If you are looking for a new band to check out, try Fujiya & Miyagi (I promise they don’t sing in Japanese or anything!). Listen to this -

The music is PUMPING.

I plan to design a portion of a song for this Music Video Projector.

SONG: Fujiya & Miyagi – Collarbone (2:01 – 2:53)

CONCEPT: To follow the lyrics as faithfully as possible, while labeling the parts of the skeleton mentioned in the song.

INSPIRATION:

STYLEFRAMES:
1. SUPERBRIGHT
Playing off the childish nature of this section of the song, I tried to fuse the colors of the mesmerizing neon x-rays with addictive candy colors. Playful. Jovial. The labels are in the background, but it is the quirky bones that take center stage.

2. CLASSIC
This will have a very ancient, vintage, organic atmosphere. A full body, realistic rendering will be marked up with circular pencil marks which will reveal a “pencil x-ray” of the bones underneath the layer of skin. This will be complemented by handwritten labels giving a modern day interpretation to classical analysis.

3. LIGHTBOX
X-Rays are illuminated on top of a lightbox. Hands will present and then drop X-Ray Sheets onto a light box as the song continues, with strong, aggressive labels naming each bone.

That’s it for now. Community is a good show. Seacrest Out.

Τα ζάρια (που δεν παίζει ο Θεός κατά τον Αινστάιν) φτιάχνουν τις εικόνες του κόσμου και εμάς. Σωματίδια στοιχειώδη σε συνδυασμούς. Η ύλη του κόσμου μπορεί να αθροιστεί όλη μαζί σ’ ένα ξέφρενο ερώτημα, επιφανειακά ψύχραιμο κι αμίλητο.
Ακόμα και στην πιο ανόητη και βαρετή εικόνα του κόσμου κάτι απίθανο επιμένει, κάτι ανεξήγητο και ρευστό. Ναι. Μ’ένα κουβά ζάρια φτιάχνεται ένας κόσμος άπειρος.

Υπάρχει ο ενθουσιασμός για την γεωμετρία και τους αριθμούς που φτιάχνουν κόσμους ολόκληρους,
από τη μια
και για την αίσθηση πως τα πράγματα είναι απερίγραπτα, πιο μεγάλα από τον εαυτό τους,
απ’ την άλλη.
Τα πράγματα είναι πάντοτε ξένα. Αντιφατικά. Ταιριάζει να μένουμε σιωπηλοί μπροστά τους. Όπως ταιριάζει να παίζουμε μαζί τους. Η αίσθηση αυτή, αυτό το ξένο, μας αποτρέπει να ταυτιστούμε μ’ όσα λέγονται και φαίνονται. Κάθε λέξη κάθε κόκκος ρυζιού μοιάζει ακατανόητος. Η αίσθηση αυτή παίρνει πολλές γεύσεις, μοιάζει με μοναξιά ή με ελευθερία ή ακόμα και βλακεία όταν κάτι ελάχιστο επιμένεις να το ρωτάς για την ουσία του…

Κι ενώ το ζητάμε με λύσσα το νόημα των πραγμάτων, αυτό μας απειλεί. Η ανάγκη για νόημα μας κατατρώει, όσο και η αβάσταχτη τυχαιότητα της ζωής, που μας κάνει ασήμαντους. Η αλυσίδες των γεγονότων που οδηγούν; αποχτούν νόημα από τα αποτελέσματα τους; Και ποιό είναι το σημείο που μπορούμε να σταματήσουμε να κάνουμε τον απολογισμό; Ποιό είναι το πλέον ακραίο αποτέλεσμα; Ο θάνατος; Είναι το τέλος αυτό;

Κι εδώ θέλω να σταματήσω αλλά δε μπορώ.

Χρειαζόμαι, μάλλον, ένα τραγούδι. Για την ελευθερία από το νόημα. Ένα τραγούδι που δε θα ‘ναι μηδενιστικό αλλά θα είναι και μηδενιστικό. Ένα Ναι, μια Ναιότητα διαφορετική..  “_”     Θα ακούσω το τραγούδι που υπέρκειται σα να είναι κομμάτι της δικής μου ζωής.

