Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

Jamie xx with the xx at FRF 2010, Red Marquee

Jamie xx was a late addition to the xx, the English indie pop band from which he took his stage name, and he didn’t even sing or act as primary songwriter for them. Yet he has become their most well-known member through a series of utterly gorgeous remixes of the xx’s and other artists’ music.

He came to Fuji last year with the band near the one-year anniversary of the release of their critically acclaimed and widely beloved debut album, though our intrepid writer seems to not have been quite in the mood for their slightly twee downerism at the time. (He’s been duly sacked. Or promoted. I’m not sure which.) This year Jamie will be warming up the Planet Groove DJ party after hours at the Red Marquee Friday night.

And what a Groovy DJ party that will be. Jamie has mastered Continue Reading…

The xx

I made it from Taylor Hawkins at the Field of Heaven to The xx at the Red Marquee on Friday afternoon in record time – in no small part due to the panel van driver with a case and a half of warm lemon chu-hi strewn across the dashboard and bench seat of his truck. Sometimes getting to the gig on time means taking your life in your hands. Thanks Dom – for flagging this dude down.

ANYWAY, The xx. I busted a move and risked my neck to see their set and honestly I have to look back and say, “Why?” Don’t get me wrong, I quite like The xx with their valiumy Cure bass lines and their telling-you-a-secret-in-the-middle-of-the-night singing, but at 6:30 on Friday night it’s a fucking downer. The sun is down, the moon is up, it’s time to get your cocktail on and reach for the stars (or at least the blinking lights) and this was more like falling asleep in your car and slowly succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning. With a couple thousand other people. Who started ahead of you.

It’s not the band’s fault. This what they do. I could have chosen any other band playing at that moment at the festival, but I chose them. So really, I only have myself to blame. Oh, and the schedule organizers. Like, WTF?

Sorry Double X’ers. I don’t mean to be harsh. I like your music, but that set was just wrong venue, wrong time. You need a late, late set in a much more intimate venue.

The xx at Red Marquee

Go Zen

It goes without saying Fuji Rock presents some serious logistical challenges to those people that want to see all their favorite bands, but my first recommendation for folks is something like this: go zen. Continue Reading…

More of The xx

Everytime I listen to The XX, I just can’t figure out what composes them. Soulful female vocal and casual male vocal? Crystal guitar riff and bassline? Old minimal drum beat? Technically, yes; emotionally, I will say it’s made by romance, simply. Perhaps it just because of the lonely summer in Tokyo, I will need The XX’s live to keep me alive.

隻身在日本，少不了的煩惱絕對是戀人間的距離這件事；而不少次的自我消化，都是搭配The XX服用來緩解一下。請不要看到這邊就幹譙，我現在真的要開始講The XX了。 Continue Reading…

The xx

They go by the name The xx, (”the double x”) and this young trio of friends from Wadsworth, London have created a quiet little noise about themselves over the past year.

They are also one of the most recent additions to the Fuji Rock 2010 lineup. Continue Reading…