When we last left off, Dir en grey were planning to embark on a North American tour this autumn, a tour booked before doing any Japanese dates in support of their forthcoming album [UROBOROS]. The punch line was, they were doing it without an American record deal, having parted company with Warcon/Fontana sometime in 2007.
Last month, when I wrote about this situation (inspired by a friend who hipped me to what was going on with the group of late), I put forth speculation that the band were embarking on a North American tour first in order to secure a new American record deal.
As of today, they’ve already gotten that deal. Dir en grey announced on their MySpace that they signed with American independent label The End Records, a label specializing in metal and other dark/heavy music. The End Records, whose roster includes Voivod, Mindless Self-Indulgence, and ex-Swans member Jarboe, are apparently no stranger to giving American record deals to foreign metal bands that have cult interest in this country: Norwegian black metalists-turned-experimentalists Ulver, Japanese black metal veterans Sigh and Finnish GWAR-meets-glam rockers Lordi (infamous for winning the Eurovision Song Contest, a competition usually more suited to Celine Dion clones, in 2006) are also signed to the label, apparently making the label a perfect fit for Dir en grey.
Also a more promising sign: The End Records also has better distribution than Dir en grey’s previous label. Their distributing partner, RED Distribution (formerly known back in the early 80′s punk and metal days as Important and then as Relativity), also distributes many other labels that are no stranger to being easily found in most record stores (and thus, to sales and chart success); Trent Reznor’s new self-owned label for his post-Interscope releases, The Null Corporation, is distributed by RED, as is Motley Crue’s current label home Eleven Seven Music and the notorious Chicago punk/indie label Victory Records.
For the cherry on top: The End will be going the extra mile for the American release of [UROBOROS]. Unlike what Warcon/Fontana did with Withering To Death and The Marrow Of A Bone, where merely CD editions were released… well, we’ll let The End Records’ press statement as reproduced on their MySpace blog tell it:
There’s also an option for fans to grab all three versions plus a T-shirt for a discounted price. I went with the double LP.
How well Dir en grey will fare in their second go-round on an American label remains to be seen, but considering that for awhile it looked like the group would not have an American label to call home again, it’s a very good shot in the arm for them. Every Japanese group with a cult following in this country should be so lucky (cue that A.B. quote again, please…).
For now, though, that repetitive sound you are hearing in the background is probably the staff at Warcon/Fontana kicking themselves… repeatedly.
Dir en grey are getting ready to start an American tour to promote their forthcoming album, [UROBOROS].
The punch line is, they don’t have an American record label backing that tour.
As of this writing (August 22, 2008), their official MySpace lists them as being “unsigned” in North America, while still having a deal with Freewill in their native Japan. This ominous sign presents a major problem with the group’s original intended plan to have [UROBOROS] be the group’s first release to see simultaneous worldwide release. Their official English-language MySpace pages gives links to order the Japanese import editions of [UROBOROS] and its advance single, “Glass Skin”, through Amazon.com, although at prices ridiculously inflated to most pockets compared to CDJapan and YesAsia.
Dir en grey’s last two studio albums, Withering To Death and The Marrow Of A Bone were issued in the United States, but at times long after the albums were available as imports. Withering To Death’s US issue came fourteen months after its Japanese release in March of 2005; a mere thirteen days separated the Japanese and American editions of The Marrow Of A Bone.
Now, however, there has been a split between the band and their former American label home, Warcon. Rumors are rampant that business differences between Warcon and Dir en grey’s manager, Dynamite Tommy, are to blame for the split, in spite of Warcon’s sincere determination to market the group as career artists.
Although Warcon had substantial distribution to American record outlets through Universal Music’s independent distribution arm, Fontana, that same distribution leaned towards spotty in some places. While Withering To Death was available in every record store I looked in at the time it was a new American release, The Marrow Of A Bone was curiously not to be found in my otherwise reliable independent record store, only at FYE. Make of that what you will.
So why would Dir en grey, the biggest J-Rock act on the planet, tour North America without having an American record deal? Sure, they have the fan base, and pre-orders for tickets are said to be quite promising.
Is it possible that Dir en grey are using this tour to attract a new American record deal? Odds of this being the main reason for the tour starting in North America are even – word is that the North American tour plans for the group were pushed forward primarily to attract a new label; had their Warcon deal still existed, their North American touring wouldn’t be happening until early 2009.
