At 8:10 PM 95.6.20 +0900, Shuichi Tanida wrote:
>> My last buy, was a CD by "Pizzicato Five Tyo", which I found was a really
>>excellent
> compilation.
>
> Quite Excellent !!
> I like this CD very much. And This CD's Bonus-Item is so interesting.
> I think it contains their feelings 'Let's go to World Tour !!'.
> Because, 'TYO(Tokyo)' is used as symbol for Jet Lags(TAG) practically.
>
> The Vocal is so cute !!
> And Sounds are NOT ACID but Feeling Good (Fresh,Clear and Pretty !!).
It may not be Acid Jazz, but for some reason, the group seems to appeal to
Acid Jazz
listeners (particularly with the "heavy" material being marketed in the
states). Some of
their arrangements _are_ very catchy.
>
>> As I'm not familiar with the Japanese Pop/Jazz scene, I was hoping you could
>> recommend some groups like Pizzicato.
Within the "pop scene" Pizzicato are very rare, and relatively unpopular.
If anything, groups
with similar sounds are more likely to be found on the indie shelves.
"Groups like" Pizzicato Five:
I'm going to take you literally and name up a few Japanese artists/groups
who are similar
to Pizzicato Five in terms of their use of hip jazz and pop elements and a
female
vocalist. The following is not a "recommendation," as some of the
following acts
don't do much for me, but some are very similar stylistically...
ICE
(Pop group which has been including significant amounts of jazz and funk
elements into
their work. The vocalist is decent, a little more "soulful" than P5's Maki)
Transistor Glamour
(Actually the "artist name" for the vocalist, a former backing vocalist for
the P5 crew.
This woman's style is rather soulful and the backing tracks are
considerably jazzy and
funky)
Monday Michiru
(Almost not even necessary to mention. As we all know, Monday sings in English
and has a decent voice (but I don't know why everyone makes such a big deal
about it).
I wasn't real big on her "Maiden Japan" release, but the "Groovement" remix
disk
was quite nice.)
Les 5-4-3-2-1
(A little more openly "rock-influenced" than P5, but similarly blending
jazz, pop, and rock
with a spunky female vocalist. I've heard warnings about their recent
album, though I
rather liked their first one.)
Kahimi Karie
(Excellent "French Pops" vocalist with some hella' funky backing tracks ala
Serge Gainsbourgh
and El Malo. Her recent Momus project "I am a Kitten" and maxi-single
"Girly" are particularly
recommended. Warning, her French and English isn't too hot, but its
forgiveable.)
The End of the World
(What was this person's name? P5's first vocalist's new band. Don't know
much about them.)
Cosa Nostra
(AKA Cosa. Rather popular local band led by one Sakurai Tetsutaro who is
responsible for
introducing UFO to the world in 1991 on the "Cosa Nostra" compilation
series. Vocalist
Suzuki Momoko sings in decent English, but is a another vocalist who I just
can't get into.)
Escalators
(Pop group blending Jazz Funk, Disco and Soul into their music. Vocalist
Zooco is very good,
quite soulful, and the band is quite funky. They've improved steadily over
the last couple years
and keeps going into more and more interesting directions. They are often
compared to the Brand
New Heavies locally, though I see very little in common these days.)
Love Tambourines
(Known mainly for extremely talented vocalist "Ellie," whose gotten alot of
attention for her
incredibly soulful voice and mediocre English lyricism. They've actually
broken up recently,
but all eyes are on Ellie's solo career (and large chest which she seems to
be showing off more
and more lately) which should be starting up soon.) (sorry to the faint of
heart)
Honorable Mention:
Hippies - "Hippies In"
(Album linked directly to thei P5 crew (through production and lyrics),
I've heard that its very "P5-like.")
Girl Girl Girl series
(Anthology series produced by Konishi of P5 and Sakurai of Cosa Nostra (and
Kubota of
Pearl Brothers) from music produced for a radio show back in 1991-1992.
Excellent works
of ambient techno, soul, pop, and many other genres. I'm sure a P5 fan
could appreciate
these fine releases.)
Original Love
(This group is often grouped in discussions of P5. Actually, male vocalist
Tajima Takao
was the lead vocalist for P5 back in 1989 (before Maki). His group's
recent works include
jazzy vocalisations, funky arrangements and effective uses of various
musical elements in
their music. The band's first album "Love Love Love" should be avoided, and
is similar
to his mediocre period with P5, but releases after 1992 are pretty good.)
> There was one interesting group called "Coke Head Hipsters", and also one
> called "Boredoms". Do you know them?
I don't have any Boredoms info in front of me here. Cokehead Hipsters
released an
album called "Escape From the Circle" on Kitty Records (KTCR-1313) a couple
months
ago. They also have a live album on some indie label which I've only seen
once before.
Incidentally, their music is a ska/death metal/funk mix and their vocalist
is a Jello Biafra
wannabe who "sings" in crappy English. The music is OK (for me), but I
can't handle
the vocals. With that in mind, I can't tell you why I like the decidedly
noisier Boredoms.
> Can you Report me more details ?
> Which Company released these CDs ?
I can look up some Boredoms info later if you fellas are interested (but
not for a week or so).
Off hand, I've seen their album "Chocolate Synthesizer" in not only my
local (Nerima-ku,
Tokyo) store, but also LA, so it can't be that hard to get a hold of.
(->Jazzers who don't
know< This stuff is basically noisy punk. If you're not down, then don't
take a risk. But I
dig the disk.)
-b
[ Ben List <> ben@ludens.co.jp ]
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