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A blog where we post whatever we want. A focus on music, obscure film, and more. Many links are our own uploads, but just as many are taken from other blogs. If you have a problem with us having your links on our blog, we are glad to take them down. Female Trouble is maintained by Garrett (ZOOM LENS), Michelle, and Megane-Kun (Drink Cold). If there is something that you think we may have that you wish to ask for, do not hesitate to ask us! Please email gyyguy@yahoo.com. The Female Trouble email is not checked.
Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts

Hartfield- True Color, True Lie

Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 2:25 AM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 1 Comment



[Download]

Extremely underrated shoegaze/dreampop group hailing from Japan. Unfortunately, the worst has only seem to have come up with them as no label is willing to release any future records by them and they are speculated to have broken up already. True Color, True Lie is their only full-length album and perhaps due to their untimely end, may one day go on to being a well known gem of dreampop, at least one can only hope.





Purchase: http://www.amazon.com/True-Color-Lie-Hartfield/dp/B000GETWKE

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sora- いつかのテープレコーダー/耳鳴りとその訳

Monday, March 8, 2010 at 2:33 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 4 Comments

いつかのテープレコーダー (Itsukano Tape Recorder)
[Download]

耳鳴りとその訳 (Miminari To Sono Wake)
[Download]

The two latest albums by Japanese screamo group, sora. A much cleaner and more well-produced sound than their early demos, yet still retaining their raw, melodic approach.

I exchanged a few emails with Yoshi awhile ago, and he said sora is going back in the studio soon to record a new album, so you can probably expect some new music from them soon!

As mentioned before, these albums can be purchased through Oto Records

-Garrett

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麓健一 (Kenichi Fumoto) - 「美化」

Friday, March 5, 2010 at 9:36 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 4 Comments


Kenichi Fumoto is a singer/songwriter from Japan, who seems to be relatively unknown. I actually stumbled across him by complete accident and listened to a few samples of his out of pure curiosity (which can be heard through one of the links posted below). This is his first official CD (he previously released 3 CD-Rs before this album, of which some songs appear on this album).

Recorded entirely on Garageband in his room, one would imagine a level of quality that is quite sparse, but that is actually quite the opposite with Fumoto's music. There is a serene presence of melody brought by layers and layers of lush guitar work, keyboards, and drum machines (along with occasional female harmonies.) Although not similar in sound, hearing Fumoto reminds me of the first time I heard Grouper, transcending that level of a typical, lone singer/songwriter, and going beyond the sum of it's parts, Fumoto's music is more of a focus on mood and the slow, shifting pieces of sound that he creates.

I wish I could explain Fumoto better and not in such vague terms, there is just something oddly special about his music, as if it has a sense of familiarity and nostalgia that I cannot simply place the start of. When I put this album on I feel my heart shatter into a million pieces. Though I cannot understand what Fumoto is saying, I feel a sense of loss and longing in his music.

Some of Fumoto's CDs can be purchased through here and here. Although some of them may be out of print (including this one I posted), the second link contains a sample stream of his entire album and are currently selling his latest CD-R, which I suggest you purchase before it is too late.



Myspace
Official Site

-Garrett

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Killie- Want To Escape From The Underground, Don't Want To Escape From The Underground, Can't Escape From The Underground

Friday, February 26, 2010 at 2:41 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 1 Comment



Yes, I'm sure you're all quite tired of all the screamo posts lately, but since my previous post was about a Killie/Heaven in Her Arms split and I had never even posted a full Killie album before, I figured that it would be a good time to post my favorite album by Killie. Unfortunately, like practically everything else they've done it is now out of print (limited to 1,000 copies on singer Yoshi's own Oto Records).

Anyways, Killie's brand of screamo is quite chaotic and they are possibly one of the more 'out there' groups when it comes to screamo. Highly atonal vocals, lots of dissonance, unconventional song structure, and plenty of spoken word interludes. I think for even those who aren't fans of screamo, Killie may appeal to them due to their unique and almost avant-garde approach to their sound.

killie.jp
Oto Records

-Garrett

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Heaven in Her Arms/Killie Split 3"

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 10:36 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 0 Comments


[Download]

1. Heaven in Her Arms- Rokugatsu
2. Killie- Mudai

In 2008, Japanese screamo pioneers, Heaven in Her Arms and Killie released a split 3". Now the two groups releasing a split together alone is worth an honorable mention, but when the split is actually a cover album, that's when things get even more interesting.