More importantly, what American record label would be the best fit for Dir en grey? And, keeping those aforementioned rampant rumors in mind, would those potential labels be willing to deal with Dynamite Tommy?
Some new scuttlebutt has also come to light of late that Freewill America may have been cut out of the picture entirely as far as managing Dir en grey’s non-Japanese business is concerned (although current merchandise deals may remain in place for contractual reasons), replaced with a yet-to-be-named American manager.
No answers or public clues are available as yet, but with the American tour and the forthcoming release of “Glass Skin” and [UROBOROS] in sight, most, if not all, will surely be revealed.
THE HUSKY Husky
(Chockyu)
Availablilty: CD EP Rating:
While the rest of Whiteberry has been, for the most part, idle and out of the limelight since their final concerts in March of 2004, lead singer Yuki Maeda has not. In 2006, with fellow ex-Whiteberry, bassist Yukari Hasegawa briefly in tow, Yuki Madea reemerged on the Japanese independent label Deadgirls with an eponymous CD EP from her first post-Whiteberry band, a four-piece all-female unit dubbed yukki. The existence of the new group was something I wasn’t aware of until Zush at Kakko-ii.com wrote about her new band’s project in late 2006. Thankfully, I got a hold of a copy of the CD in time for it to make my list of the Top Albums Of 2006 on MotokoAoyama.com v1.0. yukki (the band and the EP) found Yuki Maeda not only singing, but playing guitar and writing all of the material. It is a great EP – imagine Whiteberry without the keyboards.
Unfortunately, yukki the band never followed up yukki the EP. Yukari Hasegawa disappeared again (presumably to return to college), and the band continued for several months before quietly disappearing. No one who followed Whiteberry and yukki knew what was up until the group’s homepage presented a link to another site – the homepage for a new band fronted by Ms. Maeda called The Husky.
With their sort-of-eponymous debut CD EP, again an independent release (this time on a label called Chockyu), Yuki Maeda seems to be slowly progressing away from her Whiteberry past. While her distinctive vocals remain, with the existence of The Husky, Yuki Maeda finds herself, for the first time in her professional career, to be the only female member of the group. Joining her in the lineup are former La’cryma Christi drummer Levin and newcomers Yasuaki Miyaji on guitar and Sunao Nakamura on bass and baritone guitar. Like with her previous post-Whiteberry band, Yuki Maeda continues to rely on her own material, having penned all of the songs on the album, save for two songs where her lyrics are set to music composed by Miyaji.
“Story”, the EP’s highlighted track (a PV exists, Yuki’s first since “Shinjiri Chikara” – yukki never made any) opens the proceedings in fine form. Initially, the song retains the Whiteberry-minus-keyboards punk sound from yukki, only to be interrupted first by a baritone guitar riff from Nakamura and then by a tinny acoustic-sounding guitar (actually an unplugged electric recorded with a microphone) initially underpinning Yuki’s vocals before veering back into Whiteberry-style punk.
“Hitori Botsuchi” follows with a slightly slower rock tempo and an arrangement and chord sequence that recalls some of Living Colour’s minor-key material from Time’s Up. Miyavi does some rather interesting guitar work in the recording’s left channel that sounds more like a synthesizer than a guitar, while a creepy-sounding string synthesizer (played by an uncredited keyboardist) intrudes on the song’s atmosphere.
“not control” (the song title isn’t capitalized), one of two songs co-written by Miyaji, takes the band and the EP on a left-field turn by bringing some ZZ Top-meets-George Thorogood blues riffing into the mix for much of the song. A false ending suddenly takes the band into a jazz-rock vein for the song’s coda.
“Tsuchi” keeps the band within blues/classic rock territory by way of Elvis Costello, slowing down the tempo and giving them a 12/8 time signature to contend with. A slightly anarchic Theremin (or at least Miyaji making some Theremin-like sounds with his guitar and effects) interrupts things as the band goes from the song’s B-section to its chorus. The third time the B-section around, Levin changes things around by throwing in some tribal-sounding drumming before shifting back into gear for the final choruses.
“Ime” sounds like its going to veer into early Chili Pepper-esque funk at first, but Levin’s Motown-esque drum beat nips that in the bud, while Yuki’s lead vocal obliterates further Motown comparisons and Miyaji tosses in some modern rock guitar noises for additional texture.
