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KLUE is currently my AOTY so far and GEZAN is really starting to gain popularity actually. And since I have seen almost nothing about GEZAN on MH, I thought it was a good idea to start this topic. GEZAN 2009~ noise rock, alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, post-hardcore, art rock... Mahito the People | vocals, guitar Eagle Taka | guitar Carlos Ozaki | bass Ishihara Loscal | drums | 2017~ Shark Yasue | drums | 2009~2016 Formed at Osaka in 2009, GEZAN (下山 at the time) got its start in noise rock at Namba Bears, a famous underground livehouse in the Namba district of Osaka, and notably obtained the approval of the masters of Japanese psychedelia like Acid Mothers Temple. The band's reputation is mainly due to the vehement performances which the members demonstrate on stage. After a first album Katsute Uta to Iwareta Sore in 2012, which tries to synthesize this chaotic scenic energy, the band is offered the opportunity to play at the Fuji Rock on the Rookie A Go-Go stage, dedicated to emerging artists, showing the meteoric rise of the quartet. Around the same time, GEZAN gradually began to shift the center of its activities to Tokyo, until finally settling in the capital. Gradually, the band changed its tone and composed songs that wanted to be more catchy, approaching somewhat the standards of the dominant music industry. The result, in 2014, was the release of the second album called 凸 -DECO- which turned out to be more consensual. However, the underground identity of GEZAN is not tainted, like with the concert the same year at Shinjuku Loft, a famous underground livehouse in the Kabukichō district of Tokyo, where the band shares the poster with Jun Togawa, iconic singer of 1980s and major figure of the Japanese avant-garde. The release in 2016 of the third album NEVER END ROLL demonstrates that GEZAN is now akin to the punk scene and finds uniqueness through the easily recognizable voice of Mahito the People. Although the album is a little less popular with fans, songs like wasted youth or blue hour have become emblematic songs of the band. After the release of a single Absolutely Imagination in 2017, GEZAN marks a new musical change, remembering its first album, with the release in October 2018 of Silence Will Speak. Besides the fact that this fourth album is recorded by the famous Steve Albini, Silence Will Speak maintains a strong relationship with the United States. The documentary Documentary of GEZAN: Tribe Called Discord released in June 2019 traces this link by following the members of GEZAN during their American tour where the band confronts the societal reality of the country through meetings with the differents people and classes living in the country. The result is therefore an album showing new maturity, moving away from punk and turning to more visceral sounds, while mixing various musical genres as evidenced by the songs NO GOD or BODY ODD. This musical development is a first step leading to the release in January 2020 of the group's latest album KLUE. True mix between rock, punk, dub or even psychedelia, this fifth album mixes heavy riffs with hypnotic loops, tribal rhythms and guttural songs. Like the "We can’t stand, we need a change" lyrics concluding the song Tokyo shows, this fifth album by GEZAN is also characterized by the political scope of its lyrics. As all the lyrics of the album available in English on Bandcamp shows, GEZAN delivers a message of rebellion to its listeners, a notable fact in a overall depoliticized country. In addition to his own career, GEZAN has also established itself as a major player on the underground scene through the creation of Jusangatsu Records, an independent label. Although the label is known for the production of the albums of NUUAM (project between Mahito the People and Ichiko Aoba) or those of the solo career of Mahito the People, the label has also produced bands like 5000, the hatch and VOGOS. Nevertheless, Jusangatsu Records' main feat for the underground scene remains the creation of Zenkankakusai in 2014, a do it yourself music festival where access to concerts and food is free. Held on two dates each year, the festival has become one of the major musical events bringing together the entire Japanese independent scene and demonstrates that a fringe of the music industry of the archipelago doesn't wish to follow the paths marked out by the majors and other mainstream institutions. Discography: 2009 - Hakkou Shita Waga Bokoku [EP] 2010 - Ichijitekina Chou [EP] 2012 - Katsute Uta to Iwareta Sore [album] 2012 - Live 2012 Osaka [live album] 2013 - split single with Odotte Bakari no Kuni 2014 - Live in Zaban (split live album with Tenniscoats) 2014 - 凸 -DECO- [album] 2014 - School Of Fuck / MINT YOU [single] 2014 - Strawberry Edge [EP] 2015 - Iitai dake no VOID / MARS COKE [single] 2016 - split single with LOSTAGE 2016 - NEVER END ROLL [album] 2017 - Absolutely Imagination / Ambiant Red [single] 2017 - split EP with Odotte Bakari no Kuni 2018 - Silence Will Speak [album] 2019 - DNA [single] 2020 - KLUE [album] Clips: MAN Hashika (from 1st album "Katsute Uta to Iwareta Sore") Tenkan Suru Dainoutachi (from 2nd album "凸 -DECO-") Hachigatsu no Mephisto to (from 2nd album "凸 -DECO-") Kasabuta to Bakugekiki (from 2nd album "凸 -DECO-") School Of Fuck (from mini-album "Strawberry Edge") Iitai dake no VOID (from 3rd album "NEVER END ROLL") wasted youth (from 3rd album "NEVER END ROLL") blue hour (from 3rd album "NEVER END ROLL") Absolutely Imagination (from single "Absolutely Imagination / Ambiant Red") BODY ODD (from 4th album "Silence Will Speak") NO GOD (from 4th album "Silence Will Speak") DNA (from 4th album "Silence Will Speak") Tokyo (from 5th album "KLUE") Sekiyoubi (from 5th album "KLUE") Some lives to show the crazy and talented performances that can be see at their concerts: wasted youth (at Zenkankakusai 2017) BODY ODD (at Zenkankakusai SHIBUYA 2019) Set of KLUE songs (at SPACE SHOWER program: DRIP TOKYO) And finally to discover them and their thoughts, an english interview of the band on The Japan Times! I made this topic to be able to perhaps speak about this band with other people but I will be delighted if it can make discover this band to others! ^^

My feelings are still similar while they are not "my current fav." anymore lol I still think they are the best project of Ell(aka L). For anyone who doesn't know he went on to The 3rd birthday(2011-2016) and more recently balalaika (バラライカ)(2016-2018). Both of which I don't care for at all. Amber bullet was his first band. This was their last look in 2011 Active: 2008-2011 Members: Vo. ELL Gt. 41〜Yoichi〜 (†RIP† 2017.04.06) Ba. Hideto (†RIP† 2014.06.17) Support members: Support Dr. AMIYA (ex. SUPER DROP BABIES) Support Dr. 武 -takeru- (ex. Ｓｃｈｗｅｉｎ) Former members: Dr. Tama Gt. Myuna Amber Bullet was a Nagoya kei band that formed at the end of 2008 in Nagoya, Japan. They began to tour all over the country but kept their activities mostly centered around Nagoya. In their last year they performed exclusively in Nagoya. On 2009/11/19 both Gt.ミュウナ(Myuna) and Dr.珠(Tama) withdrew from the band. The band would continue as a trio for the remainder of their short career, with support drummer AMIYA (ex. SUPER DROP BABIES) and later 武 -takeru- (ex. Ｓｃｈｗｅｉｎ). In January 2010 Support Gt. 41〜Yoichi〜 joined the band as a full member. Amber Bullet Ba.hideto announced he would withdraw from live performances starting in 2011/02 as he needed to be hospitalized due to health problems caused by stress. Only a few weeks later Amber Bullet announced that they would disband. Amber Bullet disbanded after their live at HOLIDAY NAGOYA on the 17th of April 2011. hideto (ex-Amber Bullet, ex. ラリルレロ(rarirurero))(real name: 酒井英俊(sakai hidetoshi)) passed away on 2014/06/17, and his funeral was held on 2014/06/20 - 06/21. His last band ラリルレロ(rarirurero) held a memorial live titled "レクイエム～親愛なる愚か者へ～(requiem～shinai naru orokamono e～)" on 2014/10/09 at NAGOYA HOLIDAY NEXT. 41〜Yoichi〜 former guitarist of Amber Bullet passed away on April 6, 2017 in an accident (details unknown). His funeral was held only for his family and close friends. Official: Website: http://amberbullet2.web.fc2.com/ Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/amberbullet Discograpy: (2009.01.21) Over dose (2009.10.03) 絶望のカンテラ(Zetsubou no Cantera) (2010.01.08) UNDER COVER (2010.06.21) V.A. Cure NEW AGE COLLECTION Vol.03: track 14. there is the silent bullet under the amber sky (2010.11.10) それは…反逆と言 う名の雨(Sorewa…Hangyaku toiuna no Ame) (2011.01.02) V.A. NAGOYA INDIES VISUAL ROCK CATALOG Rebels 2011: track 2. 獄中オーケストラ(Gokuchuu Orchestra) (New ver.) (2011.02.01) V.A. EXPLOSION SHOWCASE: CD2 BONUS DISC～expect meeting～ track 16. I am …

Again, I really love this band and I've never seen anyone translate their lyrics, so I decided to give it a shot. I've done a bunch of their songs (shoddily) on my blog over the past few years, but this one is easily the best, so I thought I'd share it here as well. We Are Lucky Friends Lyrics: Kazuhiro Momo Music: Isamu Fujita That guy is just a liar He says he put a band together in America, But no one knows about it Right now he’s singing a senseless song in bullshit English, But we’re friends for now* That girl is always depressed, and she usually calls in the middle of the night Sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, without gratitude, she just says “Goodbye” She does things like suddenly coming to return a CD she borrowed from me five years ago But we’re friends for now This time, I’m going to tell you clearly I’ll say “You guys are such freaks” Then again, I guess the punchline of the joke is that you’d probably say those exact words right back to me, wouldn’t you? That guy is quite psychedelic He says he’s meditating and makes his room dark But he’s probably just sleeping Still, we’ll