Forum - View topicJapanese Indie Rock
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Mushi-Man
 Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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You may not notice this but, much like the U.S., there is a growing movement of indie bands popping up all over Japan. And they have a quickly growing popularity in the country. I was hoping to start a topic about all the hot new indie bands in Japan. And to open discussions on this new scene. I've been finding quite a few that I've quickly fallen in love with. I'd like a share just a few that to start the topic off.
Oger You (ANN censored this word): They're a band that's been getting allot of popularity in Japan in recent years. They have a very distinct Modest Mouse sound that has taken Japan by storm. If you like mellow rock (like Modest Mouse) you'll love this band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgvhfUkh7Ag Mass of the Fermenting Dregs: I don't really know how to describe them other than amazing. I guess you could say they're under the post-rock category which has been so popular in Japan lately and have some real refreshing shoegazing sounds. I think they'll be taking off very soon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkRsnh4K1Vg 6EYES: A indie band that has a sound that I've never really heard come out of Japan in any form. They have a really dark psychedelic sound that is very unique to them. I can't compare them to anything else out there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scWOCezDltE Mouse on the Keys: This is one of my new favorite bands out there, they are an extremely creative band that has nothing to compare to. They're a 3 piece band with no vocals. Instead they have 2 keyboardists and a drummer which makes for a really out there sound. They're songs some times border on the lines of falling into a smooth jazz sound, and at other times can even sounds classical. But the powerful drumming counters the piano playing with a driving sound. I highly recommend this band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kYY8iMxZKs Last edited by Mushi-Man on Wed Mar 03, 2010 7:21 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11446 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Scoobie Do -- First heard 'em do the Gungrave ending theme and have been enamored ever since. As the name may imply, there is a '60s/'70s style to the band. They do a lot of pop/rock/funk stuff and are good for just kicking back and tapping to the beat. Lead singer reminds me of Mick Jagger in terms of physical mannerisms, but he carries a lot of energy. Guitar carries a great rhythm and has just the right balance to keep the songs going. And the drummer has a cool afro.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=scoobie+do&search_type=&aq=f |
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bahamut623
 Posts: 1463 |
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Supercar: My favorite Japanese band. They're relatively popular, sort of. As far as anime goes, they're probably most recognizable for Eureka Seven. They did the song Storywriter. And a lot of the music in the movie Ping Pong was theirs. Unfortunately, they split up years ago. The lead singer's new group, ILL, has a similar sound though, and they did the main song for the E7 movie. The female singer from Supercar, Miki Furukawa, has a solo career, also with a somewhat similar sound.
Supercar: Wonderword ILL: R.O.C.K. Miki Furukawa: Candy Girl The Telephones-Downright addicting. I cannot stop listening to them. They're something like Yeah Yeah Yeah's mixed with The Rapture. Very energetic and just...awesome. Urban Disco (they have a some sort of fixation on disco) 80kidz: They're more electro than anything else. They've actually made their way into the US a bit, doing remixes of bands like Metric and MGMT. They're a bit too electro-y for my tastes, but they have some good songs like this one. Frankie Base Ball Bear: I'd heard a few songs in the past, and thought they were alright, but after hearing their albums I'm a die hard fan. They have a lot of great stuff. This band and The Telephones are the two that I've been listening to over and over the most the past few months. They've done music for Gintama, Ookiku furi...that baseball show, and Library War. Kamigami Looks You The Babys: Rather short lived, with only one or two albums and a handful of EPs. They were featured in Paradise Kiss (they were Arashi's band, and the lead singer was Arashi's seiyuu). Shonen Knife (not the band, it's the name of the song) Here are some others that are good but I don't really have much to say about: Sakanaction, Fujifabric, andymori, The Novembers Lately I've been listening to mostly Japanese music, especially when it comes to indie stuff. Not for some "JAPAN PWNZ!" weeaboo reason, but because the Japanese stuff I've been finding has just been a lot better than the American stuff. |
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Mushi-Man
Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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Tony K.: Wow, I've never heard of this band but I'm glad you posted them. I have to say they are really good. I like the funk undertones of their songs. And on top of that they have a high energy sound that's great.
bahamut623: I got to say, all great suggestions. I've always been a big fan of Supercar, and right after the Eureka Seven movie I got addicted to iLL. Though I would describe iLL as having a really strong Radiohead (or at least Thom Yorke) sound. And thanks for showing Miki Furukawa, I love it. And I love the other bands mentioned to. The Telephones are just a crazy high energy band. P.S.: It's come to my attention that ANN has censored the name of the first band I mentioned. So I'll just post of Youtube link where you can get the actual name. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgvhfUkh7Ag |
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bahamut623
Posts: 1463 |
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 Here I was thinking it was just a quirky Japanese name! Well...it still is a quirky Japanese name, lol. Cool song, though!
