A whole bunch of other cool stuff on Daito’s YouTube channel.  Here are a couple of my favourites:

Here’s what Hisham has to say about his book:

“This AMJ is a compilation made up of mostly collage work I have done over the years, as well as some of my installation drawings. This if the first book of my own so I am excited about it and hope you are as well. It was a simple process to create this book but I am glad to have it out in the world. It describes an era of development for me in my work. I hope to surpass this work by keeping on the creative path but it’s nice to have something to look back on. Art is for sharing not keeping to yourself. The more people your work can speak to the more powerful it becomes. Let it fall out of your hands and into the minds of others. You can’t own it, you can only create it.”

Artist Music Journals website.

Video: ‘Feathers’ from Midori Hirano’s second album klo:yuri

More good news for UK and Ireland fans of Japanese music. Classically trained pianist/talented electronic producer Midori Hirano is on tour from October 19 to November 7.

Hirano’s music is a gentle and intoxicating brew of minimalist electronica, gentle piano and sumptuous strings. Her first album is titled Lush Rush and that’s exactly the best way to describe her music, a lush rush of intertwining textures and gentle yet substantial melodies.

Here are the dates for the tour:

UK & Ireland Tour : 29 OCT – 7 NOV

October 29, 2009(Thu)
@Meze Festival (Newport/UK)
w/ Max Tundra and Passion Pit (DJ Set
Tickets : £5
Open : 8PM / Start : 8:30PM

October 30, 2009(Fri)
Instore Live@Tower Records Dublin (Dublin/Ireland)
Start : 1PM

October 30, 2009(Fri)
@Whelan’s (Dublin/Ireland)
w/ At last an atlas
Tickets : €12 advance / €14 on the night
Open : 8PM

November 1, 2009(Sun)
@Roisin Dubh (Upstairs) (Galway/Ireland)
w/ At last an atlas
Tickets : €10

November 3, 2009(Tue)
@The New Adelphi (Hull/UK)

November 4, 2009(Wed)
@The Tin Angel (Coventry/UK)

November 6, 2009(Fri)
@De La Warr Pavilion (Bexhill, East Sussex/UK)
Time : 7pm

November 7, 2009(Sat)
@London International Festival of Exploratory Music 2009 (London/UK)
Time: 18:45
Venue: Kings Place – Hall Two
Price: KP45 £14.50, £11.50, £9.50, Saver Seat £6.50

Midori Hirano MySpace | Official Website

15 Oct 2009 – Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. London, UK
18 Oct 2009 – “In The City” at Studio. Manchester, UK
20 Oct 2009 – Hatters. Manchester, UK
21 Oct 2009 – The Hare & Hounds. Birmingham, UK.
22 Oct 2009 – “Gaz’s Rockin Blues Club”. London, UK.
25 Oct 2009 – “Optimo” at Subclub. London, UK.

Asakusa Jinta Myspace | Official Website

Here’s a video for ‘Head Light’ from Ogre You Asshole’s upcoming album, (spotted first by Deaf and Dumb).  I’m digging the poltergeist theme of the video, as well as the (mostly) one-long-shot style.  Of course, the song itself is excellent too.  Nothing too fancy on this song, it’s mostly based around a very simple (and very catchy) bassline and and a bouncy drum beat.

Fog Lamp comes out October 7, and if the rest of it is as good as this song I’ll be very happy indeed.

Ogre You Asshole: MySpace | Official Website

Jean Snow reports on Live From Tokyo, an upcoming documentary about the diversity of the Tokyo music scene.  It’s directed by Lewis Rapkin and features a plethora of bands playing different styles of music.

Here’s what the filmmakers have to say about the documentary:

The documentary looks at Tokyo’s music culture as a reflection of Japanese society and in relation to international music culture. In 2009, we find ourselves well into the iPod generation of hyper-connectivity and information culture. The Internet has become a household portal into the endless information of the world. The music industry is plummeting and listeners are accessing and treating music in a new way. Barriers that separated music cultures in the past are becoming less relevant as globalization continues to connect artists. A new paradigm of music culture is upon us. Tokyo’s reputation for an overwhelming variety of global information, media-saturated urban environment and cutting edge innovation, makes it the perfect sample for addressing a new outlook on music culture.