________

Έχω περπατήσει στους δρόμους έχω δει τοίχους να πέφτουν και έχω σκουπιστεί με χαρτοπετσέτες, έχω αγαπήσει ανθρώπους που δεν είδα ποτέ, έχω πιει κόκα κόλα, έχω πέσει με το ποδήλατο, με την μηχανή, με το αυτοκίνητο, έχω ένα ταξίδι στο μυαλό που γελά με τα ταξίδια, έχω έναν φόβο δίχως όνομα που με τρώει, έχω πράγματα ξεχασμένα παντού και τραγουδώ όταν πλένω τα πιάτα, έχω περάσει μέρες και μέρες αμίλητος, έχω διασχίσει έντρομος σκοτεινούς διαδρόμους πολυκατοικίας φωνάζοντας την μαμά μου για να πάρω κουράγιο, έχω τρέξει σε στενά για να μη με μαχαιρώσουν κι έχω χάσει αεροπλάνο, έχω φάει πολλά αμυγδαλωτά σήμερα, έχω μπλούζες που δε μου κάνουν, έχω χάσει πολλά κλειδιά, έχω γελάσει σε σημεία που κανείς άλλος δε γελά σε θέατρα και σινεμά και βιβλία, έχω μια φίλη από την Ιαπωνία που ζει στον Καναδά και δεν έχω μιλήσει μαζί της εδώ και δεκαοχτώ χρόνια, έχω το τηλέφωνο δίπλα και έχω δει αυτό το βίντεο, έχω τηλέφωνα να πάρω και έχω αναβάλει ότι μπορώ να αναβάλω αρκετές φορές, έχω ψάξει αυτά που δεν έχασα ποτέ και δε χρειάζομαι, σε κανέναν.
Σας εύχομαι μια φωνή που να σας ξεπερνά, να ανακαλύπτεται με έκπληξη στα λόγια σας τον κόσμο. Σας εύχομαι να πηγαίνετε χωρίς προσπάθεια στην χαρά. Σας εύχομαι να ξυπνάτε μέσα στην νύχτα και να βρίσκεστε μέσα στην ησυχία κι αυτή η ησυχία να μη σας βλάπτει, να σας δυναμώνει.

________

οι δυό αυτοί τύποι στη wikipedia
Οι στίχοι ακολουθούν:

Ankle Injuries
As I pretend
As of the band
Lowercase letter S
Spray painted red
It’s spray painted red
Yeah, your little arms
Swing on monkey bars
In search of your plot
Like pixelated scraps of jazz max in your head
Lights

Like pixelated scraps of jazz max in your head
Lights, a career
Lit into ??, ankle injuries
In the mid to late 1980s
As you’re pretty
As of the band
Lowercase letter S
Like pixelated scraps of jazz max in your head
Lights

Like pixelated scraps of jazz max in your head
Watching
Unleashing begins
Next to zen, ??
My nature ??
Seed cover it
Watching
Unleashing begins
Through transparent things
Like pixelated scraps of jazz max in your head
Lights

Like pixelated scraps of jazz max in your head
Lights

Fujiya, Miyagi x34

Like pixelated scraps of jazz max in your head
Lights

…these CDs right now.

I admit, I got burnt out on reviewing a ton of CDs every month, and I know my reviews probably reflected that sentiment. So instead of reviewing everything I receive (which, in the past, would result in a lot of “eh” reviews) I’ve decided to just publish reviews of music that I’m honestly enjoying.

If you know me, if you love me, if you trust me, check out this music for yourself.

Each artist’s name is linked to their website, so click on it to learn more.

Right now, I’m diggin’:

J. Tillman “Year In The Kingdom” – Soft and subtle singer/songwriter folk that whispers more than whines, Tillman–who joined the Fleet Foxes last year–has created an album that serves as the perfect anthem for autumn.

Upsilon Acrux “Radian Futura” – Six tracks of lyric-less experiments in sound/noise that ride the line between prog rock and free improvisational jazz. Definitely not for everybody, but music nerds looking for a new fix will eat it up.

Cymbals Eat Guitars “Why There Are Mountains” – From the school of Pavement and Modest Mouse comes this debut from the NYC-based quartet. And while they may not take as many chances as the aforementioned acts (give them time, it’s their first album), I’m definitely interested to hear what’s coming next from them.