Listening to the other groups now. Good stuff. Mouse on the Keys is unique. |
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timesteel
 Posts: 202 Location: California |
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Xodiack is pretty good here is there first PV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTOeFUp-ZKc Also Aural Vampire is good oh and Rampant is pretty good too http://www.myspace.com/auralvampire http://www.myspace.com/rampant5 |
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Mushi-Man
Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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Hahaha I know what you mean. I love the name, but I think if it really was "not-so-nice-person" I would like the name even more. But I hope you enjoy the other bands. timesteel: It's not necessarily the sound that I go for, but if your in to this sound it seems good. Thanks for the post. New Band: Karen: This band was extremely hard to find much on. I found them while reading a blog and that's the only place I can get info on them. I've searched the internet for more but I just couldn't find it. And if there is more info out there on this band I imagine it's getting covered up with the search results about Karen O (lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs). But don't let the similar name fool you, they still have a different sound. Karen has a really up beat optimistic sound that's quite up lifting really. They instrumental sound is really stripped down and basic but the female lead vocalist adds a whole other layer to the sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnyENFiqwhQ |
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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I'm surprised you've enjoyed them for so many years. animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=441886#441886 I really like anything involved with Gungrave. So, I generally go for anything related to anime. |
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poonk
 Posts: 1490 Location: In the Library with Philip |
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Though I've never been entirely clear on what qualifies a band as being "indie" (is it strictly that they're on an independent label?) I'd like to second that telephones recommendation. They're totally danceable and make awesome music videos (see Love & Disco and Free Throw) that look like rad 70s cartoons.
Also: The best album I bought in 2009 was avengers in sci-fi - science rock [2008]. It's one of those unusual albums where not only do I not skip a single track, I actually love them all and can easily listen to the album all the way through (in fact I did, constantly, for the first few weeks after it arrived). It's a perfect mix of basic rock (guitar, bass, drums) and synthesizers & sound effects and it will be my soundtrack when I'm in my spaceship, dogfighting through the turbulent atmosphere of an alien planet, and am forced to crash land to face an uncertain fate. That, or get picked up for speeding, because this album really makes me hit the gas for some reason. P.S. Though not Japanese, also worth mentioning in the same vein as the above 2 groups is my 2008 greatest "find," China's New Pants who are sorta New-Wave-by-way-of-the-Ramones and make hilariously low-budget but complete inspired (& inspiring) videos (see: Bye Bye Disco, Love Brings Me Home, and Everybody). You will dance. |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11446 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Yup. I never get tired of 'em. |
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perroloco
Posts: 308 |
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Seraching with google I found this japanese band I really liked, andymori
BTW Mushiman, I cant seem to find any of the oger You-not so nice person band you mentioned in the first post... Could you tell me where to look or maybe its japanese name?? youtube or even niconico link would be appreciated
EDIT: Nevermind I found them but their name appears to be "Ogre you asshole" |
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bahamut623
Posts: 1463 |
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I think of indie as a genre (a rather broad one, at that) rather than a classification based on the label. It's one of those things that's hard to define but you know it when you hear it.
I've been listening to Mass of the Fermenting Dregs since yesterday. Really cool band.
Thanks for this. I am dancing...and laughing!! There definitely is a touch of The Ramones to them, especially in this one Also, a band that Scoobie Do reminds me of is The Arrows. |
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Mushi-Man
Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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Hahaha exactly, see that's what bahamut623 and I were talking about earlier, ANN censored their actual name so thats how that word appears on these forums. But I linked to a youtube video of them in a latter post. I guess I should have just edited the first post to begin with. bahamut623: I agree with you. I think the term indie started off as a way to label bands on independent record labels. But as time went on it became a whole genre in it of itself. For example; Oger You ...(you can figure it out) is currently on a major record label called VAP but they're still considered to be one of Japan's biggest indie bands. Another example is Modest Mouse, they're an indie band even though they are on the Epic Records label. So it's very hard to define indie. |
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(VT-109)Lt.J.M.Penczek
 Posts: 12 Location: Cartersville, GA |
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The Piass, hands down my favorite j-band. They have a serious curse though and i always found takayuki to be pretty strong to keep rebuilding the group. I've been a fan since 1997.
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Mushi-Man
Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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A few new bands that I've found while searching the internet.
Psysalia Psysalia Psyche: This is a very intense alternative indie band that I think people will like. Their sounds is like shoegazing but darker than it usually. It's a very laid back sounds but at the same time has a strong undertone of darkness and anger. So, dare I say you may call them grunge? What ever you may want to call them I think any indie fan will enjoy their refreshing and extremely artsy sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjoz04wUJX0&feature=fvst The Bad Spellers: Are you a fan of indie pop bands like Matt and Kim, The Format (now named fun.), Deerhoof, or Grizzly Bear? Then your in luck, this band will fit right in with your music collection. Interestingly enough this band is actually an international collaboration between American born Tony Parmenter and Japanese born Yasuko Ichinomiya. Together they formed one of the newest indie pop bands based out of Tokyo Japan. I was very happy when I found this band, and not just because their songs are so up lifting and happy, but also because I'm a big indie pop fan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThY8FkiiuU |
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