“Mekumori”, the second of the Maeda/Miyaji songwriting collaborations, returns the band to mid-tempo 12/8 time, but with songwriting and playing that sounds both familiar and new at the same time. While not a fast rocker, the song itself is quite anthemic, and allows Miyaji to take flight with a tasteful extended guitar solo.
It’s safe to suggest that The Husky’s EP represents a considerable and major musical progression for Yuki Maeda. The EP allows her to come further out of her old shell, forging a new musical background that compliments her distinctive and instantly recognizable vocals. Hopefully, the next recordings we hear from Yuki Maeda will be a follow-up release from The Husky rather from yet another new band. Unless Whiteberry reunites, of course.
SCANDAL Yah! Yah! Yah! Hello Scandal (Kitty Inc.)
Availability: CD EP, iTunes US & Japan Rating:
SCANDAL – vocalist/guitarist Haruna Ono, vocalist/lead guitarist Mami Sasasaki, vocalist/bassist Tomomi Ogawa, and drummer Rina Suzuki – have left quite the impression on American J-Pop fans since they toured as part of the Japan Nite package tour this past spring. The group was the smash hit of the entire tour by all accounts, and copies of their first single Space Ranger were selling out at every tour stop. So it is no surprise that anticipation for a full-length SCANDAL album was high.
Well, it looks like anticipation will still be high for a full-length SCANDAL album. Yah! Yah! Yah! Hello Scandal is a four-song EP and three of the songs have already been released as their first three singles. Fortunately, it makes sense to include all three singles on this EP, given how quickly they have sold and how hard they are to obtain as physical CDs outside of Japan.
The “new” track which opens the EP, “Koi No Kaijitsu”, starts with a powerpop introduction a-la The Raspberries before the band shifts into old-school ska/rock-steady for the verses. The introduction and verse are repeated before the band shifts gear again with a Beatleesque pre-chorus and refrain. After the intro/verse/prechorus/refrain sequence is given a second go-round, an instrumental bridge with an R.E.M.-esque chord sequence, but played Beatles-style and flavored with some conservative use of phase-shifting – adds a further dimension to the proceedings. The three-part harmonies by Haruna, Tomomi and Mami are more than pleasant to listen to.
For those that never got the singles and didn’t choose to download them from iTunes, they all follow on the EP in their original order of release, and benefit from an even better mastering job than the original singles. For the curious and uninitiated, here’s what early American adopters of SCANDAL have been enjoying for the past few months:
“Space Ranger” starts with some ominous synthesizer drones before the rhythm section kicks in. The two guitars follow, along with an uncredited organist supplementing the guitar riffs, with the end result being a very catchy song very reminiscent of ZONE.
“Koi Moyo” is my personal favorite of the three original singles. Instead of emulating ZONE, SCANDAL seem to have found a sound almost entirely of their own making. The production recalls Husker Du circa Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey – indeed, the song itself sounds like how the Huskers would have sounded had Grant Hart played a straighter, more Tommy Lee-esque drum beat instead of his swinging style. Tomomi plays a very interesting, cliche-free bass line in the song’s introduction and instrumental tags, laying back to play only half-notes and whole notes during the verses and straight eighth-notes during the chorus. There’s no keyboards to be found, the three-part harmonies are tight, and Rina’s drums have a great wooden-room sound around them.
The EP’s closer, “Kagarou” kicks off with some Wire-sounding powerchords before a single-note synth line akin to early Devo adds its own icing to the rest of the introduction, with the rest of the song sounding like a guitar-heavy Elvis Costello & The Attractions (any keyboards beyond the occasional synth icing are pretty much obliterated by Haruna and Mami’s Stratocasters) and some of the lead vocals, especially during the first verse, recalling W.
Even if you already have the singles – either physically or from iTunes – Yah! Yah! Yah! Hello Scandal is a worthwhile purchase, especially as a physical CD, which I highly recommend as the packaging is pretty cool: An emulation of the Beatles’ Let It Be cover, with the CD packaged in a miniature gatefold album cover, complete with a Japanese-style plastic inner sleeve for the CD itself. (Yet another current CD that I would love to see come out as a 180-gram vinyl record! – Matador, Merge, and Saddle Creek, are you paying attention?) The girls of SCANDAL are apparently just as enamored of their American fanbase as the entire inner gatefold collage is dominated by live picks of the band from the same tour. Hopefully this will be a nice tideover until a true full-length LP from the quartet emerges.
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