The Antlers “Hospice” – A high-concept remastered debut that tells the story of a terminally ill and mentally abusive patient, and what toll that takes on the living they leave behind. The entire album is great, but its ninth track, “Wake”, is about as close to perfection as you can get.

Fitz & The Tantrums “Songs For A Break Up: Volume 1″ – Sixties-era soulful crooning at its finest, Fitz and his gang of Tantrums have turned lost love and heartbreak into a wonderfully crafted five-song EP. Interesting side note: ex-Soul Coughing bass player Sebastian Steinberg is a Tantrum.

Sleepy Sun “Embrace” – As beautifully haunting, gray and dreary as the city they now call home (San Francisco), “Embrace” is the type of album you put on in the early morning hours of a rainy day, and leave on “repeat” until you call it a night.

APSE “Climb Up” – A lo-fi full-length that invades numerous genres just as easily as it does ears. With a musical approach as unique as their sound, the album keeps listeners waiting, guessing and anticipating for each of its dozen tracks.

Project Jenny, Project Jan “The Colors EP” – A five-song release that feels more like a full-length than it does an EP. Featuring a stellar cast of guest performers (Fujiya & Miyagi, Mixel Pixel and Clack Singles Club, to name a few), this disc is more than enough to tide listeners over until their sophomore album is released later this year.

White Rabbits “It’s Frightening” – Produced by Britt Daniel of Spoon, this sophomore release breaks free of the all-encompassing indie rock mold, creating a wonderfully-layered and genre-defying gem in the process.

Dynas “The Apartment” – Originally released by Rawkus as a digital album back in 2007, “The Apartment” calls back to the era of classic hip-hop in both its style and set-up (like De La Soul before him, Dynas mixes tracks with skits). With production from DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Spinna and the late J Dilla–and with a guest spot from Slick Rick–this album is a modern-day take on a nostalgic hip-hop sound.

The Builders and The Butchers “Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well” – Old-timey instrumentation (banjo, mandolin and piano) blended with the appropriately whiny voice of lead singer Ryan Sollee (THINK: Gordon Gano of The Violent Femmes), culminating in eleven rambling relics of vintage Americana.

The Devil Makes Three “Do Right Wrong” – Read these lyrics: “Here she comes, just a skin-and-bones skeleton / She’s a fool for the crack cocaine / She got a baby living right outside the city, man / She don’t even remember his name / Well, his name is Adolf Hitler Albert Einstein Jesse James / All hail! All hail! / To the greatest of sales / Everything inside’s got to be sold / All hail! All hail! / It’s to work or to jail / Man, they’re closing them doors on the world.”

Now that you’ve read them, listen to them:

Fucking awesome. The best CD in this batch of music. For an extra special treat, I leave you with a video of The Devil Makes Three performing live. Enjoy!

More diggin’ to come,

-Shady

Fujiya and Miyagi - Steve Lewis (Fujiya), David Best (Miyagi), Matt Hainsby and Lee Adams

This is the 30th post in our Musician of the Day series.

Fujiya & Miyagi was formed in 2000 in England, as a partnership between Steve Lewis (Fujiya) and David Best (Miyagi). The names come from a character in The Karate Kid and the brand of a record player. The duo remarks that they got their inspiration from 70s Krautrock bands and 90s electronic music.

In 2002 they signed with the Massive Advance label and released their first album Electro Karoke in the Negative Style. Unfortunately neither the band or label gained much popularity until 2003 when the group received favorable reviews from major music publications. That same year they released their second album Remixes.

2006 saw not only the release of their third album, Transparent Things, but also being the subject of an episode of the MTV series This is Our Music.

Their latest work is Lightbulbs which was released in 2008 and when the band completes their 2009 tour they plan on recording a new album. The current make up of Fujiya & Miyagi includes Matt Hainsby (bass and backup vocals) who joined in 2005 and Lee Adams (drums) who joined in 2008.

