The guitarist from Tipograhica Tsuneo Imahori has made some spectacular albums under the name Unbeltipo :
Unbeltipo 1999
Unbeltipo - Joujoushka (2004)
Pheasantism 2007
(Wiki doesnt mention Unbeltipo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuneo_Imahori )
The guitarist from Tipograhica Tsuneo Imahori has made some spectacular albums under the name Unbeltipo :
Unbeltipo 1999
Unbeltipo - Joujoushka (2004)
Pheasantism 2007
(Wiki doesnt mention Unbeltipo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuneo_Imahori )
Greetings,
There are certainly a lot of great Japanese bands on the prog and prog-related front. My two favorites are definitely:
Mr. Sirius
KENSO
Some other artists that have also put out some great music IMO include (in alphabetical order):
Asturias
Ausia
Il Berlione
Black Page
Fragile
Hiromi
Igzit-Nine
Aska Kaneko
Pazzo Fanfano di Musica
Prism
Teru's Symphonia
Tipographica
Vienna
Kazumi Watanabe
Cheers,
Alan
A lot of those artists are a bit more fusiony, aren't they? It doesn't feel like the whole 'prog' movement really hit Japan - I have heard of some groups that didn't quite get off the ground, but for the most part the Japanese music scene in the 70's and 80's was filled with a lot of New Wave, technopop, or more traditional styles. Then in the 90's you had a whole explosion of groups that were influenced big by Yes and King Crimson, most of them involving Tatsuya Yoshida in some way, and a lot of froggy hybrid stuff like Happy Family. But as far as I can see not a whole lot of that existed in the 70's. Sound about right?
it is true that the Japanese leaned more toward the Fusion side of Prog music than the Symph side, but it was well done and they made some truly great music... even if it had more of an American than British influence.
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Metal:
Onmyoza
Sadly OOP at this time!Originally Posted by Zeuhlmate
I'll refer to my previous post on page two of this thread. But I generally agree; Nippon "progressive rock" to me is far more synonymous with the vast underground avant-scene of the late 80s onwards (Ruins, K.K. Null, Optical 8, Ground Zero, Tipographica, Bondage Fruit, P.O.N., Le Silo, Gestalt, Koenjihyakkei, Ikue Mori, Altered States, Hi Speed, Opabinia, Lacrymosa, Masque, Korekyojin, Zypressen et al.). There were some very good "symph" acts popping out during the mid- to late 80s as well (Mr. Sirius and Providence certainly come to mind), but they made for a completely different set of artistic attitudes - IMHO.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I would say that the Japanese 70s Prog had a more Psychedelic and/or Avant slant, and in the 80s it was split between Symphonic and Jazzy Prog. I didn't keep up post-80s, so can't comment on that.
The symphonic scene didn’t really take off there until the 80s. The only album I can think of that was full-on, unadulterated symphonic prog undiluted by psych or other rock influences released prior to the Shingetsu album would be the Yasuo Inada & Bemi Family album. This is of course not counting bands like Maria or Scheherazade, who recorded material in the 70s but it wasn’t actually released until the 90s. Or obscure, undiscovered stuff I don’t know about (there seem to be a lot of those from Japan).
Back on the subject of Japanese stuff worth listening to, has anyone mentioned Osamu Kitajima yet? Benzaiten was a very cool album mixing rock and trad Japanese influences in a thrilling way. Gotta love that rock & roll biwa!
-------------
MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
‘“What blow, Goblin?” said Corinius.’ --E. R. Eddison
N.P.:nothing
Kenso and this box set are a must!
Last edited by Bazcrim; 07-18-2013 at 10:38 AM. Reason: Add photo
Thanks very much, everyone. Lots to explore...
For that which is not,
there is no coming into being
and for that which is,
there is no ceasing to be;
yea of both of these the lookers into truth have seen an end.
Bhagavad Gita
Gonin Ish are a pretty impressive prog/tech metal band.
Chops galore, twin guitarists (one a female that also sings, clean and growls), keys and even some classic prog sections.
Last edited by simon moon; 07-18-2013 at 02:34 PM.
And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell
Ha ha-- isn't it the case that there will always be that statement in any compendium. Anticipate frustration, and then yet still list your fave...
Moi: KENSO
Recently got three Unbeltipo CDs (might be all of em') It's a lot to chew on. So far they seem like the kind of Guitar/Bass/Drums fork of Tipographica that I could only hope for in dreams.
Not sure if there's already mention of the following:
Lacrymosa-Bugbear (and) Joy of a Wrecked Ship, (both have subtle brain melting atmosphere at times and excellent bass guitar playing).
P.O.N. (Potent burning angular instrumental rock (if you like Bondage Fruit or Tipographica this is a very solid score).
Masah Kikuchi- Sion (Mostly dark fairly subdued stuff w/ acoustic instruments. Great recording quality. Track two is a Crimsoid atom bomb that's scarier than 90% of the horror films I've seen)
Kiki Band, (I think they have 4 discs out. The 3 I have are pretty much the high quality blistering jazzrock you might expect from a band w/ Kido Natsuki and Kazutoki Umezu).
Hello Spacefreak, glad to see that Niwa sold at least two Cd's, that is such an awesome album, can you recommend anything else like it?
Coming somewhat late to this party. I saw many have mentioned KBB and Akihisa Tsuboy. Here are some clips with one of his projects that is not that popular. The project is a trio with violin, guitar and accordion. Excellent, pastoral music. They have three albums, as far as I know. I only got one:
Last edited by Zalmoxe; 07-22-2013 at 02:29 PM.
On the weird end of the spectrum, Shibusashirazu Orchestra. Here is one of the tame songs:
Another great one:
These guys have quite a big discography that is hard to navigate without guidance. I have a few albums for which I spent quite a lot of money, some of them are hit and miss though.
Speaking of Tsuboy, I do not remember seeing Era being mentioned. Duet with Kido Natsuki (guitarist from Bondage Fruit). They have a few albums, all of them are highly recommended.
I know Pochakaite Malko has been mentioned a couple of times. Let me just add that their EP "Doppelgänger" is the best EP I have ever come across. I have a 15 on it on Gnosis.
Absolutely true. I found out about them on this very forum and based on the samples I heard, I went and purchased the album. I place them midway between Diablo Swing Orchestra and UnexpecT.
Finally, for the most adventurous of you, I recommend Salle Gaveau:
It struck me as a bit Canterbury-esque, clearly these guys (and gal) had been listening to their National Health albums. The keyboards are mostly in the piano/organ family (one of ’em doubles on accordion). I’d also put them in the Excellent Bands With Terrible Names category alongside Wobbler.It’s a bit of a pity that (to date) they have never released a follow-up.
-------------
MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez
N.P.:“Vendesi saggezza”-Locanda delle fate/Forse le lucciole non si amano più
Zunou Keisatsu - Jyuu wo Tore .
Kazuki Tomokawa - Dazzling solitude
J A Caesar - "A Psychedelic Opera"
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