How this works

Dip Leg

I thought I would write a little about how this blog is working. I'm trying to get into a schedule that makes it easier for me to plan stuff and sustain some good momentum. Here's what it looks like:

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays - OOP Collection -
I'll be posting things from my collection with high-quality (300dpi) scans of all the artwork. I won't be posting things that are still available (except for my own releases). I did some math on my stuff, and I can last  almost two years at this rate, and by that time I'll be able to post more stuff.

Tuesdays & Thursdays - Current stuff, Flyers, Pictures, Interviews, Internet Goodies
The other two weekdays will kind of be a grab bag. There are some cool things I'm finding that are free on the internet that I want to share, as well as flyers and pictures that I have. Also, I will be translating and possibly conducting some interviews with current and past bands. One thing that I think there is waaaaaaay to little of is Japanese bands speaking in their own voice (in English), so hopefully I can help change this a bit. And finally, there are so many weird internet goodies floating around. The wayback machine is one of the best inventions ever, and I've found some things lying around in those databases that are fun to look at.

Saturdays & Sundays - Rest
I play video games and do homework. You do something other than expect me to post on here.

And that is the format I'm going to try to keep up with. The Band & Label links are constantly being updated as I find new bands. I really appreciate your comments, so if you got something to say or like what I'm doing, let me know!

Infro - Demo [2005]

I first heard infro on the first "Here Comes the Bottom Line..." compilation from Impulse Records. They had two songs that just rocked so good. There sound takes some cues from 1000travels of Jawaharlal, Turbostaat, and early envy. Kind of that whole rocking, but melodic, and screaming punk or hardcore. Not sure what to call it, but it's great. But what I think makes infro so good is that they get better the more you listen to them. Their music is so deep. There's so much going on that you won't notice at first. Listening to this demo again after 7 years, I'm still finding new things to love about it.

Luckily for humankind, these guys are still fucking rocking out. Their site has tons of information, and they even put out a split 7" last year. Impulse Records has put out an almost album (7 songs) and another EP, which is a good amount of stuff to sink your teeth into (I'll probably be posting Melody soon).

Funny note: in searching for this video below, I found that a shit ton of youtube people don't fucking know how spell "info." It's not "infro" you dummies. God!

Infro - 1st Demo

1. Magatta Senaka

2. Digidigi

Lostage - Demo [2003]

This was a totally luck grab. I think I got it at Allman in 2003. Lostage plays some totally smooth emo rock that makes me feel the same way No Knife makes me feel. Angular and melodic. I thought this was an EP, but Lostage's site says it was their demo. Well. It's a fucking amazing demo here, that doesn't sound like a demo.

Anyways, Lostage is doing very well these days, headlining big gigs and doing it large like only a medium-sized Indie band in Japan can.

Here's a video from their Toy's Factory debut (I didn't even know they released something on Toy's Factory until now) in 2009. Now that I'm listening to this, I'm thinking they sound more like Bush than No Knife. In a really good way.

Lostage - Demo

1. Routine

2. 下がった体温

3. 2:50

Nervous Light of Sunday - Demo [2003]

A random demo I picked up in 2003. I didn't know what to expect, but Nervous Light of Sunday play some awesome melodic, new school hardcore. They're still around and released an album on Cosmic Note a few years ago. Pretty good stuff on here. Enjoy!

Nervous Light of Sunday - Demo 2003

1. 囁く風が

2. 冷めていく体温

3. 離れた指先

[Bandcamp] Cofun - "We Practice Our Songs" Demo [2012]

Most of the stuff I post on here is old, but that doesn't mean there isn't awesome things going on in Japan today. I try to only post out of print stuff, so that existing bands can sell their stuff without downloads ruining it. With that being said, I definitely want to post more about current stuff, and free stuff on bandcamp makes that happen quickly! (hint hint to other Japanese bands).

So, this morning, this video popped into my Youtube box:

It's from a band I'd never heard called Blue Friend. Well, they're pretty awesome, and I looked at the complete bandlist for this show, which happened on 3/4/12 (how's that for recent?). I'm still building out my Band Links page, and take every new flyer I see as a chance to add another band I hadn't seen before. There were a few, and on doing some research, I found that cofun has a bandcamp with their whole demo on it! Released last month! Please, young Japanese hardcore bands, we need more of this. Bandcamp is an insanely great platform and everyone should use it.

Anyways. Cofun plays lighter, USA-style screamo with some Japanese flair. I couldn't tell you who they sound like (it's early), but it fits pretty well into what other bands have done before. There's a whole 8 songs and the download is completely free. And give the thing a like. There are no likes! So sad!

Cofun - "we practice our songs" demo 

1. a

2. b

3. c

4. d

5. e

6. f

7. g

8. h

Neoteny - Demo [2003]

I don't have much information around this demo. I picked it up somewhere while in Japan in 2003. Neoteny (or is it Neoteny64. I don't know) run with the Tokyo screamo crowd and did a split with Egoist for Men. I found the video below, and I totally dig the song. They play that Japanese emotional hardcore sound without being derivative. The demo has keyboards and a slight Gauge Means Nothing feel to it. There's no insert to the demo, so I don't know what the songs are called. But, they are great. Check it out and enjoy!

Neoteny - Demo

[No song titles listed, but there are two songs]

VA - My Notebook is Full of Scribbles Compilation [2002]

In my memory, which is admittedly shaky these days, this was the first item in my distro. When I found my first sampler CD, I realized it was actually the second. Irregardless, it's always been one of my favorites. I have love, deep in my heart, for good compilations. There are so many bad ones, that good ones stand out like diamonds in a pile of crap. When a compilation is more like a mixtape, then you're in business. While this one (I'm not going to bother typing the full name out, it would end up being about as long as this parenthesis) isn't without its faults, it's really the first appearances from several bands (GMN, After Forever, Enforce, Womb) and seemed to signal a new movement in the Japanese underground that lasted for several years. 

Take Gauge Means Nothing, for instance. There were a few demos before this compilation, and they'd formed in 1997, but this was the beginning of their most prolific line-up (on a side note, any recording before this compilation is gone-gone. Maybe Yuichi has them somewhere and wants to share?). After Forever and Enforce showed their first recordings on this compilation as well. 

The spiritual followup to this compilation was Satire Records "Light Your Way" compilation, named after the zine that Satire Records edited. It featured some of the same bands (After Forever and Enforce) but expanded the selection to include Nitro Mega Prayer, Dip Leg, End All, Five Kinds Square, 1000travels of Jawaharlal and other notable bands from the scene. That compilation feature bands from all over Japan, whereas this one was only Tokyo bands.

Here's a video of Womb from 2003:

VA - My Notebook is Full of Scribbles compilation

1. Womb - Empty Pancake

2. Overgreed - Class Pieces

3. After Forever - The Scale of Sin and Desire

4. Senna - 3 plus 3.

5. Evil Eye Empire - Each Situation Grownd

6. Enforce - 鎖と火炎瓶

7. Gauge Means Nothing - My Glass Reflect Untrue View on My Eyes

8. Senna - I Stam