To learn more about Fujiya & Miyagi visit their Official MySpace Page

Fujiya & Miyagi no son japoneses, ni mucho menos… Steve Lewis y David Best cansados de pasar los Domingos en el banquillo y unidos por un interes común en el krautrock y la electronica de principios de los 90, decidieron formar un dúo musical en homenaje a su héroe de lucha libre Kendo Nagasaki (tampoco japonés), al bonachón del instructor de Karate Kid y a un modelo de tocadiscos (este si japonés). Con influencias citadas de Neu!, Can y Aphex Twin, no lo tenían nada facil y realmente no despegaron finales del 2002 con Electro Karaoke y su primer álbum Electro Karaoke In The Negative Style en el sello Massive Advance. Con el apoyo de Tiga, Andre Weatherall y calentando motores en las giras de Goldfrapp, Ladytron y Super Collider, Fujiya & Miyagi empezaron a ser considerados una revelación promesa.

En el 2008 se convierten en un cuarteto con Lee Adams a la batería y lanzan un nuevo single en Regal con los temas Uh y One Trick Pony, incluidos posteriormente en su tercer LP lanzado Septiembre del mismo año, Lightbulbs.

El primer single extraído del álbum fue Knickerbocker apoyados por una gira de presentación en Europa y Estados Unidos.

Myspace

Hi everyone. Lately I have been working on some drawing. I am doing a self portrait. I’ll finish that till 19th and then I’ll share it with you. Anyhow today I decided to shoot a stop motion movie for the summer and I made a little search online. My friend suggested this video for me and I think its awesome. I wanted to share it with you and I guess most of you allready know this but I just learned it today so I am excited I hope you like it too.

Fujiya and Miyagi – Ankle Injuries

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, Fujiya & Miyagi are playing a gig in Tripod this Saturday. Tickets are €25 and available here.

Not sure who they are? Check out their myspace, if you’re into a bit of Electro you’ll like ‘em.

They first came to my attention with their song (and video Peter!) ‘Knickerbocker’:

The video for Fujiya & Miyagi – Ankle Injuries, so much detail and amazing colours. By Director Wade Shotter of Joy Rider Films.

The impetus for this article was the release of The Horrors’ Primary Colours album, which exhibited a strong Krauty influence, as well as the release of a NEU! tribute album called Brand NEU!, but I’d been thinking about doing something along these lines for a while due to the number of records over the last couple of years that have leaned heavily on that motorik sound and Krautrock in general. I was lucky enough to be able to speak to NEU! and Harmonia’s Michael Rother as the main interviewee, while David Holmes, Ben Power (Fuck Buttons), David Best (Fujiya & Miyagi) and Faris Badwan (The Horrors) also agreed to be interviewed. By the way, Damo Suzuki of Can declined to speak to me. This is what he (perfectly reasonably) came back with:

“Chris,
Sorry I’m no more interesting to talk about story of 40 years before…..
I’m living today and I have much more important mission than that time….
Anuway wish you good luck with your report…..

Love
Damo@Cologne”

Harmonia (Michael Rother is in the middle)

KRAUT OF THIS WORLD

HOW THE SONIC ADVENTURERS OF SEVENTIES GERMANY CONTINUE TO LOOM LARGE

As The Horrors return with a stunning, Krautrock-influenced new album, we speak to Michael Rother from German legends Neu!, as well as some of the countless musicians he has influenced, to find out just why the experimental music of Seventies Germany lives on more than 35 years later.

Something strange has happened to The Horrors. Three years ago, the comically stylised goth-punk band emerged to a mixture of awe and revulsion, so much so that by the time their debut album, Strange House, appeared in March 2007, many had already written them off as a novelty act. Well, there is some humble pie being wolfed down now, as the spindly quintet have resurfaced with a near-masterpiece of dark, experimental rock in Primary Colours, and a lead single that typifies the band’s bold return.

‘Sea Within A Sea’ is an eight-minute epic that owes as much to the everlasting pulse of Krautrock bands such as Neu! and Can as to the other reference points that crop up on the album. The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, The Chameleons and 154-era Wire all swim in the intoxicating murk of Primary Colours, but that relentless propulsion and sonic derring-do seems to have come entirely out of leftfield, shocking the naysayers. Not that frontman Faris Badwan sees it that way.

“To be honest, I think all that stuff was an influence on the last record, but maybe it wasn’t as evident,” he argues in his well-spoken, measured way. “We’ve always listened to all that kind of music, but I think with every record, a different set of influences should come to the forefront. All the Neu! related bands like La Düsseldorf, Cluster and obviously all the Can stuff as well, yeah, totally brilliant.”

