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Post by tangerinesun on Feb 15, 2018 2:53:28 GMT -5
Just because it's here. Far from the best thing JaME World ever pushed. CHAI - PINK2017 DEC 13 by ChrisN for JaME WORLD jame-world.com/us/articles-128036-chai-pink.html CHAI have everything they need to become a cult hit, and it’s with tracks like N.E.O. and Gyaranboo where they’re at their eccentric best. They can make a serious point about the trials of being a woman in today’s Japan, but still have fun while they’re doing it.At any rate, they're a lot more fun than you could gather from this article. The constant reiteration of strange, odd, eccentric, and more strange gets on my nerves a little. Contrary to claim, the song "Gyaranbu" is not about having bad hair. It's about having chest hair. The twins' father apparently impressed them as children with an unusually fine stand of it. Kana & Mana were a little confused, though. The word was accidentally coined long ago on a radio talk program as a euphemism for tummy hair. No wonder nobody gets this.
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Post by tangerinesun on Feb 15, 2018 16:29:30 GMT -5
Burger Records artists CHAIWhat/why JaME was reviewing Pink (US edition) 2018 FEB 15Now available and in-stock burgerrecords.11spot.com/chai-pink.htmlEnglish titles, now official:
HiHi Baby N.E.O Boyz Seco Men Fallin Love Fried Kitty Gyaranboo Cute Girl Walking Star Sayonara Complex Flat Girl The blurb: We are CHAI.
When you think of all things Pink, a sound that fuses the likings of Basement Jaxx, the Gorillaz, CSS, and Tom Tom Club, with lyrics focused on “women empowerment” and re- defining the definition of “kawaii” or cute in Japanese, you think of CHAI.
Formed in 2012, in the Nagoya region of Japan, identical twins Mana (voc/keys) and Kana (gt./cho.) would ask fellow high school classmate, Yuna (dr./cho.), and later Yuuki (ba./cho.), a college acquaintance, to join what we now know as CHAI.
Both independent releases, “Hottaraka Series” which translates to “irresponsible series”, was the title of CHAI’s 1st EP released in December of 2016, soon followed by “Homegoro Series”, their 2nd EP, released in April of the following year.
CHAI scored their first US performance at SXSW 2017, followed by a series of performance dates in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, a mini American tour titled “Japan Nite.”
After coming across CHAI’s irresistibly unique music video for “Boys・Seco・Men”, featured on their 2nd EP “Homegoro Series”, US indie label, Burger Records reached out and CHAI was immediately included in their 2017, Burger World: Japan Compilation cassette, marking CHAI’s first official US release.
CHAI’s 1st album will be released on CD /cassette by Burger Records (USA) in February 2018.The hottaraka in the title of their first Japanese EP "Hottaraka Series" actually means "neglected or left unattended", like a child. What they were afraid of being before they began to get noticed.
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Post by tangerinesun on Feb 15, 2018 16:46:00 GMT -5
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Post by tangerinesun on Feb 21, 2018 18:08:02 GMT -5
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Post by tangerinesun on Mar 5, 2018 20:20:59 GMT -5
💛💛 WE ARE CHAI 💛💛 At last, taking off for America today 🇺🇸🗽🍔🌭🍕 Big news item at 12:00 tomorrow3/11 (Sun) Mana and Kana will be guests on J-WAVE "UR LIFESTYLE COLLEGE" (18: 00-18: 54) Navigator: Riho Yoshioka www.j-wave.co.jp/original/lscollege/OK, but this is bigger to me. Shows tomorrow and Weds! We arrived in America 🇺🇸
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Post by tangerinesun on Mar 8, 2018 6:39:55 GMT -5
CHAI in San Francisco part 12018 MAR 06 at The Bottom of the Hill Setting up / tuning up. Under the wad of brown hair at top is a guy with a dangly earring and great cologne.The short report is: CHAI did a good set for a mixed audience of the usual J-rock suspects (me included), fans, and simple curiosity-seekers. Their live-killer assortment of old favorites and soon-to-be favorites. When you give them a sound system with some real bottom to it, they are LOUD and bass-heavy, like a dance club. They've done so many shows by now that they are ticking through the program like a clock, no thought required, but it's fresh because they hook the audience and reel them in, seemingly every time. I swear they play better than a year ago. Practice, practice, practice. 〜〜〜〜〜 For some reason, there was a slight sag in the excitement when they switched out to their all-synth passage on "Cool Cool Vision" (with new pre-recorded patches). Momentarily the CHAI choreography went away and people started to wake up from the spell they were under. But only a little. 