Anchorsong is a Japanese artist who I had the pleasure of meeting in London a few years ago when he performed a session for the radio show I was working on. He’s now moved back to Japan, and he will be coming over to Vietnam for the first time ever, to play at The Observatory in Saigon on Friday 24 October, and CAMA ATK on Saturday 25.
His sound is testament to what one person can create live, by himself, with just a couple of electronic instruments and years spent honing a craft. Real-time sampling on an MPC and a keyboard are his instruments of choice… just check this live video to see what amazing things are in store from his performance:
He picked five of his favourite Japanese artists for this month’s Curated series.
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Artist: Shintaro Sakamoto
Track: “Matomo Ga Wakaranai”
Place: Japan
Shintaro Sakamoto is the ex-singer of the Japanese psychedelic rock band Yura Yura Teikoku. Although his solo stuff is rather folky and more approachable, it still clearly has a psychedelic touch, which makes his music unique.
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Artist: Bo Ningen
Track: “Henkan”
Place: London
Bo Ningen is a London-based Japanese 4-piece rock band. I met them when we shared a stage at a small pub in London, and I was completely blown away by their hyper energetic performance. I’ve been going to their shows repeatedly since then and have never been disappointed.
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Artist: Shugo Tokumaru
Track: “Parachute”
Place: Japan
Shugo Tokumaru one of my favorite artists in Japan. He effortlessly combines rather unusual noises of non-instruments and irresistible catchy melodies. Not only is he a great songwriter and producer, he’s one hell of a guitarist and fantastic live act.
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Artist: N’gaho Ta’quia
Track: “In The Pocket (Intro)”
Place: Japan
I recently met N’gaho Ta’quia at my show, and it turned out he’s a friend of mine who used to sing in a gospel group in Tokyo. He was wearing a T-Shirt with a massive print of Marvin Gaye’s face, and that told me what he’s truly into. He’s a skilled performer and one of the best producers in Japan, and his singing is in no way inferior to his studio works.
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Artist: EVISBEATS & Dengaryu
Track: “Yureru”
Place: Japan
I’m not a massive fan of Japanese hip-hop, but this is one of my favorites. I told Gold Panda about this track when he was looking for a good Japanese hip-hop track, and he seemed to be hooked immediately.
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CAMA’s Eliza Lomas is on a mission to find a huge array of great Asian music, digging through different times, countries and genres, with a regular monthly selection.
Anchorsong will be performing at CAMA ATK on 25 October. Get more information about that event here.