The Horrors are far from the only contemporary band to draw heavily on the experimental German bands of the early Seventies, that loose conglomeration of acts that came to be collectively known as Krautrock, even if there wasn’t always that much tying them together at the time. Primary Colours was co-produced by Geoff Barrow of Portishead, who had a triumphant return of their own last year with Third, a record that itself owes much to the hypnotic rhythms, dark textures and feverish creativity of the same era.

David Holmes is another well established artist to have drawn heavily on his love of Krautrock, last year’s The Holy Pictures shot through with it like a stick of Blackpool rock. And then there are the many acts that have emerged in the last five years or so, some bearing their influence almost as a badge of honour (Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, Kling Klang, Zombie-Zombie), some wearing it more lightly (Fujiya & Miyagi, Fuck Buttons, Holy Fuck) and many others dabbling in it as they see fit – Deerhunter, LCD Soundsystem, School Of Seven Bells, Dan Deacon and even lad-rock icons like Oasis (on ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’) and the Stereophonics (on ‘Dakota’) have all dipped a toe in the Krautrock pond.

If that wasn’t enough, a new tribute album, Brand Neu!, features songs from several of these bands and more, as well as unreleased material from the Neu! duo of Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger, who died last year at the age of 61. In 2007, Rother reformed his post-Neu! project Harmonia for gigs and collaborations around the world, and he says that he hasn’t been as busy in years.

“Definitely, the situation has changed compared to, say the early Nineties,” he tells AU from his home in Hamburg. “We [Neu!] had vanished from the surface, really. Of course, there were already musicians all over the globe, but I only found out later that they had been listening to the bootlegs and the vinyls all the time. The general public just lost touch with us. That changed in the Nineties, and especially since 2001 – that’s my perception. Since we started the re-release of the Neu! catalogue [that year], there has been a lot of attention. So that has really changed for the better.”

Speaking to Rother, as charming as he is, it is with some trepidation that you mention the word ‘Krautrock’. It is no secret that many of the artists associated with the term disliked it; indeed, even the band that once named a song after it – Faust – later distanced themselves from it. For one thing, it contains a racial slur against Germans. For another, the many bands shoved under that umbrella are so impossibly diverse. Krautrock superfan Julian Cope, the former Teardrop Explodes frontman whose book Krautrocksampler (now unfortunately out of print but available online in PDF format), helped kick-start a revival in interest in the Nineties, contended that Krautrock was “a subjective British phenomenon”, i.e. that the ‘genre’ only really existed in the minds of British listeners, many of whom were first exposed to it by John Peel’s Radio 1 show. The influences that shine through most strongly today are from the sleek, minimalistic likes of Neu!, Can and Kraftwerk, as opposed to the more out-there Amon Düül II and Ash Ra Tempel.

“When it started, I thought more or less [‘Krautrock’] was a terrible name,” says Rother. “I still think it’s a stupid name, but it seems that people all over the world have agreed on it, so it seems more or less futile to fight the use of that expression. As long as people recognise and understand that so many different kinds of bands and music are put together into that pot.”

Rother says that he didn’t personally know most of the other bands active at the time, and even that, to this day, he has never heard the music of Amon Düül II, one of the most successful Krautrock bands. He was, and still is, almost exclusively interested in his own music, but it somehow ended up that the approach he and Neu! cohort Klaus Dinger took in Düsseldorf (also home to Kraftwerk, of which they were both early members, and Cluster, the duo Rother later joined to form Harmonia) had much in common – in mindset if not in musical output – with what was going on in Munich or Berlin. This was the first post-war generation, the generation that was responsible for the so-called Summer of Love in 1967 and the near-worldwide explosion of youthful protest and civil unrest in 1968. Change was afoot, and not least in Germany, where young people were still coming to terms with the sins of their parents’ generation.

“It was a very ambitious approach to music,” says Rother. “We wanted to really create something new; something that didn’t compare to music that was already available. One of the main objectives was to forget blues, the pop structures I [grew] up with. Maybe the electronic guys these days don’t feel that tradition, they don’t feel linked to the blues tradition, but I was very choosy with the steps I operated in the music. I was very careful about the elements I adopted.”