On Heaven in Her Arms' side of this CD, we get a song entitled 'Rokugatsu' which is a cover of two songs, 'The Old World is Behind Us' and 'The Jailors Speak of Freedom' by Massachusetts group, Ampere.





On Killie's side, a song entitled 'Mudai' appears, which is actually a cover of 'Guigno' by Italian group, La Quiete.



While Killie's cover is quite faithful to the original, Heaven in Her Arms' trails off into something almost unrecognizable (in a good way); much more ambiance and heavy on spoken word, Heaven in Her Arms certainly puts a unique twist on their cover, although not to discredit Killie's cover, they are both excellent in their own right.

As I'm sure most of you are interested in hearing the original versions of these songs as well, here are the Ampere and La Quiete albums which feature the previously mentioned songs.

Ampere- All Our Tomorrows End Today

La Quiete- S/T
[Download]

Most of modern day screamo (the good screamo, at least) still has this very prevalent vibe of punk rock ethics which is obviously seen in the connection and (what I'm sure is) respect for each others music, which is very much shown in this cover album. To have two Japanese groups get together and recognize the works of artists in both the United States and Italy is a truly amazing thing, I believe. All these groups are necessary listening for screamo fans and deserve your attention and support!

-Garrett

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Mad Conflux - Crazy Action Party

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 3:37 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 7 Comments

DOWNLOAD

Even japanese hardcore die-hard fans don't know much about Mad Conflux. All we know is that they were from Yokosuka and played from 1985 to 1991, the year vocalist Kazuma died in a car accident (or was it an overdose? or maybe one induced the other?).


Anyway, Mad Conflux never had a proper release of their own and i believe that's what prevented them to achieve post-mortem fame and legendary status.


This CD compiles everything they recorded for various compilations (Hang The Sucker, Get Back The Discharged Arrow, Triple Cross Counter Tour...), a tape-only release and a split flexi with Janky. It also has two live sets with decent sound quality.
So, yeah, you get to hear the same songs a bunch of times and it gets a bit boring in the end.


Mad Conflux was one of the first japanese hardcore band to include elements obviously borrowed to american bands in their sound.
Without them and a few others (SIC, Corruption Of Peace... both had 'gaijins' in their line-up), japanese bands would maybe still be playing the old boring traditionnal style known as Japcore. Long mid-tempo songs with too many guitar solos. And that would be awful for everyone.


Just for that reason, Mad Conflux deserves a bit of your attention if you're slightly interested in japanese hardcore-punk.


Or you can just download this to get a bunch of short and angry songs, some of them having funny titles in engrish.


DECIDE ON A SINGLE SHOUT!



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Suicide Circle OST

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 8:49 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 0 Comments


[Download]

Suicide Circle is a Japanese film by Sion Sono which has gained quite a cult following here in the United States probably due to the fact that it was released alongside 'Moonchild' in a 3 DVD set by TLA and Gackt loving weeaboos everywhere became aware of it's existence. Either way, Suicide Circle is an amazing film despite it's general popularity among people who are just familiar with only the surface of Japanese cinema. Not only did this film present the work of Sion Sono to a wider audience, but most likely the music of Haruko Momoi as well, who's song 'Mail Me' is covered by the band Dessert in the film.

If you enjoyed the music within the film, there is no doubt you'll enjoy the soundtrack. It's essentially all the same music, but unedited. For those who haven't seen the film, if you're into any obscure Japanese rock or pop-groups that feature prepubescent girls in them, then this is for you too.

