Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

A few days ago while eating a late night sandwich, I was assured by the guitarist in a Taiwanese post-rock band, Su, who was DJing at the time, that the “Taiwanese bands” at Fuji Rock would be announced on July 1. So I stayed up late, thinking “Taiwanese bands?” Is there really a plural there? There’s never been more than one Taiwanese group at Fuji Rock before, and now, on the freshly released web page of the Japanese site, there are three: Sheng Xiang & the Band, Sugar Plum Ferry and Silverbus. All are playing at Gypsy Avalon, where post-rock at noontime will definitely be an experiment.

The bigger news is that band lists for Fuji Rock’s seven smaller stages are now out and more or less finalized. These are the lineups for the little hippie field (Gypsy Avalon), the competition stage for young bands (Rookie-A-Go-Go), the little performance area in the middle of the woods on the boardwalk between the White Stage and Orange Court (Boardwalk Stage), the food court area stage (Naeba Shudoku), a daytime cabaret in a cleverly converted shed (Cabaret de Paris – last year it was called Cabaret Fiesta), and the Pyramid Garden (a rather mysterious stage that, like the evil fortress in Krull, disappears at sunset and appears in a new location each dawn). There are also a few additions to Daydreaming, which is a late morning/early afternoon DJ stage at the top of a mountain a 20-minute gondola ride from the rest of Fuji Rock (and there is definitely a pretty good reason for why it’s so far away).

Check the additions here: http://www.fujirockfestival.com/artist/

It’s Mate as in the tea, not the friend, and the band hails from Frankfurt, Germany.

No, come on, wait, before you click away, Germany has given us plenty of fine acts. Beethoven was good. So was Bach. And don’t forget the Scorpions.

The German language, of course, sounds like someone kicking a typewriter down a staircase, which makes it all the more impressive when a band comes along that can make it sound good. Like Mate Power.

MP sound like they were formed to play Fuji. It’s all ska up front (and is there any mainstream festival anywhere in the world that loves ska quite as much as Fuji?) but members of the band have roots in South America, so they mix a little cumbia in for the kind of multicultural party sound that Fuji adores.

And if none of that has given you an idea of what a Mate Power show is like, check out this ace graphic that you can download as a pdf from their website:

The Power seem to tour Japan annually, and their YouTube channel has some tapes of their exploits. See below.

This time will also be a full tour, so check em out in the outdoors, then check em out inside.

http://www.myspace.com/matepower

http://www.matepower.com

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (a.k.a. Ska Para or TSPO) has been playing Fuji Rock’s Green Stage since at least 1999, so the now 9-piece, ska-gone-mainstream, party-on-a-stage-in-matching-suits supergroup is no surprise as the second headliner on Saturday night. A much less familiar Green Stage selection is Dad Mom God, which will presumably be playing sometime Friday afternoon or maybe even late morning. The band is led by former TSPO saxophone player Tatsuyuki Hiyamuta, who two years ago teamed up with other J-rock scene veterans Junji Ikehata (Rock n Roll Gypsies), Masaki Mori (Ego-Wrappin’) and Dub Zombi (SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS – Sunday night in the Red Marquee). The result is a back-to-the-juke-joint sound and an infusion of at least scuzz rock with touches of oldschool ska-punk. Kemuri is not playing the festival this year, so for fans that are jonesing to get their skank on, these two bands will be pulling top honors.

A SHORT HISTORY OF JAPANESE SKA
(Well, at least as far as Fuji Rock is concerned)

Ska of course originated in Jamaica in the 1960s, and its legacy is long and winding. Japan’s ska wave dates to the 80s and 90s, with TSPO and another regular Fuji Rock act, Ska Flames, both founded in 1989 and laying a foundation of sorts for the scene. There’s a bit of a back story though, and more than a few tie-ins to this festival. Enter Gaz Mayall. Continue Reading…

Ito Fumio is no stranger to Fuji Rock. Formerly the frontman for Tokyo ska punks Kemuri, together he and the band performed at the festival six times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007) before going their separate ways at the end of 2007.

Fumio issued his debut solo release, “Midage Riot,” last October.  Poking fun at his elder statesman stature in the Japanese punk scene with its title, the disc mixes elements of ska, swing, and pop.  A pretty laidback affair, Fumio’s new tunes should be well suited for the Sunday afternoon Orange Court crowd.

Continue Reading…

It’s a bit late to tell you now, but Friday night in Yokohama there was a mini-fest featuring four Fuji acts: Tokyo Ska Para, Curly Giraffe, UA and this mob… Cool Wise Man. I’d never heard of them, but the rest of the Greenroom Festival line-up was so good I thought I’d check them out.

Continue Reading…