Rother’s role in Neu! was to paint soundscapes – often beautiful, sometimes unsettling – with guitars and synthesisers. Krautrock was arguably the first musical movement to mix synths with live instrumentation, and Neu! were right at the heart of that. The band’s third album, Neu! 75, was a perfect example and their best record. The six tracks were split into two, with Rother in charge of the first side and Klaus Dinger the second. To hear the record is to understand the difference. ‘Seeland’ and ‘Leb’ Wohl’ from side one are awesomely beautiful, weightless pieces of music, the apotheosis of Rother’s work with Neu! On side two, however, Dinger, the drummer and vocalist, breaks loose and basically invents punk music. Listen to ‘Hero’ and ‘After Eight’ to figure out where John Lydon got his ideas from. Dinger’s deranged vocals coupled with the bracing tempo and hard-charging, perfunctory power chords were the total opposite of what Rother was doing, but somehow the two men combined to create something truly great.

“That’s the great thing about Neu! 75,” says David Best of Fujiya & Miyagi, one of the best of the new bands that take inspiration from the work of Neu!, Can and others, “The Michael Rother side is so beautiful, but you’ve got this pre-punk, primal scream side. But that’s great that they can co-exist on the same record.”

Despite Rother’s best efforts in Neu!, Harmonia and as a solo artist, however, what most people think of when they heard the word Krautrock is something known as ‘motorik’, another phrase invented by journalists and rejected by many of the artists, not least Dinger, with whom it is most associated. He preferred the term ‘Apache beat’, whereas others just call it ‘the Neu! beat’. High praise. Put simply, it refers to the curiously monotonous, minimal rhythm of much of the best of Neu!. Tracks like ‘Hallogallo’, ‘Negativland’, ‘Für Immer’ and ‘E-Musik’, as well as ‘Autobahn’ and ‘Europe Endless’ by Kraftwerk, ‘Mother Sky’ by Can, ‘Monza’ by Harmonia and many others feel infinite; the sense of “rushing to the horizon” (Rother’s very apt phrase), never changing course but full of energy and subtle shifts in tone.

“It’s immediate,” says David Best, many of whose band’s best tracks have that streamlined, robotic feel. “Captain Beefheart said he didn’t want his music to be 4/4, because the heartbeat was 4/4 and he wanted it all irregular. Whereas Harmonia and Neu! is the total opposite. You know what’s coming next but it’s still got surprises in the music.”

In a more subtle way, synth duo Fuck Buttons also owe much to their German forebears. Though mostly eschewing the rhythms used by Klaus Dinger, their lengthy, often euphoric tracks have a compelling sense of momentum and propulsion, not to mention visceral power and sonic adventure. Michael Rother became a fan earlier this year when he met them at an Australian festival, fascinated by the sounds they were making in sound-check, and he says he hopes to collaborate with them soon. Benjamin Power from the band returns the compliment. “I remember someone first played me Neu! when I was about 16 and it just kind of blew my mind. At the time I was like, ‘I’ve never heard anything like this. How does it keep going like that and not lose any interest?’”

When the topic of motorik is raised with Michael Rother, you quickly get the sense that he feels misunderstood. He believes that fans, journalists and many musicians are too fixated on Klaus Dinger’s drumming, and don’t appreciate his contribution to the overall effect. He may well be right, though it should be noted that for many years the two men had a difficult relationship with each other, which was resolved before Dinger died last year.

“I sometimes wonder, ‘Why are they always talking about motorik?’” he says. “Maybe it’s because [the rhythm] is the easiest thing to describe. But it’s not the whole truth. The whole truth is that rhythm in combination with all the other elements of our music made it special. I’m sure that if you take one element away – either the harmonic, melodic sound system or the rhythmic system – from our music, it would be less than half. It would more or less lose the meaning. It’s the combination that works and that’s the magic, if you can apply the word.”

It was that combination that had such a massive effect on David Holmes when he was writing The Holy Pictures. “I think it was more to do with the melody as much as it was to do with the simple, restrained rhythms” he says. “There are a lot of people who put in a Neu! beat and go, ‘Yeah, I was really influenced by Neu!’, but I was more interested in that feeling that you get from tracks like ‘Forever’ [aka ‘Für Immer’] and ‘Isi’. The more thoughtful melancholy that you get in some of those tracks, you know?”

