or Kanazawa) it seems that you are quite possibly doomed to ipod dance parties in your underwear at home on an otherwise awesome Saturday night. Coming from Kyoto, I for one am stoked sideways for the electronic onslaught kicking off Friday night, out at Orange where no one can hear you scream. Continue Reading…

HE IS WAY CUTER THAN COMMON ISN'T HE?

So you see this picture and think for sure it is the American rapper Common. Or conversely, you don’t see a picture but only hear the poetic stream flowing atop some sick backing music and automatically assume it is a matured Saul Williams–after a long vacation in the Caribbean. As such, you would both be sadly mistaken.

Hailing from Trinidad, Anthony Joseph has honed his word crafting artistry in the UK since 1989. He has published volumes of poetry, novels and numerous academic essays, and is now working towards a Ph.D. This guy seriously has something to say. Taking to the stage, he is likened to Gil Scott Heron or the Last Poets in his methods, conveying dense searing commentary and thought-provoking dialogue about diaspora and native ways alongside free jazz, funk, calypso, etc.

Lucky for us, Birkbeck College where he lectures will be out on summer vacation when Fuji Rock ensues! That means a special appearance by this fresh and invigorating collaboration of Anthony Joseph rhyming betwixt the diverse musical styling of The Spasm Band (not to be confused with these guys from Wales). Continue Reading…

In the film Lost in Translation there’s a moment when a cheesy lounge singer introduces her band.  “We’re Sausalito,” she coos; I myself shouted at the screen, “Of course you are!”  It was the perfect name for some westerners living in Japan playing limp jazz standards.  As a westerner living in Japan, I’d seen my share of limp jazz standards. 

Japanese jazz – real modern Japanese jazz – is at the opposite end of the spectrum.  Brash, energetic, sometimes hyperkinetic, it has an energy that belies the virtuosity of the players.  They haven’t had the spirit trained out of them, and they capture the spirit of jazz and jack it full of an energy that’s almost punk rock.

Such a description describes Quasimode, the Tokyo four-piece who return to FujiRock for their second time this summer.  Taking cues from ‘60s and ’70s, Quasimode have a sound that is at once classic and forward-thinking. 

Pianist Yusuke Hirado recognizes that Japanese and European jazz artists have reinvigorated the jazz scene on a global scale – that those who think jazz is Sausalito are sorely mistaken.

“In Japan, Sleep Walker, Soil & “Pimp” Sessions and Quasimode still play around the world,” says Hirado.  “We gain popularity little by little – I can see it myself.”

A Quasimoto show makes a strong case for the viability and energy of today’s jazz scene, but Quasimode aren’t just for the heads.  Hirado says that the spirit of rock’n’roll, for the most part, isn’t so far from the attitude of jazz.

“I think we believe jazz is totally dance music,” says Hirado, “and jazz is not a difficult music. 

So I think we fit in very well with rock audiences – and I am sure our attitude delivers to non-jazz fans.”

As for this summer’s appearance at FujiRock, Hirado looks forward to the festival for many of the same reasons we do.

“I can check out lots of artists or bands in same day,” he says.  “That’s the main point for me.  Of course I am looking forward to chillin’ with band members, staff and friends!!”

You can see more about the band at http://quasimode.jp

Photo by 直田亨 courtesy of Smashing Mag.

feast for the eyes

It seems like I am not the only one who thought these sausage sandwiches at the Russian food tent in the Orange Court were delectable. While I was browsing through the Japanese counterpart to this English site today, I noticed that one of the Japanese writers had also devoured one of these bad boys and been as equally as impressed. Seeing as this sausage was being sold at a Russian food stand, I guess that the translation of the Japanese katakana name was “kielbasa,” which seems to be a thick sausage common in Eastern Europe and the Ukraine. Anyway, this was the best food I ate at Fuji Rock and if you see this stall at the festival, please try one of these. Not only was the sausage amazing but there was a perfectly balanced spicy mayonaise sauce to go with it. Continue Reading…

TOGETHER EVERYBODY HAVE A PARTY

And I mean that in the sincerest sense. These guys exude a chill vibe, calling to Jah on high, I and I Rastafari between every song. Rising above the mud below, from questioning lyrics of “Who are you, who are you?” to the later “Have a party!” The lead preacher (singer) and hand drummer Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah clad in authentic garb, white/gold robe and dread cap, was there at Orange Court to brighten your day, keeping you bobbing up and down dub style in your rubber boots. The guitarist’s gear was an ostentatious yellow plaid suit/vest set, and the hype guy, who actually just stood to the side smiling the entire set, more like a spiritual assistant than a hype guy, had dreads down to the floor; and I am not even embellishing. The keyboardist was a little stoic, younger than the other members by at least 20 years, hopefully there to give longevity to some of these songs and styles being passed on and around a rotating musical cast revolving around Bonjo’s effervescent high on Jah life stage presence.

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THE MIDDLE EAST COMES FAR EAST

My girlfriend doesn’t particularly like “rock,” but she has already remarked about the great sound quality seemingly ever-present at Fuji Rock. And for a 7-piece like the Middle East, that’s very important business.

