Are you a Puritan? www.tokyoindie.com's news, views and music.

MIGHTY POP X TOKYO INDIE (June 25th 2010)

2010-06-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

Can't wait for this one! Make sure you are there, the two best Indie-rock-electro-misfit nights in Tokyo go head to head! full details on www.tokyoindie.com or out facebook page!

Sunday NEON Sunday

2010-06-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

So, Roxy Music at Fuji Rock? Possibly like watching a car crash, potentially one of the highlights of the weekend! Lets hope Bryan an the rest of the band pull it out of the bag, If they are anything like they used to be, it could be bloody fantastic!

Here is a nice little tinker of the classic Angel Eyes by Kaos...Perfect summer festival vibe!

Roxy Music - Angel Eyes (Kaos Remix) by Lovebox Official

This week has also seen me discover two of the best records that i have plucked from the blogosphere this year. First up is the phenomenal and unclassifiable Klaus and Kinski. I can't find much info on this Spanish Indie-synth-dream-electro-pop band, but what i have heard speaks volumes. Personal favourite is the euphoric 'Eres un Singvurguenza' which fires along like Asobi Seksu on speed. I the intro and chorus send a summer shiver down my spine and can't wait to drop it at the next event!

Kaus and Kinski - Eres un Singvurguenza

In the same vein is the excellent Swimmer One. Swimmer One first appeared on the radar around seven years ago with the release of two excellent EPs entitled We Just Make Music For Ourselves and Come On, Let’s Go!. However it is on 'This Club is for Everyone, Even You' (great title by the way!) that they really fulfil their promise. Records like this prove that electro-pop does not have to be a slight thing, but a thing of real beauty. Is it a warm-up track, a peak-time floorfiller, an early morning sunrise track? I can't make my mind up, probably all three!

Swimmer One - This Club Is For Everybody, Even You by Biphonic Records

Close Call...

2010-05-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

Well, last night's game didn't quite go to plan did it? However, thanks to Tulio and Nakazawa our blushes in front of our Japanese friends (and the overwhelming Japanese crowd!). It is exciting to think that the World cup will be in full swing when the next Tokyo Indie rolls around on June 25th. Chances of world in Motion being played at that event? Bookmakers have stopped taking bets.

Current fave tracks:

The Willowz are a band I am liking at the moment, great retro sound but are not adverse to a cheeky remix...

The Willowz - Repetition

And check out the Jamie Fanatic rework...killer. Wait for the storming drop around the 3 minute mark!

The Willowz - Repitition (Jamie Fanatic Mix)

Also, Here is a grimey Dim Mak infused rework....

The Willowz - I Know (Mustard Pimp Mix)

P.E.S.T.’s latest remix pour la nocturne autobus, aka London’s pastel-band Night Bus. mmm.

Night Bus - Be You (P.E.S.T. Mix)

Finally, a mash-up which, speaking as a man who detests most mash-ups, is pretty bangin! Song 2 goes all jungle rave...

N.ER.D Vs. Blur - Spaz Vs. Song 2

TULIO! x

Tokyo Indie Mixes

2010-05-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Alright guys, here are a couple of choice mixes from recent events we hope you like...Next event is June 25th at Seco Bar in Shibuya where we will be teaming up with the fantastic Mighty Pop night for a DJ battle! Hope to see you there....

Tokyo Indie April by mjbirtles

Tokyo Indie Mix by mjbirtles

Tokyo Indie is BACK!

2010-04-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

THE SUNSHINE UNDERGROUND (DJ Set) @ Tokyo Indie

Start Time:	Saturday, 24 April 2010 at 23:30
End Time:	Sunday, 25 April 2010 at 17:00
Location:	Under Deer Lounge, Shibuya

Description

POW!

After a month off, Tokyo Indie is BACK and we are doing it in style! Joining us for this very special event will be none other the The Sunshine Underground for an exclusive Tokyo DJ set.

The Sunshine Underground emerged from the vibrant Leeds music scene and have gone on to become a top act internationally, recently releasing their second album; "Nobody's Coming to Save You". They were part of the infamous "NME Rave" tour in the UK alongside The Klaxons, CSS and New Pony Club which was famed for it's riotous gigs.

The boys will be taking time of from their busy Tokyo concert schedule to join is for a special DJ set and will be bringing their raw energy to the dance floor!

This one is going to be big so arrive early to avoid disappointment! See you down the front...

DETAILS:

Date: Saturday 24th April 2010 (11.30pm - 5.00am)

DJs:

THE SUNSHINE UNDERGROUND (DJ set)

Mark Birtles AKA Newblackvinyl (BBC 6 Music)
KYDJ (The Hawley Arms)
Jessrotul (Jesse Sharer)
DJ Ichika (Paradigm)
Housecat Jack (Housecat Records)
Bobak (PMT)

Entry: 2000 Yen (INCLUDES 1 free drink)

Computer Love.

2010-04-10T04:53:00.000-07:00

Spike Jonze is riding a crest of a wave after the success of his film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, but the director du jour isn’t going to let the wild rumpus end anytime soon. Jonze’s next short film, I’m Here, a 30-minute “robot love story” features “a male robot liv[ing] a solitary and methodical life — devoid of creativity, joy and passion - until he meets an adventurous and free spirited female robot.”

Sounds awfully trite, but this is more than an Electroma-esque love story. Jonze's direction makes what could be a twee idea into something truely magical. You want to know the best thing? The film can be viewed for free at the website;

Spike Jonze - I'm Here (full movie)

As you would expect, the musical score is great too. The lead song, “There Are Many of Us,” which is written/sung by Aska Matsumiya, a member of LA-based bands Moonrats and The Sads, and also features the YYYs’ Nick Zinner and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea.

ASKA - There Are Many of Us

Don't say you never get anything for free.

Can you feel rain?

2010-04-05T01:59:00.000-07:00

Well, It is a damp day here in Tokyo, the hanami weekend has been decidedly cold and drizzly. I was planning to get out on my bike and do a bit of training for our epic Golden Week Tokyo to Osaka trip, but the gods are against me. So, it is a perfect time to share our latest discovery, City Rain, with you.

City Rain is the project of Charles Benjamin Runyan (cool name btw) who hails from Philadelphia and appears to be a multimedia jack of all trades; music, blogging, fashion videos etc. City Rain takes Radiohead's Nude and dresses it up with some crisp synth stabs and wet city atmospherics:

Radiohead - Nude (City Rain mix)

His take on Body Language's Work This City is also a sharp remix. I love the acoustic pluking twinned with the gravelly electronics. Reminds me of bands like Styrofoam, Colder and Dntel :

Body Language - Work This City (City Rain's Kept Raining mix)

Also, the Yes Giantess rework of this track is worth a mention. The track builds from a slow start to an express train, a little like Chemical Brothers' Star Guitar. Great stuff.

Body Language - Work This City (Yes Giantess mix)

Finally, the next Tokyo Indie party is confirmed for the 24th April in Shibuya. Some very exciting details to be announced in the next couple of days. Hope to see you all ther, this is the big one!

Mark.x

Guilty pleasure...

2010-04-05T01:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we all have them and Tokyo Indie is no different. I recently heard this from the Japanese band Capsule and have to say that it is truly infectious!

Capsule - The Music

PAPA TOPO OSO PANDA!

2010-04-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

If this does not make you happy in 2 mins and 47 seconds there is something wrong with you...

Tickling the fancy...

2010-03-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Sorry for the recent blogging inactivity, the Tokyo Indie crew have had been off on their holidays enjoying the last flakes of the snowboard season, and generally had our noses to the grindstone. However, WE ARE BACK! This is what we have been keeping the neighbours up with recently...

First up, French duo Jamaica. Formerly known as Poney Poney, these boys have transformed into a duo and have just put the finishing touches to their first album. The debut has been mastered by Peter Franco and Justice's Xavier de Rosney and the first single is a fillet steak cut of power electropop. They are included on the latest Kitsune compilation and having the video directed by So Me, they already look like they are a healthy addition to the cool as ice French scene.

Here is the video which whimsically charts their rise and fall from grace...which hasn't even begun yet!

Next up is The much censored Fuck Buttons. I had this tune on my iTunes a few months ago but it got lost in amongst the chaff. it recently popped on shuffle on a recent Shinkansen journey to Nagoya and blew me away. Part rave, part beautiful post rock electronica, this is killer!

Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar

Hundred In The Hands. Remember the name, because these guys are going to be big. Being pushed by the ever reliable Warp label, expect these guys to be emerging from the summer's festival season victorious. "When the lights all go out, you become Berlin, and I'll be Stalingrad" has to be one of the best lyrics of the year i reckon!

Hundred In The Hands - Dressed in Dresden

'Schlachthofbronx Featuring Spoek Mathambo Gnucci Banana' has to be THE biggest mouthful in music to try and get out. I dread that somebody asks what the tune is when i spin it at the next Tokyo Indie event! Love the tropical beats and Spoek is doing some great things recently. The internet is crawling with remixes of this track as it was a subject of remix competition, here is my pick of the bunch which is a dancefloor peak-timer by Hat N' Hoodie.

Schlachthofbronx Ft Spoek Mathambo Gnucci Banana - Ayoba! (Hat N' Hoodie mix)

Finally, here is the fantastic Everything Everything, who are really exciting me at the moment. Uniquly interesting production and structure that swings sideways with a movement you are not expecting. File them alongside Modest Mouse and TV On The Radio, fingers crossed their album lives up to the fantastically titled 'Photoshop Handsome'.

Everything Everything - Photoshop Handsome

Right, thats it for now. The Tokyo Indie party kicks back into life next month and fingers crossed we have very special guests joining us...more on that later.

For now then, be good. Or at least don't get caught.

Mark TI.x

Blogged to DEATH! Yeasayer.

2010-02-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

Yeasayer are a band which are not short of blog column inches, but what the hell they deserve a mention from Tokyo Indie too! The Brooklyn based four piece look set to be catpulted into the upper echelons of the indie-art-rock scene. Their sound spans the musical spectrum - blending twisted, ambient rhythms and global sounds with forceful, ambitious electronics and hook-laden playful pop. Personal fave "Ambling Alp" can be downloaded for free here:

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp

The Alan Wilkis remix is also worth a listen, taking the track in a more dancefloor friendly direction:

Just waiting for the boys to arrange dates in Japan, I can't wait to see them play live!

Mark.

When O' When?

2010-02-23T00:40:00.000-08:00

Slowly creeping its' way up Tokyo Indie's playlist for 2010 is this latest offering from London electro pop 3 piece Is Tropical. When O' When starts off as more of a sea shanty guitar strum than electronic indie anthem but the lightest of loops hints of what's to come. Indeed, give it a few minutes and it casts off in a completely different direction - the wind in its' sails.

When "When O' When" leaves you wanting more the B-side for this 7inch release, "Seasick Mutiny", won't disappoint. To put it simply the B-side is a thumping, fuzzing romp of a record.

Taken all together this release really is a great piece of electro power pop from a band just beginning to find its' feet. That said, it's no surprise they're already stealing in on support slots - touring with the likes of New Young Pony Club and Egyptian Hip Hop. Tokyo Indie will be on the lookout for these guys.

- Sam

From Tokyo Indie with love.

2010-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

With love in the air, we felt like we should give you a Valentine gift. So here is a download link to a recording of the set I played at the last Tokyo Indie party in January. We are busy with the final preparations for the next party at M bar on the 20th February which will include an awesome Japan Vs. Canada VJ mix off accompanied by more great music from myself and the rest of the gang.

Enjoy!

Mark Birtles AKA Newblackvinyl's February Tokyo Indie Mix:

Download Here!

Tracklisting:

Withnail and I - Hamlet Soliloquy (Newblackvinyl fix)
Felix De Housecat - Shower Scene (Jacques Lu Cont mix)
Wolfmother - Woman (MSTRKRFT mix)
The Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers
Brakes - All Night Disco Party
These New Puritans - Elvis
Grafton Primary - I Can Cook (Miami Horror mix) (Newblackvinyl's your friend fix)
Tesla Boy - Runaway (Vanguard mix)
Mini Vida - Left my Heart In Tokyo (Treasurefingers mix)
Housse Du Racket - Synthetiseur
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps (Elite Force fix)
Fenech Soler - Lies (Alex Metric mix)
Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)

Give me Fiction

2010-02-09T20:54:00.000-08:00

Fiction. No not those New Wavers from Nagoya, or those sorry English shoegazers; The Fiction. I am talking about the latest and probably greatest incarnation: an art rocking four piece from London. Fiction hits with rocksteady drums, sumptuous rolling basslines and counters with euphoric pop synths that interplay with dream like vocals. It's a great formula - with their demos demonstrating a craft and style which belies the mere year that they've been playing together. Tokyo Indie will certainly be keeping a close eye on these guys.

Having just come out of the recording studio, Fiction have kindly made their latest demo, To Stick To, available for download. You can check it out here:

Fiction - To Stick To

Also be sure to visit their myspace for a listen to the brilliant "Big Things". Smashing.

Sam.

Tokyo Indie loves...Billy Bloodaxe.

2010-02-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Billy Bloodaxe's tracks are a regular on the Tokyo Indie Ipod and they are so good that Tokyo Indie's main man Sam, a die hard Geordie, is willing to overlook the fact that he is Mackem scum. Billy's tunes mix an etheral gothic atmosphere with some sharp synth-pop stylings and 8-bit Sega Megadrive stabs. Still working the unsigned band circuit in the North East of England, it is clear that if these tracks got the recording and production they deserve then the sound would be so much richer. Billy has kindly made all his tracks available to download:

Billy Bloodaxe's tracks

Personal favourite "Dear Pale Dane" (showcased on Tom Robison's BBC 6 Music show) conjours up images of Robert Smith stumbling round Hamlet's castle, perfect for these snappingly cold winter nights. Tokyo Indie hopes of big things from this young chap.

The Blog is here! Vol. 4 party is on it's way!

2010-02-07T19:38:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the inaugural post on the Tokyo Indie blogspot. Here we hope to give you an insight into the people behind the night and supply you with fresh views on places we love and music we adore.

The first bit of exciting news is our next party, to be held in Daikanyama's new event space, "M". The space will allow the night to be even bigger and better than the great nights we had at Hell's Bar. After filling Hell's Bar to capacity with the last two events, M will give us more space and the more versatile location means we can bring in extra elements such as live VJs and in the future, the possibility of on the night live performances.

Info on the February 20th event can be found at the Tokyo Indie website here:

Tokyo Indie Vol.4 Party Info

Hope to see you all there!

Mark.