The rays of light reflected off of the telephones’ clashed mirror ball just got a bit brighter and a lot more far reaching. The band makes the jump from Daizawa Records to EMI MUSIC JAPAN official with an upcoming new album.
Signing a deal with a major label can sometimes be a double-edged sword. It’s great for a band to succeed and ‘make it big’, but there’s also been plenty of times that original fans of a band feel they get burned if a band makes changes. “Sell out” is a term we’re all familiar with.
The dance-rock quartet are defined by their wacky music and playful sense of humor, so in order for them to succeed, their individuality should certainly stay intact.
The band of Akira Ishige (vocals, guitar, synth), Ryohei Nagashima (bass, chorus), Nobuaki Okamoto (synth, chorus), and Seiji Matsumoto (drums) formed in 2005 and have been gaining momentum ever since. the telephones’ first EP came in ‘07 and their first LP dropped in early ‘08. A second EP followed at the end of ‘08.
As of now, there isn’t much information about the major debut, DANCE FLOOR MONSTERS, but there is a release date and tracklisting. DANCE FLOOR MONSTERS is set to come out on July 8th, 2009 and here’s the tracklisting:
01. D.A.N.C.E to the telephones!!!
02. Baby.Baby.Baby
03. Urban Disco
04. Monkey Discooooooo
05. Catastrophe
06. Hopping Shower
07. Jabberwocky
08. Dance With You
09. Perfect World
10. Dead Men
11. HABANERO
12. Yesterday,Today,Tomorrow(My Life is Beautiful)
Only two of the 12 tracks have been released before. Both “Urban Disco” and “HABANERO” appeared the telephone’s debut mini-album, We are the handclaps ep.
There aren’t any new PVs yet, but since “Urban Disco” will be on DANCE FLOOR MONSTERS, here’s the 2007 PV:
For music, PVs, and info, check of the telephone’s official site and MySpace page.
Q: What are your thoughts on bands going major?
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By pengie on May 2, 2009 at 6:10 pm
More often than not I think a band going major is a good thing–more money from a record company means more promotion, which means more sales, etc etc etc. And a band doesn’t HAVE to go major to have a lot of sales–just look at HY–but it certainly helps get the really talented indie startups some more attention. (Personally I think a major record label would tear their hair out trying to market HY, though, because their albums are just so completely … all over the place.)
Unfortunately there will always be the “oh they’re major now, they’re such sellouts” crowd and more often than not they confuse me. I saw someone instantly say that school food punishment’s latest was bad because they had gone major. Personally I think the song is fine, it’s just like all of their other material. I’m actually really hard pressed to think of a Japanese band that didn’t IMPROVE after going major. I mean muramasa, one of my favorite bands of all time, showed a ton of growth and expansion after signing to a bigger record company. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the signing CAUSED that.
And really, if a band signs to a label and then feels pressure to conform… they can let their contract run out and go back to doing their own thing. RURUTIA did it and she’s better off. It did take her a while to get her footing again but she did it, and her music is still great.
I think the people who jump to call groups sellouts by signing to bigger labels are usually not even paying attention to the music. Their loss.
By Shay on May 3, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Hi pengie! While I’m definitely not a snob who always responds with “oh they’re major now, they’re such sellouts”, I am often apprehensive about the “going major” move.
I love a ton of bands signed with major labels and I applaud them for achieving their professional goals. But, along with the success and the deal itself, there are a lot more people involved in what was once just the artist’s creation.
Bands must be sure to hold on to their work and be smart about the contracts they sign. Sure, artists who are unhappy with their deal can wait it out but being held hostage by a bad contract can be detremental to a band by causing unnecessary stress and more. Decisions like this can lead to disagreements that can tear a band apart.
I think the more “out there” and unique a band (like the telephones) is, the better chance they have, in theory, at staying true to themselves. Considering that the contract can be a sign that the label already somewhat trusts in a band’s creative direction, that is encouraging. Yet a counterargument can be made by saying that if a band is too unique, they won’t be as successful overall and will need some watering down.
Looking at EMI MUSIC JAPAN’s repertoire of artists, I’d say they have a pretty good track record when it comes to rock =) thankgod
By Random J-Rock Updates #9 « J-rock Explosion on May 10, 2009 at 11:05 pm
[...] -the telephones have signed to a major label [...]
By concert tickets on June 8, 2009 at 11:58 am
wow, very great song. I really like this video. I’ll find another songs that sing by this band. Thanks for share.
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By July releases to be excited about - SparkPlugged - Japanese Music Culturetainment & More on July 1, 2009 at 2:58 pm
[...] from our release calendar, July looks to be a great month for music, as well. The Telephones’ major debut is slated for release as well as ACIDMAN’s 7th album, A beautiful greed. If those were the [...]
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