detroit7′s self-titled debut on Daruma Label is blues-tinged, garage-rock gold. Tarnished by befitting blurs of a fuzzy guitar, a trembling bass, and blustery percussion, the overall beauty of detroit7′s music may be subjective, but some moments of lustrous brilliance are nearly universal. While the trio ventures into a domain of disarray, coherence and some charm does shine through.

The album kicks off with a segmented introduction. “In The Sunshine” winds up with Tomomi Nabana’s (菜花知美) growling guitar ahead of Miyoko Yamaguchi’s (山口美代子) building drums. The song takes off once the bass of Nobuaki Kotajima (古田島伸明) joins and Nabana’s unmistakable, brawny vocals pop in, between her guitar interjections. The moderate chaos finds order with the onset of the divergently fluid chorus. The sonic plateau that the trio built up during the start of “In The Sunshine”, is maintained throughout the entire track — even during the bridge, thanks to some guitar reverb.

“Watering” and “Fatman Blues” follow “In The Sunshine”‘s rowdy lead, but the latter takes a turn from the previous tracks’ almost staccato vocal delivery. “Mr. Kato on the Road” turns it up even more, as guitar and bass mount a fervent assault atop a sea of crashing cymbalry.

The proceeding track begins with an obvious guitar riff that runs four bars before detroit7 bends in a creative twist. The band’s take on “Louie Louie” is a spirited rendition that fits in well. It’s a commendable cover. It doesn’t lift too much from the original 50′s classic, but also doesn’t spin into something too obscure. “Louie Louie” is right at home on the album and Nabana’s shrill take on the chorus accents detroit7′s gritty arrangement.

Hopping, swing-style tom-toms bounce in to introduce “24 Hours”, following the album’s “Louie Louie” high. It’s a fresh way kick off the second half of the release. “Down Beat” continues along the path forged by the preceding tracks and it’s not until “Torch Song” that a brief shift is encountered.

“Torch Song” is by far the album’s most approachable track, simply because it lacks some of the gravelly intensity of its predecessors.

The album concludes with “Zelda” and “Lovers Fight”. These tracks do a proper job of looping the release back to the tone and foot it started on.

The songs on detroit7 do sometimes sound a bit formulaic but when you’re playing genre music, conventions are permissible. The sonic plateau mentioned for “In The Sunshine”, extends through the entire release. The album lacks some much-craved variation and the nearly unrelenting wash of noise and distortion begins to sound a bit cacophonous after a while.

detroit7 isn’t for everyone. But don’t shy away, for detroit7′s music can be an acquired taste for adventurous listeners and surely, those listeners and garage rock fans alike, will shake at the knees with excitement from the first guitar riff to the last.

detroit7 formed in 2001 and have opened for Tamio Okuda, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and more. In America, they are currently signed with Daruma Label, a new branch of Domo Records (which is renowned Japanese composer, Kitaro’s label).

The bands next Japanese release, Black and White , is set for release on May 20th.

Watch a live performance of “Fatman Blues” in Paris:

Listen to samples of the album on detroit7′s Daruma page and their official MySpace.

Buy detroit7′s self-titled release on Domo’s official store or on iTunes.

The band’s latest album, Ume in the Middle, features a fresh synthesis of east and west and innovation and tradition, that provides the context for On Ensemble to create a sound that blends Japanese drumming and more with electronica, hip-hop, and rock.

The quartet of Masato Baba, Kristofer Bergstrom, Shoji Kameda, and Kelvin Underwood creates music that consists of lush aural textures that glimmer with beautiful, overlaid melodies. Taiko drumming, throat singing, and ambient vocals provide a solid, organic foundation for phrases of yokobue, shamisen, koto, and even turntables to sprout from.

Ume in the Middle kicks off with “Yamasong”. The entrancing track that features Kameda’s throat singing pulls the listener into On Ensemble’s world right away. It introduces the mellifluous atmosphere that will float throughout the entire album. The percussion gradually builds and a surprisingly multifarious composition blossoms.

The album’s second track, “Hisashi” steps in an even more traditional direction. The serene yokobue creates a reverie that is simple yet sublime and the ending accompaniment adds a pleasant warmth.

“Waiting” kicks off with a reminder that On Ensemble isn’t just about Taiko or traditional Japanese music. The song features English-language lyrics sung while instruments dance atop a smooth beat and turntables flicker in and out. “Waiting” and it’s intruiging style introduces Ume in the Middle‘s truly inventive sequence. This succession, which includes tracks like “Hiroya vs. Miniboss”, “Butoh-bot Malfunction”, and “Silverback”, displays On Ensemble’s funky-cool odyssey into a style that is predominately modern yet sports dashes of traditional flavor and inspiration.

“After Rain” and “Bounce Back” flip the afformentioned formula upside down by maintaining a core that consists of traditional instrumentation — namely that of the yokobue — that’s met with some hip, modern flair.

The final track on Ume in the Middle brings things full circle with a remix of the leading track, “Yamasong”. “Yamasong (Campagna Remix)” takes the composition in a fresh direction and while the the orginal song is impressive as is, the Campagna Remix is very cool.

On Ensemble’s blend of new and old is striking, yet many tracks seem to lean more heavily in one direction or the other. The album amounts to a rather cohesive fusion of these elements but it would be nice to hear that amalgamation on a more individual track level.

On Ensemble makes traditional Japanese music even cooler than it already is and that makes it more approachable for listeners who aren’t very familiar with it. The masterful mix is also a breath of fresh air for fans of the traditional and fusion genres.

Watch a live performance of “After Rain”:

Check out “Yamasong” and more videos on YouTube. To learn more about On Ensemble, visit their official website. The band’s releases are availabe on iTunes and CD Baby.

Also posted on purple SKY

Of course we are not talking about a band with the silly name Orbital Chicken, right? Instead, the topic is Bump of Chicken’s 7th album, Orbital Period. It was released in December 2007. This technically isn’t the latest album from the band, because they released a compilation (with some new tracks on it) titled Present From You in June. But that doesn’t count.

Bump of Chicken was always is the God of soft melodies, that’s a fact, no one can deny that, but with Orbital Period they raised the bar even higher. There are 18 tracks on the album, but there are some instrumental silliness (as always) and a comment track, which is pretty much superfluous if you ask me; still we get 15 superb tracks. But don’t think any bad about the band, because the intrumentals aren’t just your usual “filler” tracks, they really hold the album concept together, that’s a rare thing, so we have to appreciate it.

This was only the tip of the iceberg, because the albums holds some powerful tracks on top of the cool instrumentals, such as “Mayday”, “Karma”, “Supernova”, “Sainoujin Ouenka”… actually I can list out the whole album, but that would be pointless, because if you hear any of these songs you just have to hear the others and eventually you will keep repeating the entire album over and over again in your player.

Orbital Period is Bump of Chicken’s best album (at least in my opinion). Of course, they had some pretty cool albums in the past (I love those also), but overall this is the most well-composed piece in the band’s history. I doubt that they can out-do themselves in the future and make a more mature and magnificent album, but that’s for the future to tell.

This is a masterpiece, that wretched comment track is the only negative thing about the album.

9.9/10

Check out the PV for “Mayday” (メーデー) by Bump of Chicken:

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Offical Website

Buy Orbital Period through CDJapan