-Garrett

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スーパーカー (Supercar)- Futurama

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 8:27 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 2 Comments



Supercar was an alternative/electronic rock band from Japan. While the two words, 'electronic' and 'alternative rock,' have become so closely integrated together ever since albums like Kid A were released and Pitchfork fanboys everywhere believed that said genre is the height of experimentation within the realm of alternative rock music, and that Radiohead had already established the pinnacle of said 'clashing of genres', nobody has probably even bothered to believe that there is any album better than their precious Kid A. Well, those people are wrong (and for two very important reasons). Kid A is overrated, and most people have never heard of Futurama.

While it is to my belief that Radiohead are no longer a relevant band, and that most of their material no longer interests me, it is hard to describe the sound of Supercar without mentioning some kind of British influence on their sound. Supercar is possibly the most British sounding band that has not come out of Britain, and while that may be the case, their sound is still heavily Japanese due to the highly futuristic aesthetic the album maintains. When William Gibson visited Japan and saw Shibuya, Tokyo, he described the scenery of modern Japan as 'cyberpunk.' While some songs off of Futurama contain a sort of melancholy mood to them, most of them do not really lean towards the side of cyberpunk which is nihilist and bleak, instead it leans towards the small glimpses of futuristic beauty beyond the mechanical and sterile.

Futurama is not as much of an album that is depicting the future as much as it is an album that is depicting progress into the future. And in that way, Futurama is still fresh 10 years later. It is an album that grows with you over time, rather than reaching for something that may or may not exist.

But not to bloat this album with it's apparently 'futuristic' themes, Futurama is an amazing pop album in it's own right. Harmonizing male/female vocals, blissed out almost 'shoegaze' like riffing mixed with heavy electronic undertones. Every song is different and complete in it's own right, but as an album in whole, it accomplishes something even more rewarding.

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砂の女 (Suna No Onna) Woman in the Dunes

Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 5:00 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 0 Comments


Junpei is an entomologist and a school teacher who has left Tokyo to study abroad desert plains in Hiroshi Teshigahara's 1964 Woman in the Dunes. He becomes stranded in the sand dunes and meets a woman (the woman in the dunes) in which Teshigahara's disturbing depiction of isolation unravels.

Kobo Abe, the author of the book Woman in the Dunes...in which this film is based off of, has his other works including the the title itself on Amazon (I was planning on reading the book before hand, however, I have read online that readers agree the film has done more than justice), so it's pending on my list of to-reads.

The Criterion Collection released this film: Information and DVD purchase
and
the torrent for those less fortunate to have sixty dollars at hand: 1964-Woman in the Dunes

Enjoy-
-Michelle

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Miki Sawaguchi + Jojo Hiroshige + Masami Akita + Masahiko Ohno - Uterus And Human

Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 7:30 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 3 Comments


Is this an all-star line-up or what?

Miki Sawaguchi (famed, big-breasted AV idol)
Jojo Hiroshige (leader of Hijokaidan)
Masami Akita (the Merz man himself)
Masahiko Ohno (trash guitar noise God, Solmania)

The vibe is eerie and lucid for the most part, Miki Sawaguchi's spoken word is oddly relaxing, yet her other vocal styles (characterized by either loud cackling, or weeping and whining like a school-girl) are so cute in such a disturbing way, that you'll probably just end up feeling the latter anyways. This is an amazing album worth checking out for fans of any of the above mentioned people. Now if I could only find the 'Big Boobs' album by Miki Sawaguchi...

-Garrett

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Hijokaidan Live

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 5:04 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 7 Comments

A collection of live Hijokaidan videos for everyone to enjoy, with download links below



Download



Download



Download

Look at Junko jumping! Too cute

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Gauge Means Nothing- The Absent Trail Of An Echo And My Future Plagued By Surrender

Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 2:16 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 0 Comments


Gauge Means Nothing were a short-lived 4 piece from Tokyo, Japan. Their unique brand of screamo can be attributed to the vocals, which were provided by bassist Yuichi, guitarist Kenta, and female singer Tamao. The somewhat flat and high pitched yelping of Tamao combined with the nasally vocals and guttural screams of both Yuichi and Kenta gave them a sort of raw edge over more well-produced screamo groups. Another interesting element they had were their use of keyboards, while to some, may seem out of place and almost unnecessary, provided a fuller sound and melodic backdrop to the band. For some odd reason, the keyboardist is uncredited on various websites describing the group's line-up, but she is very present in most live videos of the band. All in all, what separates this group from other Japanese screamo groups is their ability to sound raw, yet maintain a sense of melody to their music which is never too overbearing, nor undermined. At only 4 songs deep, the record is surprisingly fulfilling. Possibly one of the best Japanese screamo records to come out. This record can also be purchased on the site, Meatcube.