To experience the subtlest vocal inflections or the twinkling twang of a banjo, the most gentle accordion squeeze, a trumpet’s triumphant yet distant crescendo, a barefoot beardy man’s wispy refrain, a flickering flute melody, etc. a with-it sound guy is key. And a muted day of overcast weather puts us all in a muddy soundproof sort of booth here in Naeba, a perfect setting for vocal harmonies to strum your soul strings; is that too emotional for the first day?

Anyway, The Middle East start with vocally strong, goose-bumpy tracks like “Blood,” that amazingly sound just as good live as recorded. Then tracks like “Jesus came to my birthday, I was only 17,” makes you wonder if this ensemble has just reworked some pesky worship music and gone international. But followed by a harmonica intro, like an old steam engine pulling out of the station and a tumbleweed whacking you upside the head, barefoot beardy man in flannel makes you wonder if in fact this band sold its soul to the devil at the crossroads like Robert Johnson, or the band Low, take your pick. Continue Reading…

System 7 on Orange Court in 2009

However, it didn’t affect the last performance on Orange’s normal lineup, that being System 7. These guys with their unique blend of instrumental and traditional techno (should that be the other way around?) had the soon-to-be-shut-down court fairly grooving, and became more and more packed out as the performance continued. Continue Reading…

Humbert Humbert

But before we get into all that, let’s acknowledge that the band takes its name from the pervy narrator of Lolita, which is probably not a good idea for a band that hails from the land of pervy Lolita fetishes, and whose debut video began with a cartoon of a doe-eyed nymphet, drawn from a weird angle that made it look like some perv was crawling around on the floor of a classroom, looking up skirts.

Perhaps its just as well I don’t know what they’re singing about.

Nevertheless, HH’s chirpiness will make a great intro to Sunday if I can get up in time. And I’m hoping for plenty of their country sound. I always wish there was a bit of country at Fuji Rock – the good stuff, not the cheesy stuff – and as somebody wrote in the comments section of the video below, Humbert Pervert do country music better than the Americans.

http://www.humberthumbert.net/

BONJO IYABINGHI NOAH

Dub-a-licious, is the bubble gum that I will be chewing on opening night this year. Feeling and feeding off that famous Friday-night-at-Fuji-Rock-Festival energy, African Head Charge may ask as they do on their 2005 album, “Visions of a Psychedelic Africa” track, “Ready You Ready?” And on that cue, taking off of shoes should ensue, as should your daishiki donning as Adrian Sherwood, Bonjo and the gang go straight for your melon; in a happy, smiley, give-me-a-big-bear-hug welcoming sort of festival fashion.

If their music is contagious enough for me to burn the beans because of a surge of dancing frenzy right there in the middle of the kitchen, then you better believe in the summery mountains of Naeba, at the lush grassy lawn of Orange Court at sunset, African Head Charge will have the whole crowd swaying, thrusting, bopping and the like in that fashionable dub rhythm, slightly slow-motion groove, nothing less than can be expected from one of fair young dub-step’s indispensable great-grand-daddy groups.

This being African Head Charge’s 30^th drum-beating, synth-pad-banging year, and bringing with them looping echoes of mesmerizing sound off their new 2011 release “Voodoo of the Godsent,” everything from a chorus of children, hand drums galore, crisp guitar tones brandishing infinite reverb, heavy bass synth beats at perfect breaks, and what sounds like frogs croaking, hyenas howling and clown car horns blowing, this experimentally eccentric yet totally accessible menagerie will woo you into a spirit realm you never thought existed…In a nice, positive thinking way.

Not just a track off the aforementioned “Visions…” album, drumming is a language for Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, an original Rasta man from the hills of Clarendon, Jamaica. His Rasta/Nyabinghi/Afro-Cuban magic hands have a way of weaving beats seamlessly throughout the trancey psychedelia that makes watching this kind of live show imperative for truly understanding the pure emotion evoked when performing timeless native rhythms coupled with Adrian Sherwood’s mastery and manipulation of modern technology’s most ethereal sounds. Music that is itself a beautiful landscape should echo off the beautiful mountain landscape of Naeba, trapping you in a sound vortex realm, and segueing surreally into the next 48 hours of international music ecstasies for you and your daishiki-donning festival family.

Orange Court, Friday night, and I promise everyone wearing daishikis a free piece of Dub-a-licious.

Photo by Izumi Kuma and used with permission of Smashing Mag.

I arrived at All Night Fuji just as Green Velvet was taking over the decks. Some in the crowd expressed their disappointment that he was not to be playing live, but I found no such disdain. As I predicted in my preview piuece, his style was tonight much more tripped out than the house that made him famous. Sandwiched between Ken Ishii and Denki Groover Takkyu Ishino, it’s no surprise that he saw fit to adjust his style to fit the moment. The sign of a good DJ is in my opinion the ability to read the crowd and adapt to what they want, whether that be a track by track decision, or a stylistic one before a beat has been played. Continue Reading…

SOME THINGS WE JUST LIKE

Though my tastes are unimpeachable, I would never presume to tell you what to do, think, or feel. This may sound strange coming from someone who makes a living selling his opinions, but I don’t necessarily think those opinions are going to be shared by all, regardless of what some of my editors believe. When I write a movie or music review, all I can do is try to reveal how the particular subject matter struck me, and then hope that anyone who’s reading it will be able to translate those feelings for his or her own sensibility. I never tell anyone “you should see this film” or “you should buy this album,” even if I think you would be a better person if you did. Continue Reading…

My all-purpose recommendation

The one bit of advice that I give to those attending Fuji Rock for the first time (or those coming back after a long hiatus) is to figure out your footwear!

