JAPANESE UNDERGROUND BANDS

Shonen Knife: (see my memorial page, Flaming in the 
Hazy Sunlight).

Angel'in Heavy Syrup: My favorite current band. My first 
reaction to them was: "Finally, this is what psychedelic 
music is supposed to sound like!" Beautiful, snaking riffs 
over rich textures, shifting rhythms, angelic vocals ...
I can't express how wonderful this music is. Here's a 
picture of me with the creators of that gorgeous sound:


Fusao (rythm guitar), Mineko (bass and vocals) and Mine (lead 
guitar). We're standing outside of Bears in Osaka (5/26/01). 
Despite rumors to the contrary, Angel'in Heavy Syrup has NOT 
broken up, they're just not terribly active at the moment, 
especially since Mineko lives in Belgium. They put out four 
CDs so far, the first self-titled, the others numbered II 
through IV. II and III are out of print, so good luck finding 
them. Hopefully someone will rerelease them. The first album 
is on Subterranean Records, so your local record store should 
be able to get it. IV can be ordered from Monotremata Records. 
Their site includes a tribute page to Angel'in Heavy Syrup 
with a history of the band and a discography of side projects. 
I asked Mine what the meaning of "Angel'in Heavy Syrup" is. 
She said, "Canned fruit!" I asked Fusao about the apostrophe 
after "Angel."  She said, "No meaning, no meaning!"

Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her: This band exists 
to express the genius of Aiha Higurashi. She plays guitar 
and sings and writes all the songs. She's also as beautiful 
as any J-Pop idol. Don't you just want to worship her great-
ness? I first saw them perform in San Francisco at the Kilo-
watt, and they were selling cassettes of the Pink Soda EP. 
I liked the tape a lot, it's full of punchy songs and great 
lyrics (she sings in English, with hardly any accent). The 
next time they came around, they sold me a cassette of It's 
Brand New, a full album. This work is more subtle, and grew 
on me from repeated listenings until it became one of my 
favorite albums of all time. Really, it's remarkable. The 
songs range from low talking over light plucking to full-on 
rockers, sometimes changing abruptly in mood, yet the whole 
album hangs together so that it feels like one complete novel 
rather than a collection of short stories. I still listen to 
it often, and I'm always quite moved. When I went to Japan, 
I bought all the Seagull Screaming CDs I could find, and 
feared that the others wouldn't measure up to It's Brand New. 
Did Aiha only have one great album in her? Well, my fears 
were unfounded, everthing she turns out is absolutely bril-
liant. She would be declared a National Treasure, if that 
distinction really meant anything. Have I gushed enough? 
Just go buy whatever you can find. You can't go wrong. 

  
The photos of Nao Koyama and Aiha were taken at the Cafe du 
Nord, San Francisco, on July 21, 2001. By the way, the band's 
cumbersome name comes from XTC, and was suggested to Aiha by 
a friend. Aiha isn't a big XTC fan. For a discography and in-
terview, go to Rock of Japan. A more recent interview appeared 
in Mainichi. 

Melt Banana: Now, talk about original, there is no band 
on Earth that sounds anything like Melt Banana. Someday the 
copycats will emerge. The rapid, staccato vocals of Yasuko 
Onuki (now she calls herself "Yako") define the sound. The 
band organically developed around her unique style. She 
writes the lyrics, which are in English, but completely 
unintelligible in performance. Fortunately, the CD booklets 
always print them, and they're the coolest stream-of-con-
sciousness poetry I've ever read. 


The guitarist Agata has become a virtuoso, sliding and 
noodling expertly with dazzling precision, while working 
his battery of effects pedals. Rika's bass makes a perfect 
complement to the vocals and guitar, three elements that 
grew together to create the ideal harmony of sounds that 
is like none other. Their energy live is amazing. Yes, get 
their CDs, and see their shows whenever you can. They tour 
a lot. And how did they get their name? First I asked Yako, 
who said that one day "it just popped into my head!" Agata 
told me it was the name of a dish at a restaurant in Aus-
tralia. I guess that's where it popped from. They have a 
website. (The above photo was taken at the Cyclone in 
Tokyo, in the spring of 1998.)

Boredoms: This is music deconstructed and reassembled 
by a playful madman, blasting, pounding and blaring with 
the force of a riot gotten way out of hand. This is music 
pushed through a grinder, the pulpy mass then thrown
against the wall to naturally assume its own form as it 
drips to the floor. This is everything punk rock and the 
avant-garde try to be. Composed songs often mistaken for 
random noise. My first exposure was the Pop Tatari CD, and 
it's still my favorite. Wow2 and Chocolate Synthesizer are 
also classics. The CDs are masterpieces, true works of art, 
and seeing them live is a tremendous, cathartic experience. 
Eye Yamatsuka is the charismatic leader/founder. He's the 
alien brain processing our terrestrial sounds into wailings 
and dirges of worlds light-years away. He's in a bunch of 
other bands, as is every member of the Boredoms. Eye says 
that's why they're able to stay together. (Japanese bands 
in general tend to be recombinant structures, with five or 
six bands composed of the same members in different com-
binations and arrangements, each grouping with it's own 
style and genre. I suspect this is the Boredoms' influence, 
but I can't say for sure.) For copious information (discog-
raphy, side projects and links) plus a cool psychedelic 
graphic, go to the BOREDOMS' eYe, Ear, Nose and Throat Page.
(See also: OOIOO)



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