always be friends This guy is also really ambiguous He says the world is going to collapse And he collects weirdly-shaped rocks But we’ll always be friends This time, I’m going to tell you clearly I’ll say “You guys are such freaks” Then again, I guess the punchline of the joke is that you’d probably say those exact words right back to me, wouldn’t you? Tomorrow, I’ll escape on the rocket I made Taking my manga, my guitar and my cat, Carrot And I’ll take all kinds of other stuff Should I take you guys along too? Let’s go search for planets Let’s save mankind from its crisis And let’s go down in history We are lucky friends *Or maybe something like “But so far we’re still friends”? Romaji YATSU wa tada no USOtsuki AMERIKA de BANDO kundeta tte iu kedo Daremo shiranai DETARAME na eigo de SENSURESU na uta o utatteru n da Demo ichiou tomodachi sa Ano ko wa itsumo MOYAMOYA taitei yonaka ni denwa yokoshite Warattari naitari shite kara kansha NASHI de SAYONARA Go-nen mo mae ni kashita CD o totsuzen kaeshi ni kitari suru n da Demo ichiou tomodachi sa Kondo HAKKIRI oshiete yaru no sa KIMIra dokka OKASHII ze tte Maa sono kotoba Sono mama kaesareru no ga OCHI ka mo ne AITSU wa kanari SAIKEDERIKKU Meisou suru tte heya kuraku shite Tabun neteru dake nanda Demo zutto tomodachi sa KOITSU mo kanari imifumei Douse chikyuu wa metsubou suru tte HEN na KATACHI no ishi o atsumeteru Demo zutto tomodachi sa Kondo HAKKIRI oshiete yaru no sa KIMIra dokka OKASHII ze tte Maa sono kotoba Sono mama kaesareru no ga OCHI ka mo ne Ashita ORE no tsukutta ROKETTO de koko kara dasshutsu suru no sa MANGA to GITAA neko no KYAROTTO Sono ta moromoro nokkete KIMIra mo nosete yarou ka Wakusei sagashi ni ikou ze Jinrui no kiki o sukou ze Rekishi ni na o nokosou WE ARE LUCKY FRIENDS WE ARE LUCKY FRIENDS WE ARE LUCKY FRIENDS WE ARE LUCKY FRIENDS Kanji: http://j-lyric.net/artist/a01331e/l017785.html

I've never seen any Jeepta songs translated into English, so I tried to do this about a year ago. Again, my Japanese is pretty bad, so I'd take some of these lines with a grain of salt. 日進月歩 / Steady Progress Music and Lyrics: Taku Ishii The beginning is always decided A game of whack-a-mole where you always hit too late When you’re doing nothing but chasing after something It feels like you’ve entered a labyrinth I got strangely worked up What am I searching for? What do I know? We repeat a pattern of ups and downs, It’s not smooth sailing We explore fearlessly with trial and error, and improve ourselves It’s only a small, small step But it has an enormous, enormous meaning Even if the immediate future is still dark We’re always continuing to move forward At some point, I lost sight of which way was forward, and my legs stopped moving Because the route to the place that I need to aim for is one where I’m free to choose, Should I start blazing my own trail? Every day, every night, we’re advancing The future where you pass through your goals is all yours We’re rushing forward with all our might Running wildly every which way Groping around in the dark over and over again, trying to grab hold of the light It’s only a few thin, thin rays of light, But they become a wide, wide road Even if the immediate future is still dark We’re always continuing to move forward We repeat a pattern of ups and downs, It’s not smooth sailing We explore fearlessly with trial and error, and improve ourselves It’s only a small, small step But it has an enormous, enormous meaning Even if the immediate future is still dark We can only keep moving forward 日進月歩 / Nisshin Geppo Hajimari wa itsumo kimatte Gotegote no MOGURA-tataki Oikakete bakka itara Meikyuu ni haitta kokochi Myou ni kiotte shimatta Boku wa nani o motome nani o kokoroeru? Bokura wa isshinittai kurikaeshite Junpuumanpan ja naku tte Shikousakugo o shimakutte Jibun o migaku Tatta no chiisai chiisai ippo datte Dekai dekai imi ga atte Issunsaki ga yami datte Taezu susumi-tsuzukeru n datte Itsukara ka docchi ga “mae” ka o miushinatte ite Ashi ga tomatte shimatta Mezasu-beki basho e no RUUTO wa jiyuu sentaku dakara Chotto kaitaku shiyou ka Higoto yogoto ni ue e to nobotte Koeta saki no mirai wa subete kimi no mono Bokura wa isshoukenmei tsuppashitte Uousaou shimakutte Anchuumosaku kurikaeshite Hikari o tsukamu Wazuka na hosoi hosoi hikari datte Futoi futoi michi ni natte Issunsaki ga yami datte Taezu susumi-tsuzukeru n datte Bokura wa isshinittai kurikaeshite Junpuumanpan ja naku tte Shikousakugo o shimakutte Jibun o migaku Tatta no chiisai chiisai ippo datte Dekai dekai imi ga atte Issunsaki ga yami datte Taezu susumu shika nai n datte Kanji: http://j-lyric.net/artist/a0537e8/l01f7ef.html

cinema staff's bassist 三島想平 and former the cabs's drummer 中村一太, along with guitarist 辻友貴, have formed a new 3-piece band called peelingwards. They'll have their first performance on December 13rd during an event held by THISTIME RECORDS. I don't think anything else is known so far, but I'm excited! Source