Today @ Tsukiji Fish Market

Sometimes rambling words remain unnecessary.

'Pygmy Piranha' Plague Tokyo Hot Springs

Ever had the compulsion to have your tender tootsies gnawed on by dozens of ravenous, pygmy piranha?

That’s not what they ask you when you first enter this retro-style bath and recreation Edo period onsen complex in the heart of Odaiba - Tokyo’s first hot springs theme park, Ooedo Onsen Monagatari, opened in 2003, with waters pumped from 1,400 meters beneath terra firma.

While these statistics and some bizarre carnival attractions bamboozle your senses, you’re likely (like me) to wander outside into their huge Japanese garden, there to discover the annex where they have a pool full of mini black fish.

Garra rufa obtuse (aka “doctor fish”) can live in waters over 40 degrees Celsius in heat, and are ready (and oh-so-willing) to cleanse your soles and give you a foot pedicure. Seems that they love dining on dead skin cells of the human body, and it’s likely they prefer international cuisine, since I had three times as many of these little fellas swarming all over my feet as any of the other clientele.

Insanely ticklish and - let’s face it - downright disturbing, you might come away with a creeped-out chill and a feeling that your toes have been violated, but your lower digits have never been softer or smoother.

Gundam Statue Terrorizes Tokyo

This baby knocked our socks off today, although calling it a 'baby' is a wee bit of a misnomer, since the brand new, iconic RX-78-2 Gundam statue at Odaiba's Shiokaze Park here in Tokyo - still under construction, but almost ready to be unveiled in July 2009 - towers over innocent, earthbound bystanders at around 18 meters.

It also weighs in at 35 tons, so close proximity in this earthquake-prone country may not be so advisable. What the statue does do is make the nearby copy of the Statue of Liberty look, well, tired and matronly by comparison. Not to mention insignificant.

The full-scale Gundam figure is being put together to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of the rather spiffy mecha anime TV series, Mobile Suit Gundam.



Our lumbering suit of futuristic combat armour also exudes mist from various points in his body, and is apparently going to look a treat in the evenings with some special lighting. Personally, I was gob-smacked; this is just plain brilliant.

Word has it that other people can train-spot this baby for free up until the end of August - whereupon it'll be torn down, sad to say.

It has my name on it!

OK, so the first time I saw this was at a shrine, with flowers and sake offerings, at the holier than holy Kamakura, near Tokyo.

I was with my mate, Briony Wright, and we both nearly flipped out - I mean, who is lucky enough to have a beer named after them? Complete with katakana subtitles?

Ye gods.

Ends up the beer was not so cool, though. Bergen Brau is actually from South Korea, is el cheapo (like me), and tastes like crap.

Oh well - the can is funky enough.

Andrez DJ/live soundsystem @ TTAK, Tokyo

Did a crap DJ and sound system set last weekend for the TTAK crew here in Tokyo, and you can download the 60-minute bugger for free right HERE, courtesy of the cool people @ Fun in the Murky:

ANDREZ BERGEN, LIVE/DJ SET @ TTAK, TOKYO 30 MAY 2009

Tracklist:

1. Andrez Bergen - Merian Cooper
2. Little Nobody - Compulsion (Bitch Shift remix)
3. Little Nobody - Compulsion (Wyndell Long remix)
4. Little Nobody - Robota (Jammin' Unit remix)
5. Veronica du Lac - Because It Pays So Thin (Bill Youngman remix)
6. Little Nobody - Compulsion (Luke's Anger remix)
7. Little Nobody - Compulsion (Donk Boys remix)
8. Funk Gadget - Blah Blah (Patrick Pulsinger remix)
9. My Exit Music - Donkey Powder
10. Little Nobody vs. DJ Fodder - Cocaine Speaking (Dave Tarrida remix)
11. DJ Fodder - Busted Piano (A Quickie Opening Movement)
12. Little Nobody - Fear Of A Black Bat
13. Little Nobody - Poiseworks (Funk Gadget remix)
14. Little Nobody - Metropolis How?
15. Little Nobody - Compulsion (Koda remix)
16. Little Nobody - Get Away From It All (AB- mix)
17. DJ Rush - Jack Your Body
18. Little Nobody vs. Someone B.I.G - I, Gottaman (Il Capitano's Contraband mix)
19. Luke's Anger - Working Overtime
20. Little Nobody - Compulsion (Gadget Cassette remix)
21. Little Nobody - Compulsion
22. Little Nobody - All Humanoids Must Not Escape
23. Little Nobody feat. Toshiyuki Yasuda - Robota (Paul Birken remix)
24. Little Nobody - Alright Already (Si Begg remix)
25. Little Nobody - Krinkle Kut
26. Little Nobody vs. DJ Fodder - Cocaine Speaking (Jason Leach remix)

Messy as heck and warts included...