-Garrett

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Birth- Iro EP

Monday, November 30, 2009 at 9:46 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 1 Comment



Birth are one of the latest groups to enter the amazing Japanese screamo scene. This is their debut EP and it sounds like a mixture between the jangly guitars of instrumental group, Toe, and the chaotic, underlying pop aesthetic of fellow screamo band, Nitro Mega Prayer. Birth are the band that The Fall of Troy wishes they were right now. Strange time signatures and dissonant guitar playing mixed with pop melody, but the emotion itself never comes off as something fabricated. The dual vocals of guitarist Sakai Kouta and bassist Suda Kenji stretch to their seams. Powerful energy for just a 3 piece. There isn't that much information to be found about this band, but they're certainly one to watch out for. Please visit the site Meat Cube, which sells CDs from many international screamo artists, and buy this record!

-Garrett

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Death in Midsummer and other stories by Yukio Mishima

Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 12:19 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 1 Comment


Mishima is the most obvious and recognizable name of the post-war novelists of Japan, highly linked with his ritualistic stomach-piercing suicide, seppuku. But, his way with words expanded further than just novels, for he also was a playwright, wrote prose and short novellas as well as essays. The Sea of Fertility tetralogy were his last published writings, which includes the very famous story of Kiyoaki Matsugae's unrequited love and happiness as an aristocratic member of a westernized Japanese family in the 20th century: Spring Snow.

I find it unfortunate that Mishima is always coined as an absurdist; his writings are profound, poetic. He was well-researched, highly knowledgeable of western and eastern philosophy alike.


Death in Midsummer and other stories is a collection of shorts put out in 1966.
Highly-recommended for those who enjoy Japanese-modernism.

"Reiko had not kept a diary and was now denied the pleasure of assiduously rereading her record of the happiness of the past few months and consigning each page to the fire as she did so."-Yukio Mishima, Patriotism

-Michelle

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フリクション (Friction)

Monday, October 19, 2009 at 11:55 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 3 Comments



Friction was birthed by bassist Reck post-collaboration with New York No Wave initiators James Chance and Lydia Lunch, in which Reck and the other founding members of Friction played instruments for. Chiko Hige, drummer and back-up saxophonist of the Contortions, along with Reck and Tsunematsu Masatoshi formed the orignal line-up, releasing their first album in 1980: 軋轢 (Atsureki).

I can't help but say that I always think of The Fall when I listen to this album; granted, Reck's vocals are in my opinion much stronger than Mark E. Smith's. The British post-punk influence is obvious, as much as the abrasiveness of the New York No Wave sound. Jazz funk and all. Quintessential Japanese punk...simplistic, melodic.

軋轢 (Atsureki)

-Michelle

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Boredoms- Super 77

at 4:33 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 2 Comments



Somebody on Last.fm was nice enough to upload this rare gem for me (I hope it's alright with them that I'm sharing this, but this was only limited to 500 copies, why not?).

The first track, 'Super 77,' is intriguing in it's concept, it's a composition composed entirely of the sounds of the band's manager's then-three-month-old son, however, it falls pretty flat in holding that much attention. This track can easily be skipped.

The second track, 'Super Sky,' is a great listen and is what one would expect with later Boredoms. Tranced-out sounds and tons of drums. What is odd is that 'Super Sky' is supposed to be an early version of 'Super Going,' and while there are many recognizable moments, the song actually starts with the end of another song, 'GO!!!!!,' the single 64 minute track off of their release, Super Roots 5. Mmmmm. Not often do you get to hear a Boredoms track before it's heavily manipulated in post-production, so it's an intriguing listen either way.

