Category Archives: Uncategorized

Moon Duo: Ripley and Sanae lob their spaced out sounds at Japan

Posted on March 23, 2013 by dangrunebaum

Take the Eastern psychedelia of a late-era George Harrison sitar solo and the fuzzbox transcendence of strung-out Velvet Underground. Set it to some purposefully tinny rhythm box beats and you’re getting close to the sound of Oregon pair Moon Duo.

Metropolis, Mar 18, 2013

Tenniscoats: All Aboard!

Posted on July 13, 2012 by dangrunebaum

Onetime wife-and-husband indie-psych-folk duo Tenniscoats have charmed audiences worldwide for over 15 years now with their barmy, improvisational performances. But does the fun translate to the less immediate form of recorded music?

Metropolis, Jul 10, 2012

Squarepusher: It’s back to the future for the English techno wunderkind

Posted on July 5, 2012 by dangrunebaum

“There’s a longstanding prejudice among people who follow more cult forms of music,” Jenkinson continues, “that popularity is inherently bad. It happened in the ’90s when drum and bass entered popular music, and stopped being underground. But I don’t involve myself. I’d quite happily sell millions of records.”

Metropolis, Jun 28, 2012

Jun Miyake: The trumpeter remembers German dance giant Pina Bausch

Posted on July 4, 2012 by dangrunebaum

“Pina’s feedback was always simple: Yes or no.”

Metropolis, Jun 21, 2012

Hot Chip: So, who’s the hottest chip?

Posted on June 27, 2012 by dangrunebaum

“There’s something about the beginnings of making synths talk to each other in a certain way that gives those records a certain kind of appeal,” Joe Goddard continues, citing artists like Human League and Giorgio Morodor. “People talk about the fact that it was difficult to make sequenced records in those days—the struggle made them better. You had to really think about what you were doing.”

Metropolis, Jun 8, 2012

Moja: Masumi and Haru issue a sonic punch to the gut

Posted on May 30, 2012 by dangrunebaum

“I see death every day, so I understand the finality of life,” Haru concludes. “When people die they become simply material objects, so that gives me an appreciation of life. It makes me feel like I could die anytime so I want to do all I can while I’m alive. I don’t want to leave any regrets.”

Metropolis, May 23, 2012

Peverelist: Forget Skrillex—this dubstep pioneer delivers the original Bristol sound

Posted on May 27, 2012 by dangrunebaum

Long before Skrillex brought dubstep to the McDonald’s-quaffing American masses, the genre was born out of the underground melding of UK drum ‘n’ bass, garage and dub sound systems. Bristol record shop and label owner, producer and DJ Peverelist (Tom Ford) was part of it and returns to Tokyo next week to show punters how it’s really done.

Metropolis, May 18, 2012

Eli Walks: Deep, dark beats from a young Japanese-American

Posted on May 3, 2012 by dangrunebaum

“I want to play a ton of shows, but a lot of people don’t have money,” Walks laments. “A lot of my friends are broke. They want to go to the shows but they can’t afford it. I’ve been to shows recently where I thought there would be more fans. The economy is pinching people.”

Metropolis, Apr 28, 2012

 

The Charlatans: UK indie-rockers join the traveling Haçienda circus

Posted on April 26, 2012 by dangrunebaum

Founding member Martin Blunt ponders the meaning of Madchester for a new generation ahead of the group’s visit for Peter Hook’s Haçienda Oiso Festival.

Metropolis, Apr 13, 2012

Richard Pinhas and Merzbow: “Rhizome”

Posted on April 18, 2012 by dangrunebaum

The French avant-garde guitarist and Japanese experimental musician’s new CD shows noise doesn’t have to be noisy.

Metropolis, Apr 17, 2012