Big in japan band6/18/2023 ![]() And if it just so happened to vicariously fulfill those rock-star dreams-emceeing, crowdsurfing, partying with bands-well, all the better. He made dozens of cross-Pacific trips to catch his favourite bands before deciding to bring the talent back home: it would give artists a unique opportunity to perform in a country they’d otherwise never play and give Canadian audiences a glimpse of lesser-known Japanese music. The bands evoked Western indie output-the relentless riffs of Death From Above 1979, Radiohead-like experimentation, Explosions in the Sky’s ambient post-rock-but with more spontaneity and stage presence. But then, watching anime television series in the mid-aughts, he discovered and instantly fell for Japan’s hidden wealth of innovative rock. Growing up in Vancouver-where, even as a non-musician kid, he dreamed of being a rock star-he dismissed the nation’s modern music as embarrassingly derivative ( J-pop), comically campy ( visual kei) and downright bizarre (see: babymetal). Tanaka himself discovered Japanese indie rock less than a decade ago. I want to introduce Canadians to Japanese music.” “My real goal is to help give Japanese bands a chance to travel outside of the country and perform. “I’m not doing this for financial success or to become famous,” he says. He’s neither nuts nor a bad businessman-just a diehard fan. Between airfare, accommodations and the miscellaneous fees of a DIY operation, each edition of the tour-the seventh takes place this June-costs him roughly $40,000 to produce. Tanaka is the tour’s founder, booker, manager, host, roadie and occasional doorman-and, most notably, he pays for it all. The answer is Next Music From Tokyo, an annual, week-long tour that transplants a handful of Japanese buzz bands onto club stages in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. How did he become the golden boy of the underground music scene in the Land of the Rising Sun? He didn’t even like Japanese music until he was in his 30s. Tanaka, an anaesthesiologist from Toronto, is soft-spoken and unassuming. ![]() “He’s like a hero.”Īt home, though, it’s hard to tell. “Among musicians, Steve is kind of famous,” says Toki Imada, bassist of the Fukaya rock outfit Mothercoat. When he shows up at rock shows in Tokyo, bands bombard him with demo discs and free merchandise, eager to get on his good side. In October, 2018, Steven Tanaka will present Next Music From Tokyo, Vol. It certainly does not sound like wannabe Radiohead.īoth Takanori-san and A.B.S have found fame in Japan over the past decade.The article was originally posted in 2015. They say their influences come from bands like Led Zeppelin, Roxy Music and Kraftwerk. He also starred in a spin-off anime series and published books.Ī.B.S make catchy, yet hard rock music, with a hint of electronica. Takanori Nishikawa was famous for his band T.M Revolution (Takanori Makes Revolution) which sold 1.5 million albums. The band members are all in their late thirties and have had other successful music projects in the past. “So we designed clothes, wallets and other things in the style of a school uniform, and it helps us feel like we're back as school together," he added. And we thought it would be good fun as well,” he said. ![]() So we thought about what we could do make people think of us as students again, like we see each other. "We're about the same age, and we went to the same school, but no one thinks of us as school students anymore. Takanori-san says this is because they wanted to re-live their school days. There is certainly a clear love of all things school-related, which can be seen in the costumes they wear – full school uniform with blazers and ties, almost like an AC/DC tribute band. if I add the word 'Boys', just because four of us are all boys,” he said. Then I thought I could name our band A.B.S. “I also happened to know that a school called Abingdon School actually exists in the UK. “I happened to know there was a technical term, ‘Antilock Braking System’ and this fitted in with the initials ‘A.B.S’. However, the band claim this is not really the case.Ībingdon Boys School is commonly shortened by fans and the band to ‘A.B.S’ and lead singer Takanori Nishikawa says this is because he loves cars. Initial research showed me fan sites that claim the name links to Radiohead, as the band met and formed at Abingdon School. I was out on holiday in Japan and curious to meet this band that seemed to have a strange link with Oxfordshire. ![]() The band have never played in the UK, let alone Abingdon, so why the name?
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