This is the first new release from Fungus in 3 years, entitled Dishwasher and Punk, or Punk and Wash depending on who is doing the translating. It just came out this past week, released on Space Shower Music, and this first track sounds pretty good in a Ska kind of way. There are 13 tracks altogether on the disc, so far this is the only one that has been posted online.
One of the best, and therefor longest lasting, Ska bands from Japan is Tokyo Ska Paradise. The first track is Diamond In Your Heart released in July, the second is SUIKINKUTSU featuring the Piano goodness of Hiromi Uehara. The third song is Sky without Canary with Chibayuusuke of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant fame on vocals from 2009, and the final track of tonight’s collection is Chuosame Yoshie singing Cat Playing in the Twilight. If you like jazz, or ska, or big band, this is a group you want to pay attention to when they come your way.
Panda Hero was going to be my first attempt to embed something from Nico Nico. Then I discovered on testing that you can only see the embedded video if you are currently logged into Nico Nico. So instead, another excellent live set from KEXP, this time featuring the band Rose Windows. KEXP is public radio out of the west coast, and they play some of the best music around. You can listen to them from anywhere through the internet, and if you like what you hear you should consider supporting them.
It is hard to get enough of this band, they are one of the best groups out of Japan. One OK Rock has a unique sound that puts them at the center of the J-Rock scene. Check out their new documentary FOOL COOL ROCK!, which follows them through their latest world tour and features a number of their best tracks. The first song here is their 2012 hit The Beginning, the second is 2014’s Mighty Long Fall which came out at the end of July. The third track, Clock Strikes is from 2013, which gives you a song from each of the last 3 years, all of them amazing. It used to be impossible to get music from Japan easily or at least without paying a premium price for an import CD, but of course these days you can just download the ones you like from iTunes for a small fee per song. Unfortunately, all their US tour dates this year are in California in October, too bad they won’t be coming to the east coast.
Not an aspect of Korean pop music you usually hear much from on this side of the Pacific, K-Jazz has some quite tasty examples, and I thought I would share a few this week. The first track is Bank by Puer Kim from her new mini-album Purifier. She isn’t singing about money here, but how to save up good deeds in your spiritual bank account, so you end up making a positive difference in the world with your life. The second track is the Girls Generation 2013 hit Twinkle, a jazz/rock fusion K-Pop masterpiece. There are a lot more where these came from, be sure to explore this musical category when you have a chance.
Wye Oak played quite a tasty set when they were on KEXP last month, and after the 15th time I went back and re-listened to it I realized I needed to share it. The band is a couple of very interesting people from Baltimore, MD, named Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner, who have had tracks included in shows like The Walking Dead and the US version of Being Human. Check out this performance and see if you don’t also conclude they are worth tracking down and hearing in person.