Looks like it will give a great overview of the sheer quantity of music in Tokyo, as well as what the future could have in store for the Japanese music scene.  More information at http://www.livefromtokyo.net.

The band announced these dates awhile ago, but I missed them at first and thought I’d make sure to get them up here:

09-22 Houston, TX – Walter’s on Washington
09-23 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
09-24 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
09-25 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
09-26 Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel
09-27 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
09-28 New York, NY – Bower Ballroom
09-29 Brooklyn, NY – The Bell House
09-30 Cambridge, MA – Middle East Downstairs
10-01 Montreal, Quebec – La TuLipe
10-02 Toronto, Ontario – Lee’s Palace
10-03 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
10-04 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
10-05 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
10-08 Vancouver, British Columbia – Biltmore Cabaret
10-09 Seattle, WA – Neumos
10-10 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
10-12 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
10-13 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
10-14 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
10-16 Denton, TX – Hailey’s
10-17 Austin, TX – The Mohawk

In the meantime, enjoy some music:

Audio: Ashes in the Snow

| MP3

Video: Follow the Map

Mono Website | MySpace

Shonen Knife are setting out on an extensive North American tour this fall in support of their new album Super Group.  The all-female trio been making stripped-down, Ramone’s influenced music together for twenty-seven years, including touring the world with Nirvana during the Nevermind tour.  Super Group drops August 25th on Good Charamel Records.

Here are the dates:

10-16 Fri – New York, NY – Santos Party House
10-17 Sat – Ithaca, NY – Cornell University
10-18 Sun – Toronto, Canada – Horseshoe Tavern
10-19 Mon – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
10-20 Tue – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
10-21 Wed – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
10-23 Fri – Missoula, MT – The Badlander
10-24 Sat – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
10-25 Sun – Vancouver, Canada – Biltmore Cabaret
10-26 Mon – Bellingham, WA – The Nightlight
10-27 Tue – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
10-29 Thu – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Shop *
10-30 Fri – San Jose – Blank Club *
10-31 Sat – Visalia, CA – The Cellar Door *

11-01 Sun – Oakland, CA – Uptown *
11-02 Mon – Los Angeles, CA – Echo *
11-03 Tue – San Diego, CA – Casbah *
11-04 Wed – Tucson, AZ – Plush
11-06 Fri – San Antonio, TX – Sam’s Burger Joint
11-07 Sat – Austin, TX – Fun Fun Fun Festival
11-08 Sun – Houston, TX – Numbers Nightclub
11-10 Tue – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon ^
11-11 Wed – Memphis, TN – Hi Tone ^
11-12 Thu – Atlanta, GA – E.A.R.L. ^
11-13 Fri – Richmond, VA – Plaza Bowl ^
11-14 Sat – Hoboken, NJ – Maxwells ^
11-15 Sun – Allston, MA – Great Scotts ^
11-16 Mon – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brendas, ^
11-17 Tue – Brookyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl ^%
11-18 Wed – Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place ^

* with Ty Segall
^ with JEFF the Brotherhood
% with Golden Triangle

Expect spastic devo-inspired new wave punk with this one – worth keeping an ear out for. The band’s last North American tour was wild, they put of the best shows I saw in 2008.

Here’s a video from Polysic’s new single to whet your appetite:

Incidentally, Zac Bentz’ blog is a fantastic source of Japanese music info – he’s got a good ear for bands – I recommend you check it out.

Although I wasn’t a big fan of Tokyo Jihen’s last album, Variety, I’m pretty excited about Sanmon Gossip. Here are a couple of videos from the upcoming album:

Shiina Ringo fan forum electricmole.net has a very long thread about the album.