I was also quite smashed, and was getting a fair way there before I started playing at 12, using a turntable, two CD players, an FM tuner, a laptop that kept bumming-up and crashing, an iPod, and a dictaphone. One of the channels (the one with the dictaphone) seemed to drop out somewhere at the beginning of the set, but I couldn't be bothered fixing it.

Tracklist looks terribly self-indulgent, what with all the Little Nobody references, but most of these little numbers are the rather brilliant remixes I've been getting this year, so I just really wanted to throw them out there on a half-decent system. And man they work. The DJ Rush track and the Luke's Anger number I added in 'cos I love 'em. As you probably know.

DJing isn't really my niche these days (when was it? Ha Ha Ha!), especially going principally digital, so it's messy and I know there were lots of annoying mistakes in there and moments when I completely zoned out, focused instead on the next beer or getting tangled in the headphones cord, but overall it went down a treat and at least I didn't bust the crossfader.

Iffy Bizness interview @ Elektrax

There's a brand new propaganda bomb/interview thingy with me up on the way cool Elektrax site, and I'm thinking one or two regular readers here may be curious - if, indeed, there are one or two people who actually peruse this site (slack-arse that I am, I never bother checking stats). Anyway, here's a sample of my crap philosophizing:

“Yeah, I’ve kind of lost count exactly how many names I’ve worked under,” Bergen acknowledges from his base of operations in Tokyo, Japan. “Most of them were conjured up either as a joke, or with specific musical perimeters in mind, but then the lines get blurred and I forget which category I’m supposed to be focused on. It’d be frustrating if I actually cared.”

The interview in its entirety, which some people may find relatively self-indulgent and/or inane, while others might perceive it as historically interesting, is online here.

Hype out.

Melt-Banana

I always was going to be a sucker for Tokyo-based all-girl group, Melt-Banana.

In a country famous for smacking you round in entertaining ways with its noise music (think Merzbow), Melt-Banana have - over the past 15 years, nine albums, and two-dozen EPs - taken that aural mayhem, and infused it with hyperventilatingly-paced punk rock and a swag of electronic styles, in often desperately brilliant ways.

Cell-Scape (2003) remains my favorite album for that year. And what can I say? John Zorn and Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle) are equally avid fans.

Stand out for me in showmanship, attitude, and (surprise) aptitude, has always been Yasuko Onuki, a.k.a. Yako - the group’s founder, vocalist, and writer.

“These days, we’re making songs for singles on several labels, and getting ready to do the next album,” Yako told me a few weeks back, then turned wistful. “I have a lot of other unfulfilled dreams, besides Melt-Banana—like going on vacation to some southern island, visiting my sister in Hong Kong, playing games on PS3, and movies I want to watch.”

On one particular tour of the U.S., Melt-Banana’s van famously hit a deer, with Yako behind the wheel. Instead of moping about the tragedy, the incident inspired Bambi’s Dilemma, the moniker for last year’s band opus - which also happens to be the singer’s first pick for best Melt-Banana album.

“It’s what we’re doing right now,” she assessed in clinical fashion. After that, she wavered.

“But I’d also like to pick Charlie [1998], because it was the first self-produced album we did on our own label, A-Zap Records - and Mr. John Peel chose it as one of his favorites.”

Donk Boys: Sucker Punch EP

OK, so if you've been surfing YouTube or have friends in more abstract electro-tech-funk circles, you may have stumbled across this bit of a recent Ricardo Villalobos set at Fabric in London (click here).

While the visual element is hardly anything to sing home about, the sounds—principally sourced from the new track by Donk Boys, The By-Blow, just released through Dirtybird—is absolutely wild, mind-melting electronica. I Saw The Sine is almost equally brilliant, and I'm spinning this stuff out here in Tokyo as soon as I can get my fingers on a half-decent hi-res version, preferably vinyl, or WAV if it comes down to it; these days I don't care either way.

Donk Boys, who hark from Malmö in the south of Sweden (I've actually been there twice), are two of the people on my current list of most cool, out there purveyors of electronic music, alongside Luke's Anger, Ben Pest, Bill Youngman, Cristian Vogel, Si Begg, Toshiyuki Yasuda, Gadget Cassette and Patrick Pulsinger, so you may just begin to get the gist. Or not—depends on your taste and how you like your muzak served up.