Going back to your hotel room or pup tent in between sets is probably impossible as you should be prepared to mosh around in one pair of shoes the whole time. That said, you better decide what it’s gonna be, and trust me, there are a million good choices out there such as Tevas, Keens, Wellies, Saucony (Kern’s pick), Blundstone, Crocs.

Personally, if I were to buy a pair of shoes for the festival today, I would take my friend Dave’s advice (a fellow blog writer) and get a pair of Gore-Tex lined, ankle high Nike ACG. This half-boot provides enough wet weather protection to muck your way around every footpath at the festival. It also has enough bounce to keep your knees happy on the Red Marquee’s concrete floor. And more importantly, it will give you enough traction to stay upright on the slippery slope near hilltop Heineken tent at the Green Stage.
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Green Velvet aka Curtus Jones

Like a lot of house (and other dance music) producers, a lot more of you will know Green Velvet’s music more than those of you who will know his name. Alter ego of Curtis Jones, who has been DJing and producing tracks since the early 90s, Green Velvet’s earlier music had a definite 1980s flavour to it. Big on beats, but far from big beat, the sounds here hark back to Kraftwerk for me. These were tracks that had us on the dancefloor throughout the 90s, sloshing drinks around to the displeasure of all present. Continue Reading…

Diplo prepares for intvu with Taipei's ICRT

We were hanging out with Diplo yesterday, taking a trip to Taipei County for some late-afternoon cliff diving. As was expected, this international DJ/producer  “kept it going higher” climbing well beyond where even locals dare to go, clutching vines and moss covered rocks to a height of 20 meters. He even did a back-flip from one jump off spot, coming perilously close to the rocks below which elicited a “not-cool” remark from his tour manager.

After returning to the city, we played a game of lazer tag, both the free-for-all and team play round won handily  Major Lazer MC, Skerrit Bwoy.  Later, it was off to the local radio station, ICRT, to promote Wednesday’s show which gave us some time to  reminisce about last year’s Fuji performance. Continue Reading…

SANDII @ ASAGIRI JAM 2005

We like to think that the Orange Court was so named because of all the Fuji stages it complements the sunset to the best effect. Of course, you can’t always guarantee clear skies at Fuji, but when there are, dusk doesn’t get any nicer than at that end of Naeba. So we were quite pleased to see that Sandii Suzuki is in the penultimate slot at the Orange Court Sunday evening. In the 80s, after all, she was the leader of a rock band called Sandii and the Sunsetz.

With albums produced by YMO’s Haruomi Hosono, a cult following in Europe and even a top ten single in Australia, the Sunsetz were one of those rare Japanese bands that made it on their own terms outside of the archipelago, thanks mainly to Sandii’s cosmopolitanism. She spent her teen years in Hawaii, where she not only absorbed American rock but studied hula dancing. After she disbanded the Sunsetz in the early 90s she became Japan’s leading world music maven, recording reggae and Polynesian songs, an album of Malaysian music, and dabbled convincingly in dancehall, Singapore hip-hop, Indonesian pop and Japanese-style chanson. Continue Reading…

The Narasirato Pan Pipers

Their instruments are made of bamboo and tree bark. They save the teeth of their ancestors. They still use shells for money. The Narasirato Pan Pipers are not your typical Fujirock band, to be sure, and certainly the easiest act to spot in a crowd, but when they take to the stage at Orange Court next month, the promoters at Smash can proudly check off the “World Music” box from their to-do list. Dressed in traditional clothing and body paint, the Pipers will certainly draw a crowd, and when they play, feet will definitely start moving. But hopefully those in attendance will also be reminded of what the word “tribal” truly meant before it was co-opted by the club scene and tattoo parlors.

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Soul Flower Union have a great back story. The band rose out the ashes of two Osaka-based punk groups, Mescaline Drive and Newest Model, back in 1993. Then when the Kode Earthquake demolished the port town two years later, they really found their voice, wandering through the aftermath and playing acoustic sets to lift spirits. The experience put them on that most unusual of trajectories in Japan, politically informed artistry. While there are hippies a plenty on the islands, and they surely have their own views on the powers that be and the history that put them in place, you hardly hear those opinions spoken of publicly. Soul Flower Union, however, wears its politics on its flowing sleeves, supposting minority groups in Japan and antiwar campaigns throughout Asia. (But don’t tell them that: Street spirits plug in and out.)

Combining traditional song writing and instrumentation with a jam band spirit, SFU are almost like The Pogues for Japan. Ok, if Billy Bragg was fronting The Pogues, and he was sober of course.