〜〜〜〜〜 "I am always charming." (very true) says Mana, explaining the principles of NEO-kawaii. She tries to get the audience to agree with her that she has narrow Asian eyes and short Asian legs, so we can come to the realization that this is the basis of her revolutionary charm. I'm just shrugging, because their entire package is adorable, and I can't even entertain the idea that anything about it needs explaining. I will say that, up close, you can notice that the twins have really tiny hands — delicate-looking, like a baby's. Set that against the veins popping out on Mana's neck when she stops peeping and starts bellowing, as on "Villevan". 〜〜〜〜〜 Whenever a group like CHAI shows up at a San Francisco club, they seem to get billed with two support acts. One because bars need a show that starts early and goes late, and another one because musicians will do anything for a chance to play for free. It never works quite right as a program. This time it was New Zealand pagan folk-metal from Hex , which is a mix of New-Age Celtic vocals and extremely heavy, drone-y psychedelia; and local legends Girls With Guns, who are like the anti-Ramones — they stop the show after every song to indulge in a trashy monologue. Both bands seemed thrilled with CHAI, neither one exactly belongs with or complements CHAI. 〜〜〜〜〜 I cannot get good photos in low light, and when I see that kelp forest of arms waving smartphones… I just don't want to be part of it. But I do have the lowdown on CHAI's footwear for you. They top off… bottom off… their band uniform with pure white court shoes of inexplicable plainness, each with a blood-red parabola on the inner arch area, sewn upper and rubber bumper alike. If you think about the construction of the activewear in your own life… decorations are never painted onto shoes, and they rarely if ever cross over from one type of material to another. Paint doesn't stand up to wear. If the kicks have to have a second color, it's usually dyed in and sewn on (the exception might be children's shoes). So you could begin to suspect with me that CHAI's battle boots didn't come off a production line looking as they do. That's real DIY. Mana's are two sizes too large, like lace-up scuffy slippers with heels.
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Post by tangerinesun on Mar 8, 2018 7:11:30 GMT -5
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Post by tangerinesun on Mar 8, 2018 16:39:44 GMT -5
CHAI in San Francisco part 22018 MAR 07 in-store at Amoeba Music San Francisco Indeed they did. I had a thegl0r-like experience trying to get to the CHAI in-store at Amoeba Music. I crawled in probably half an hour after they finished. Nothing remained of my original intentions but saying hello and wishing them well. I picked up the US release of their album Pink as a memento. Since that is what this is all about, for Amoeba and for CHAI. Pay as you go. Jewelcase pre-cracked in the wrapper to save timeYuuki's graphic design, with printed lyrics in stilted English — bonus!Coming hopelessly late turned out just slightly awesome, since CHAI were still holding court at the signing table and the store was practically empty. I got to chat a little with the band, about nothing really,* but the four of them together all aimed at the single one of you is kind of formidable. As far as I can see, CHAI blabbing with a random American customer is exactly like CHAI shooting a video, which is exactly like CHAI being on stage. They are not just consistent, they are genuine-feeling, and they take so much pleasure in attention from a fan that it's like… where on earth do you guys come from?** Any artist loves any indication that people are getting them, but CHAI had me convinced that setting back their supper another 5 minutes was their highest happiness. Their entourage and staff seem sweet-tempered enough, but they're normals with the usual preoccupations and concerns and general mood range, whereas CHAI comes off as high on doing early-evening in-store shows with a less than arena-grade PA. The Miracle Twins are strongly not alike. I don't know what's usual with twins, but these two have separate specializations. Standing side-by-side, they're like simultaneous alternate versions of one individual. I wonder if they ever pulled the twin trick of trying to pass as each other, and if it worked on anybody. This handbill has filled recycling bins, and also my treasure box.
I asked them to sign my cherished record store flyer from their album release promotion in Japan last fall. They laughed at the ridiculousness of this flimsy piece of advertising collateral crossing an ocean to land in front of them on a table in California. Then they autographed it thoughtfully, with care, and we all went on with our evenings. ———————— * It didn't occur to me to ask about the shoes. Darn. ** Nagoya, OK?
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Post by tangerinesun on Mar 8, 2018 16:45:17 GMT -5
English-language interviews have been rare. I think they're about to become common. Hello, CHAI! Food, cats, and neo-kawaii jams from Japan – US Tour 20182018 MAR 05 by By Martin Wong for his Wordpress blog bymartinwong.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/hello-chai-from-japan/ Has your songwriting process or things that inspire you changed since you began?