Usually most Boredoms is good Boredoms (everything before Seadrum anyways... OOPS! LOL), this is no exception. Check it out!

-Garrett

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モンモントゥナイ (monmontonight)

Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 9:28 AM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 0 Comments



In same taste and light as Afrirampo, Pikacyu, along with twelve other female-friends make up モンモントゥナイ (femalemasturbationtonight). Pikacyu is the drummer for the more famous of the girl-projects from Japan, Afrirampo, a duo from Osaka... famous being that Pitchfork has reviewed them (fuck), they've toured with Sonic Youth (another offense) and that they are also included in the ATP line-up this year. Nevertheless, I think I do enjoy Afrirampo...Pikacyu has also drummed for Acid Mothers Temple and the Cosmic Inferno, one of the very many psychedelic projects and combinations of various musicians formed by Acid Mothers Temple. The two have also collaborated.

Happynoise.

モンモントゥナイトのテーマ　

-Michelle

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Hijokaidan- 蔵六の奇病 [Zouroku No Kibyou]

Friday, October 16, 2009 at 11:23 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 3 Comments


Download

Hijokaidan has always stood out from it's peers due to their highly confrontational live performances and their somewhat unnerving and unique approach to their sound. Unlike some of their counterparts (Hanatarash, The Gerogerigegege), their music has little driving rhythm, rather, most of it is extremely disconnected, and in this, their music is only that more aggressive. It was said that Hijokaidan originally set-out to sound like Hawkwind performing at an airplane landing, which is really not too far off of a description. The noise can be characterized by being abrasively spacey and psychedelic. Although this record may not be as noisy as their future releases, it certainly captures a sort of essence of raw violence due to it being a compilation of live recordings. Personally, this is one of my favorite Hijokaidan records, and perhaps, one of my favorite noise recordings ever.

If you enjoy this record, I am willing to upload it in lossless for anyone who is interested. However, please support the people who made this album and consider purchasing it as well

-Garrett



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Toe- The Book About My Idol Plot On A Vague Anxiety

Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 8:25 PM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 2 Comments

Download

So basically I am horrible at writing music reviews, so I'm going to do this the Pitchfork way and tell you my own personal biased opinion about this record by the instrumental Japanese band, Toe. What? Another instrumental band from Japan besides Mono? Personally, I don't like Mono. I hate when the dynamics of instrumental music are reduced to tremolo picking and playing octaves. Toe doesn't do that. They also know not to drag things out, another problem with most instrumental bands. There is a fine line between building tension and being plain boring. We hear recurring themes in a lot of Toe's songs, acoustic break downs, subtle electronics, and several spoken word monologues, but these are songs that are very distinctly melodic. The guitar work is lush, intricate, and beautiful. You can really sense the communication between the two players and they do not simply imitate each other. The bass serves it's purpose and creates a nice middle ground between the ting of clean guitars bouncing off each other, and the drummer... is just amazing, by far one of the most phenomenal drummers I have heard, the album is worth checking out solely for his playing.

Another thing I would like to mention is that Toe's drummer drums for Kimura Kaela. Kimura Kaela is close friends with techno-pop group, Perfume. So... in my fan boy fantasies, Toe and Perfume would collaborate one day. Hell yeah. Download the album!

If you enjoy this record, I am willing to upload it in lossless for anyone who is interested. However, please support the people who made this album and consider purchasing it as well

C [Live]
Kodoku no Hatsumei [Live]
Everything Means Nothing [PV]

-Garrett

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Her socks

Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 10:38 AM Posted by FEMALE TROUBLE 0 Comments

Manga-based (Gekko no sasayaki) and fully-equipped with elements of perversion and fetishism, the lingering feelings post-finishing Moonlight Whispers (Sasayaki) were those of wanting to hang from a noose, mid-masturbation or something or rather. The concept of "Like a dog" and "I want to be your dog' à la Franz Kafka and Iggy Pop was the prominent theme, portrayed through the vessels of two seemingly innocent high-school students. Undeniably romantic, masochistically sufficient for those with a sickness.

Download: Moonlight Whispers (Sasayaki) (1999)

-Michelle

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