noble showcase: kashiwa daisuke, kazumasa hashimoto, tenniscoats & secai

April 21st, O-Nest Shibuya

The record label noble is home to artists such as World's End Girlfriend, Tenniscoats, kashiwa daisuke and Midori Hirano. Personally I was most excited to see kashiwa daisuke this time, but I was positively surprised by kazumasa hashimoto as well.


Tenniscoats & Secai
The first time I heard Tenniscoats was live in 2007. They were playing with an american guy (or was he french? He sang in French too, I think), and the songs were sweet indiepop tunes. They also got help from moools and Shugo Tokumaru played guitar, and all was good. The project called Tenniscoats & Secai however, I find a lot harder to grasp. It sounds very experimental, and live I felt that the songs dragged on without giving me much. I simply enjoy their poppier tunes a lot more.

www.myspace.com/tenniscoats
ww.myspace.com/secai


kazumasa hashimoto w/Gutevolk
I've listened to his latest album "euphorism" a couple of times at the record store, but it didn't strike me as anything special. For tonight's set however, I think the sound was more organic and melodious. Hashimoto himself played the piano, and he had help from Gutevolk on vocals and itoken on drums. Gutevolk was a real sweetheart. "Some of the people who left early might be listening to the promo CD right now. If there wasn't enough promo cd's for all of you I'll copy it and give it to you!" (check out the mp3s below)


www.myspace.com/kazumasahashimoto
www.myspace.com/gutevolk

kashiwa daisuke
Kashiwa's second album "program music 1" was in my opinion one of the best albums released in 2007. The album only has two tracks: "Stella" (almost 36 minutes long) and "Write Once, Run Melos" (26 minutes). Both sound amazing, but I especially love the first track. I'm not going to fail at describing it here though. Buy it.

This year he released his third album "5 Dec." which sounds a lot more progressive and violent. I have to admit that the first time I heard the track "Requiem" I was a bit disappointed, but I really like the the album as a whole. Where his previous albums have been leaning more towards post-rock, this time it's more about beats and more noise. I read in an interview that he wanted to make music suited for the dancefloor this time. The tracks definitely have a more upbeat rythm, there's even a hip hop-ish beat in there, but I didn't see too many people dancing at O-Nest. Personally I prefer just to sit down and listen to his music. There are all these interesting details. Lovely arrangements on strings and piano, electronic sounds, samples from real life, progressive beats etc. Kashiwa has really managed to create his own musical universe and it sounds pretty amazing. On stage he had help on guitar from GENTAROW and visuals were displayed on a big screen by Koji Nishida. Kashiwa's actually also going to be touring in Europe now in june. Dates are on his website.

http://kashiwadaisuke.com/
www.myspace.com/kashiwadaisuke

kashiwa daisuke - deepblue (original version)
kashiwa daisuke - April.#07
kashiwa daisuke - Bogus Music


noble showcase promo cd "EN-EI"
tracklist:
1. kashiwa daisuke - Silver Moon (kazumasa hashimoto remix)
2. Tenniscoats & Secai - Tengu (NSDMIX)
3. Tenniscoats & Secai - Flower Little Honey Well (DASMAN REMIX)
4. kazumasa hashimoto - Endless (kashiwa daisuke remix)
http://www.noble-label.net/

Shugo Tokumaru - Rum Hee

The new single from Shugo Tokumaru includes 8 tracks, a DVD with live footage from the US tour plus all four music videos from his latest album "EXIT" AND guitar tabs for "Parachute". Although it seems like quite a nice package, I have to admit that I don't find everything that interesting. Remixes and alternative versions of old songs will only get you so far. The main focus is obviously on "Rum Hee", which is a playful and charming pop song. "Alaska" is a bit more mellow, but also in the same musical vain. The sound is very close to "EXIT" in terms of instrumentation and vibe, but this is maybe one step even more lush and vibrant. That is even more apparent in the alternative versions of the songs from his previous albums. They all (even "Parachute") seem to have been injected with a big dose of "EXIT" infectious pop magic. I like the alt. version of "Vista", but I prefer "Typewriter" to be more tone-downed as it is originally. The remixes are neither particularly interesting or off-putting. The remix by Deerhoof isn't too bad actually, but I prefer the original version by far.

Shugo Tokumaru has been booked to this year's Roskilde Festival. It would be very cool if he played in Norway as well. I'm going to see him live again soon on his Rum Hee release tour.

tracklist:
1. Rum Hee
2. Alaska
3. Inatemessa
4. Vista (alt. version)
5. Typewriter (alt. version)
6. Parachute (alt. version)
7. Rum Hee (Oorutaichi remix)
8. Rum Hee (Deerhoof remix)

Shugo Tokumaru - Rum Hee
Shugo Tokumaru - Vista (alt. version)

www.myspace.com/shugotokumaru