Methinks this is essential stuff—and downright cool, to boot.

Various Artists: Iffy Bizness (the compilation!)

We've been playing this one pretty close to our chests, and one or two readers (if, in fact, there are any for this trite little blog) may already know about it - or perhaps not.

'IT' being the upcoming new compilation through Aussie label Elektrax, titled 'IFFY BIZNESS'. Basically it's a wunderbar idea that DJ Hi-Shock came up with, and we've both since liaised and planned and plotted: 14 tracks to celebrate 14 years of IF? Records.

Here's the cover:



And here's the link (with sounds, track-list, and propaganda info bollocks) on the Elektrax site:
http://www.elektraxmusic.com/hroom-cd003

Most of it is recent, new, and/or unreleased, and we've got a sensational new remix from Swedish outfit Donk Boys.

Feel free to rummage through and leave churlish feedback.

It'll be released through all major digital download carriers like Beatport, Audiojelly, Juno Digital, iTunes, blah, blah, and blah.

Craig McWhinney: 13 things to understand

Inducted by Schlock Tactile for the ‘Love Me Slender’ project, on remix honors, is fellow Aussie Craig McWhinney (Nightshade/HAUL Music), one of that country’s more talented current producers. He’s delivered up a way cool mix that we absolutely love: deep and dirty tribal-tech with phat grooves, backed by pitch-perfect, superb peaks and bassy troughs; precisely our cup of tea!

Here are 13 things you may or may not know about this Melbourne-based musician, proffered up by the man himself:

“I used to play the drums in a couple of bands, from my mid-teens to my early 20s – my brother and I were always fooling around with guitars and the like as well, so music was a part of my make up from pretty early. I guess as my tastes changed, coupled with taking up DJing, somewhere along the way producing came into the picture.”

“I've been DJing for about seven years all up now, I think, and producing for around five years, maybe? Not quite sure, lots of late nights have led to blurry memories... I'm motivated mostly by the music itself. I guess having solid friendships in the Melbourne music community helps to keep me going as well.”

“There've been a lot of changes over that time. Most notably, vinyl started being replaced by CDs, and then laptops. The whole DJing paradigm has been flipped on its head.”

“My wife is actually a huge part of my studio set-up. A second pair of ears, a second opinion – always right at the time I need it – helps me in more ways than anything else.”

“Red cordial keeps me fueled when making music, mostly, though I tend to produce in spurts, not long marathon type sessions. I like to keep my ears fresh.”

“Surgeon seems to be the main stayer for me; I buy pretty much everything he does. Also Phase, Function, and T++. But the big guy for me, at the moment, is Shed. Love everything he does. I think the common link between these artists is immaculate production, a dark aesthetic, and a great intensity without being over-cooked. Just quality music.”

“I make techno. Always have, always will.”

“I have a solid release schedule with my label HAUL music, which I run with my partners Christian Vance and Mike Callander – so look out for consistent original and remix work there. I also have an EP, 'Ensõ', in the works for American label Nightshade. I was in chats with another American label to release an EP, but at this stage that seems to be all talk.”

“I had a 12-inch released through UK label Notorious North, titled 'Antiquated EP', which kind’a slipped past unnoticed, but I'm pretty fresh with the whole releasing thing, so I look forward to what’s coming!”

“There's a certain amount of quality control when releasing to vinyl that can often be overlooked with digital-only releases. On the flip-side, many great artists are emerging because of the digital age we live in. Hopefully a balance can be struck, and vinyl can be kept afloat. I really hope that vinyl never dies. I have a love of vinyl that I’d like to be able to feed for many more years to come.”

“I fully embrace the digital age – I think it’s great! By moving into the digital download medium. labels make themselves available to another section of the market. Smart play in my book.”

“I have a lot of respect for a lot of the veteran old school Melbourne producers. I used to own a fair swag of Voiteck records on Truck Musik, and I currently really dig Christian Vance and Mike Callander, not only ‘cos they're my partners and friends in HAUL, but also ‘cos they're damn talented. Zen Paradox is amazing at what he does. I also like what I’m hearing from some of the newer Melbourne acts.”

“The remix I did for Schlock Tactile is a percussive burner, good in the mix – use it as a tool to build a set with. I liked the original and heard what I could do with it; it’s a no-brainer why I agreed to do it.”