Our inspirations come from music and artists we personally like: Tom Tom Club, CSS, Justice, The XX, Basement Jaxx, Passion Pit, and many more! We’re influenced by so many types of music that, at any given moment, when we feel like we want to do a certain type of sound or music, we do it. You can’t narrow us down into any one genre!〜〜〜〜〜 Among other things, Martin Wong is the founding editor of the fondly-remembered magazine Giant Robot.
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Post by tangerinesun on Mar 8, 2018 18:10:21 GMT -5
Reasons to be cheerful 3rd EP "Wagamamania" to be released on May 9 🎉 6-city nationwide one-man tour ongoing 🎉 🎉 We released a new visual.The tour starts today at 21: 00 ~ Beginning of advance reservations, check it so you don't miss out. Click here for details 👶 💗 💚 The latest AR image from Excite Music Japanwww.excite.co.jp/News/music/20180306/E1520315907811.html Click for 2204 × 1470It's been processed to death, they didn't really paint lipstick above their eyes Press release at Rokinon.com (Japanese): CHAI to release a new EP "Wagamamania" in May and hold a 6-city one-man tour nationwide 2018 MAR 06 by Staff for the Rockin'on.com music news blog rockinon.com/news/detail/173891 The lead track is "AIMU MĪ (I'm Me)", commissioned for a series of five self-regarding songs from five hot bands sponsored by Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd., another global human resources aggregation and referral service. This is not unlike JinnyOops! scoring a TV commercial with Indeed, "the world's #1 job site". CHAI's contribution releases on 29 March, a little after their triumphal return from the Burger Records stage at SXSW in Austin. 〜〜〜〜〜 Wagamama (我が儘) = a selfish or willful person, an egoist. So, something like egomania, although if you really wanted to use that concept from the psychology of personality in Japanese you'd need the English word. The closest things that I can find are jibushin, excessive self-confidence, or unubore, pretension, conceit or hubris. The title makes it sound like the EP as a whole subverted the Recruit Holdings concept a little. That would be like them. 『Follow Your Heart & Music Presented by RECRUIT』teaser movie2018 MAR 05 by Recruit Holdings Co.,Ltd. (01:00) Being the guiding worldview of Recruit, "FOLLOW YOUR HEART" is directly translated "jibun no kokoro ni shitagainasai". To live your life according to your own heart/mind, no one else's. The present "Follow Your Heart & Music Presented by RECRUIT" has been realized by having artists sympathetic to this worldview produce MVs (music videos) on the theme of 「挑戦」(chousen, challenge, daring, attempting). "Follow Your Heart & Music Presented by RECRUIT" Official Website www.recruit.jp/company/about/involvement/fyhm/
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Post by lazybone712 on Mar 10, 2018 2:21:51 GMT -5
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Post by tangerinesun on Mar 10, 2018 18:54:06 GMT -5
So did you went? Are you amaze? I feel momentum for this band leading up to SXSW. Like, for example, this ↓ didn't happen a year ago (counts against your monthly total for the JT paywall): Rock act Chai has no time for your definition of ‘cute’
2018 MAR 09 by PATRICK ST. MICHEL, for The Japan Times / Music www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/03/09/music/rock-act-chai-no-time-definition-cute/ “The media defines [ kawaii ] as a very specific attitude and look,” bassist Yuuki tells The Japan Times … Vocalist and keyboard player Mana chimes in: “We were never really called ‘kawaii’ while we were growing up. We think people define it as something that’s quite uniform: skinny, big eyes, whiter skin. If you don’t have that, you can’t be kawaii. You immediately go to being ugly.”“We want to change that,” Yuuki adds.The band formed in 2012 in Nagoya, the city where Mana and her twin sister, guitarist and singer Kana, and drummer Yuna grew up.
…One place they don’t draw inspiration from? Nagoya’s music scene.
“Yeah, there’s nothing,” Mana says, before Yuuki quickly follows up. “To be honest, we kind of went against the Nagoya music scene.” .
“I [ write ] everything using my voice and record it all on my phone’s voice memo app,” Mana says, often joined by Kana strumming the guitar next to her… 〜〜〜 Unexciting article but a good basic rundown of where the band's at in their career. Obligatory comparison to Shonen Knife and Cibo Matto, since those are the two biggest Western-influenced girl bands from Japan that made it overseas. Oh, and appearing at Fuji Rock 2017 doesn't make CHAI a rock act. Come on, Patrick!!?
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Post by lazybone712 on Mar 11, 2018 12:26:09 GMT -5
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