Vanmusic & CiTR PRESENT: Next Music From Tokyo Volume 4

May 23

You love Japan right? The food, the video games and the general wackiness are all great. But how much do you know about their music? Well it’s time to expand your horizons and get to know the wonderful world of indie underground music from Tokyo. Next Music from Tokyo is a non-profit cross-Canada tour showcasing the best independent and underground music from Japan, and this year their featuring one of the most critically acclaimed and important bands in Japan: ZAZEN BOYS.

More details after the jump

ZAZEN BOYS is the current band of legendary singer/guitarist Mukai Shutoku. Mukai’s former band Number Girl is renowned as one of the most important and influential bands in Japanese rock history. Whereas, Number Girl followed a progressive yet straight forward alt-rock sound akin to Sonic Youth and the Pixies. ZAZEN BOYS is the vehicle for pushing the boundaries of Mukai’s creative and experimental genius.

PRAHA DEPART’S music is a fusion of psychedelic rock, metal and shoegaze with a tribal/folk beat. Something The Japan Times describes as “irrepressibly danceable gypsy punk.”
The instrumentation and female vocals ebb and flow between darkly serene to ferocious crescendos of emotion and noise.

CHARAN-PO-RANTAN consists of two beautiful sisters: Momo on vocals and Koharu on accordion/chorus. Koharu says she was born playing the accordion which made labour and delivery quite painful for her mother. All kidding aside, Koharu Matsunaga is an internationally acclaimed accordion player having won numerous competitions. Almost as formidable as her prowess on accordion is Koharu’s razor sharp wit. Koharu’s story-telling and comedic banter during emcee breaks is frequently the highlight of Charan-Po-Rantan’s shows.

GROUP_INOU is a duo comprised of producer Imai and emcee CP. Imai deconstructs chip tune, hip hop, kraut rock and noise to create strikingly fresh dance instrumentals that seem to come straight out of an 80’s video game. CP ‘s vocals flow with an absurdly broad range in style of playful rapping, singing and occasional screaming.

Doors at 8pm

Advance tickets are $8 through Zulu, Red Cat, Neptoon, and Highlife

Tickets are $10 at the door

More details on Facebook