In the end, the most amazing thing about this music is how relevant and even futuristic it still sounds, up to 40 years on. Krautrock may have been a primary influence for David Bowie, Brian Eno, British punk and post-punk bands like Joy Division, Public Image Limited and The Fall, ambient music, dance music and many other strands, but much of it still sounds like it has just been beamed in from decades hence. “If that’s your impression, that’s something that I hoped it should be, and I’m happy about reactions like that,” says Michael Rother.

“It was the future back in the early Seventies,” says David Holmes, “and the fact that it’s still being called upon as a major influence says so much about how strong it is.” Just ask The Horrors’ Faris Badwan. “It’s free but it’s also monotonous,” he says. “It’s a weird thing to say, but I like music that feels like it has no limitations.”

This was the sidebar to the Krautrock feature (see above), and I made a Spotify playlist to go with it. Click here for that.

The Horrors

FOREVER: THE MOTORIK PLAYLIST

THE SOUNDTRACK TO ENDLESS VOYAGES ON THE AUTOBAHNS

1. Neu! – Für Immer (1972)
In English, the title translates as ‘Forever’, and it couldn’t be more apt. Essentially a beefed-up retelling of ‘Hallogallo’ from the first album, this track is motorik perfected.

2. Primal Scream – Shoot Speed/Kill Light (2000)
XTRMNTR is one of the finest records of the decade, a speed-fuelled, dystopian nightmare of an album, and this is one of many key moments. The rhythm section of Darrin Mooney and Mani has a good go at blasting your face off with its relentless power.

3. The Horrors – Sea Within A Sea (2009)
Co-produced by Geoff Barrow, this eight-minute single starts out with some unsettling gloom before channelling Portishead’s ‘The Rip’ as it builds to a beautiful, synth-led conclusion.

4. Holy Fuck – Lovely Allen (2007)
The exact opposite of The Horrors’ gothic stylings, here Canadian synth fetishists Holy Fuck direct their motorik energies towards a joyously explosive finale.

5. Can – Mother Sky (1971)
Can were known more for their robotic funk and edited-down (up to 10-hour) jams, but this was one occasion where they indulged their linear side, motoring ahead for over 14 mind-altering minutes as Damo Suzuki intones spookily over the top.

6. Queens of the Stone Age – Regular John (1998)
Stoner rock is one of many genres owing a huge debt to the Krautrock pioneers, starting with Hawkwind. The opening track on QOTSA’s debut features a huge one-note riff, a locked-in rhythm section and Josh Homme’s smooth croon over the top. Rock and roll bliss.

7. Fujiya & Miyagi – Knickerbocker (2008)
Fujiya’s appeal lies in the way they combine their love for Kraut, Nineties electronica and psychedelic pop. The lead single from their third album Lightbulbs does that expertly and adds in a seriously odd lyric about tragic child star Lena Zavaroni.

8. La Düsseldorf – Time (1976)
La Düsseldorf was Klaus Dinger’s commercially more successful venture, overlapping with the end of Neu! This track from the self-titled debut shows a sensitive, delicate side to him that the rest of the record kept hidden.

9. LCD Soundsystem – Get Innocuous! (2007)
James Murphy ingeniously cops the synth bassline from Kraftwerk’s ‘The Robots’ and turns it into a disco-punk anthem.

10. David Holmes – Holy Pictures (2008)
This was the album where Holmes took himself right out of his comfort zone, embracing rock songwriting, lyric-writing and even singing. But among the many influences, one in particular shines through in the driving, propulsive rhythm of the title track.

11. Fuck Buttons – Sweet Love for Planet Earth (2008)
Layer upon layer of synths that hum and then roar, twinkling bells and screamed vocals. An absolutely monumental track that shows you don’t need beats to do motorik properly.

12. Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express (1977)
Another apt title, as the robots turn their gaze from the autobahn to the railways. The drum pattern is uncanny as it echoes the infinite chug of a night train to, well, anywhere.

BBQ Pork noodle soup, the best I have ever had. Fujiya & Miyagi are tight as hell.

these are some of the best animated videos ever and i have this big soft spot for music videos (and artists) that appreciate the fact that you can have a music video that’s about more than just the band doing a “performance” to the camera (although, if you’re dancing in your video…all is forgiven…see Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, or PCD for examples).

Incubus-Drive.

A-Ha- Take On Me.

and recently ive been noticing that videos have been more graphic-y…and i love it!  here are some of my recent favorites.

In no particular order:

Ben Folds- Zak and Sara.

Fujiya & Miyagi- Ankle Injuries. a really freaking cool stop motion with dice making up the images.

Andrew Bird ft Dianogah- Lull.

Frightened Rabbit- Bright Pink Bookmark.

Kanye West- Heartless. because how could it be a popular trend if Kanyeezy wasn’t doing it too?

Pacific- Hot Lips.

Maldroid- Rock N Roll. etch a sketch…freaking what?

Chromeo- Momma’s Boy.

Gregory and the Hawk- Avalanche, Oh Avalanche. this girl makes really great animations for videos, but unfortunately had to take down the Tegan and Sara ones for copyright violation .

She & Him- Why Do You Let Me Stay Here. I love the mixture of real and animated; so cute! love zooey and m.ward!

The Decemberists- Los Angeles, I’m Yours.

In my typical fashion, when Pop Levi walked past me outside of The Echo on Tuesday night, I didn’t recognize him… while I had JUST been looking at his photos. Hmm. So does it surprise you that I cursed out (under my breath, of course) who I believe was F&M bassist Matt Hainsby and then he was jamming in front of me. Argh. It was one of those nights. Besides seriously needing sunglasses because my eye was so irritated by the blinding light, my camera did not save the video footage

Pop Levi at The Echo

Pop Levi was a delight, performing “Blue Honey”  and “Wannamama” during the set. The Zambian songster has a look reminiscent of Johnny Depp and seems like they would have similar personalities. Levi was not afraid to get down (literally) and wrestle the notes from his beast of a guitar. One to watch.

Fujiya & Miyagi at The Echo, March 3, 2009

In the moment, the show was a blast. However, there’s only so many “R”s for David Best to roll… and I felt like it was a cult seance, hypnotized and repeating “Fujiya, Miyagi, Fujiya, Miyagi…” Best has some funky skills on the guitar, I think Lee Adams looked  a little bored with drumming by the end, Steve Lewis hitting the keys deserves some more attention. The band definitely teases with extended progressions and then catapults to a climax; fun to groove to, but my mind wanted more stimulation. I always find it a little cheesy when the band’s video features “Fujiya & Miyagi” going across the screen, and they had a lot of domino sequences and Pac-Man on the run. Good time, but I didn’t buy the tee-shirt.

David Best of Fujiya & Miyagi at The Echo

Fujiya & Miyagi played a packed house at (le) Poisson Rouge last Tuesday, February 17th.  The sold out show opened up with School of Seven Bells, playing their last show in New York before hitting the road. The trio played their shoe-gazing tunes to an accepting crowd that was seemingly there to spend a night dancing away from their NYU studies.  

Eager and excitable masses more than welcomed Fujiya & Miyagi as they took their place on stage chanting and dancing away to the 70’s infused krautrock.  The Brighton boys are on their tour through the U.S. until the end of March when they head to the UK to continue rockin’ out.  Catch them if you can!

Get on over to the new Echaskech website www.Echaskech.co.uk for the latest photos, gigs and downloads. Also updated is a lovely little Biog, where you may recognise a little asip interview from back in December.

You can catch the crew at a few upcoming gigs in London or if you are willing the summer on as much as me, book your appointment at this summer’s Blissfields or Bloom Festivals:

28th February @ Ginglik (Shepherds Bush – London)
24th March @ inSpiral Lounge (Camden – London)
3rd-5th July – Blissfields Festival
14th-16th August – Bloom Festival

The new site also hosts a blog, which currently features mixes by the man behind the Echaskech visuals Mach V, with tracks from Telefon Tel Aviv, Fujiya & Miyagi and Fleet Foxes amongst the tracklisting. And if you wanted an Echaskech hit straight away, then check out ‘String break’ visual mix below: