Beasts from the East (Touyou Kanon 東洋神音)

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

The first full year of “Beasts” comes to a wrap in this installment.  In the house are Jamie, Koty, Lina, and Sean.  It starts with a throwback of 1987 East Meets West fusion from Hiroshima.

The foursome do a handoff of songs, ranging from ska (Tokyo Ska Paradise), superhero garage comic rock (Peelander-Z), metal (Deathgaze), elegant high tempo period composition (Yuki Kajiura with a piece from the soundtrack to the anime series “Pandora Hearts”), and more!

You’ll hear commentary and reflections from the Touyou Kanon foursome on the music and the times shared.  It’ll speak for itself.

Enjoy!  The Summer podcasts are on the way!

For a look at this episode’s tracklist, click HERE

Beasts 4/30/11 Show

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X-Japan (Needs no further words)

Welcome once again to a stroll down the Beastside!  Today’s podcast gets off to a grand start with a Joe Hisaishi instrumental from “Princess Mononoke” and is followed in the relay of epic scope with a collaboration between Hokkaido’s mixmaster/producer guru DJ Honda and the Brentwood, Long Island (NY) hip-hop duo, EPMD.    Honda has a rep in the states with his self-titled compilation series, which features his booming beats glossed over by the hungriest MCs the US can provide (Fat Joe, De La Soul, Mos Def, Biz Markie, etc)—we have featured some of his work on the show and will continue to.   Today’s track is from “DJ Honda IV”.  On his home front, Honda has worked with female MC Hime.  She’s signed to his label, DJ Honda Records.

DJ Honda alongside some famous DJs/producers (Scratch, Premier) and EPMD at set of BET's "Rap City" program

In today’s show, Sean and the industrious Jamie (working on some background stuff as he sometimes does) are joined by Kainien Morel for a 120 minute Awesome Diety Power Level set.

You’ll hear a phat R&B/hip-hop crossbreed remix of a Coma-Chi single by DJ Hasebe, the mellow mi-tempo thump of a jam from Star Trak signee talent Manami, a worldly instrumental from trio Rin’, uncrackable metalcore from Myproof, with a side of engaging boy band pop of the “The Boss” brand.  This is all just icing on the cake though!

On a more thoughtful note, you’ll hear a piece of the interview that Jamie and Koty did with Mr. Dan Orlowtiz, a journalist/translator/teacher who was in Japan during the Sendai earthquakes.  In an earlier post here on the blog, you’ll get the full interview.

On the anime tip, you’ll hear some songs from Revolutionary Girl Utena and Sakura Tiesen(Sakura Wars)(one of the many versions of the theme song—for a Sega Saturn game), and Project A-Ko 3: Cinderella Rhapshody.

What must also be mentioned is that X/Japan prior to this podcast made the announcement of their first European tour official.  We discuss this, and play a tune from their legendary discography.

Whether old or new to you, the musical merriment we provide shall be welcome company to your ears.  We hope you enjoy, and click the Play button below.  Cheers/Kampai!

For a rundown of all the songs played on this installment, click HERE

Beasts 4/23 Show

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Much like the Offense and Defensive lineups head-to-head competition at G-Day (which happened during this broadcast), the music today is a highly accomplished scrimmage of super stylized sonics.  The coaching staff is Sean/DJ S.O.S. and DJ Diamond.  Today’s playbook has some sneak plays from our assistant Kainien (friend/fellow J-music fan/UGAnime member).

It’s a 2-hour run awaiting you here, which starts up with the full-on-eardrums blitz of some Sonic The Hedgehog compositions by a trio of soundworkers  (Masato Nakamura with a Sonic 2 track, and the opening kickoff being a joint effort from Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata)

The ladies of Pistol Valve get down in their multi-instrumental jamming way as well on the nickel and dime route.

Pigskin language aside, you’ll hear some tunes from Okino, Honey Sac, Jazz Liberatorz, and Perfume (with a remix to one of their songs from DJ Amaya) to throw a little poster of the roster your way.  You’ll also hear the Japanese theme to Dragon Ball Z.  It’s quite the departure from the U.S. “Rock the Dragon” opener, and has a lightheartedness about it that captures the fun of the Dragon Ball series that preceded it.

It’s business (and pleasure) as usual at Beasts Central.  Click on down to get down!

To see a list of the songs that were played on this episode, click HERE

Beasts 4/16/11 Show

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Included on today's program--a song by Yoko Kanno (Rat not included)

In today’s installment, you’ll hear some impassioned words of wisdom from Jamie and Koty about the Sendai earthquake which hit 3 weeks prior.  This leads into a sweetly chosen selection by Mukai Shutoku.  Sean is also present and lends commentary and jams where appropriate.  Reppin’ the Studio Crew is Alex of UGAnime.

You’ll hear some Awesome Diety Power Level Tunage from Yoko Kanno, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Savage Genius, DJ Krush, and more!!

You know the rules, click below and get your Touyou Kanon fix in!  Matane!

To see the list of songs from this episode, click HERE

Beasts 4/2/11 Show

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Beasts Promo Poster Variant 3: Tentacle Monster (S. Carroll)

This is another commerical-free loop of Japanese music that runs at about 50 minutes.  The mix flows like water, as each track goes into the next all the way to the end.  Below is a list of the tracks played in the mix.

Hiroshima: Cruisin’ J-Town from album “Odori”  (1980)

ANRI: Cat’s Eye (2nd Take) from album “TIMELY!” (1984)

Perfume: Love The World (DJ Amaya Remix) (2010)

Japanese Telecom: The Men From the Pack Remix from album “Japanese Telecom” (2000)—Not Nippon-based, but a great segue track.

Heartsdales: Body Rock from album “Sugar Shine”  (2003)

Seikou Nagaoka:  Burgom’s Theme from soundtrack “Best of El Hazard Collection”  (1997)

Pistol Valve: The Best House ~DJ LILYA MIX~ from EP “Pistol Whip” (2006)

Toshiyuki Honda: Thunder Kiss from album “Burinin’ Waves” (1978)

Pizzicato Five: Sunday Impressions from album “Bellissima!”  (1988)

DJ Krush: Anticipation from album “MEISO”  (1996)

angela: Forget everything from album “PRHYTHM”  (2006)

Maria Takeuchi: Kokoro Mo Jump Shite! (Instrumental) from soundtrack “Project A-Ko 2 Soundtrack” (1987)

Yasunori Mitsuda: At the Bottom of the Night from Video Game Soundtrack “Chrono Trigger Original Sound Version” (1995)

Beasts 3/19 Show Pt. 2: TouyO.C.

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The Cover to the single of the Japanese language version of the song "De-Do-Do-Do-De-Da-Da-Da" by rock group The Police (Heard on this episode)

Welcome once again to the Beastside!  Today’s episode will likely be our last THEMATIC episode of the season.  It covers crossovers between Japanese artists and non-Japanese artists.  Respectfully aware of the radio station philosophy, we carefully supplement our Awesome Diety Power Level Music mission with some high power collaborations!  Here’s some of what you’ll hear:

-A blend of rap from Nas (rhymes) and rhythmics from Nujabes (production)

-Rin and Lisa Loeb

-Towa Tei and Bebel Gilberto (Samba Paradise!)

You’ll hear a starkly upbeat cover of an old school Nirvana tune from Cibo Matto, a New York based band whose members include two Japanese vocalists (Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori) and Sean Lennon (the son of John Lennon).  Their style: A mix of “Jazz, Hip-Hop, Brazilian music, African Drumming, and Disco samples”

You’ll also hear some remixes.  Two of them are rightfully “I Can’t Believe They Went There” moments without question, as they’re from the catalogues of The Police and David Bowie.  Also on the revisionist tip you’ll hear:

-Shing02 (Reppin’ Japan) on a phat remix beat from Korea’s Tokimonsta (holding things down in L.A.)

-Towa Tei with an official ‘95 remix of a Bjork tune

At the start, you’ll hear “The Beastly Medley” (our official musical megamix) and our “What Is Touyou Kanon?” promo.

Get in on the coast-to-coast action, and click the Play button below.  Also, to see a list of the collaborations on this episode, click HERE

Beasts 3/19/11 Show Part I

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A promotional shirt for the Japan Relief effort from designer Nada Brand. (Available at www.japan-relief.com)

Beasts Central opens its doors during the Spring Break period for a session of some fine J-music of all varieties in this podcast.  It’s a one man show as Sean runs through 120 minutes of songs from Hiroshima, MOLICE, DoCo, and Perfume.  A la WUOG’s show Organic Compound, many of the tracks loop into each other, and there’s a fluid transition from melodic style to melodic style.  This is The Touyou Kanon Circuit.

You’ll hear about some ways that you can help out with the tragic situation in Japan in the wake of the earthquake/tsunami breakout.  A lot of charities are accepting what funds you can offer, and keep in mind that your best thoughts, wishes, and prayers (if you so subscribe) are always welcome in times like these.  We celebrate the wonderful music to come from Nippon, and hopefully there will be some resolution for the scenario, its riskiness only having been exacerbated further with the the nuclear plant damages and water shortage.

Sadly, a number of people have still not been found in spite of the fine recovery efforts both in Japan and from around the world (in a joint effort between citizens, government, and military personnel).  This leads to the sad inevitability that there are bystanders amongst said number who may not be seen by their loved ones again.

While our lot in this place is just in playing the music of Japan, we will make our best efforts to spread the word about ways you can help out.  They can (and will) happen anywhere and at any given point in time, these emergency situations.

Our kind regards go to our friends in SAWAS PHOOL, MOLICE, Tom Melesky and Elekibass as they continue to provide music and knowledge about song in spite of the shockwaves that such a string of events brings about their lives and the lives of those precious to them.  We’ve heard from them, and they’ve been in relatively good spirits, and keep well posted on Facebook and Twitter with status updates.

We hopefully avoid the risk of preachiness in lending this final note on the matter:  Know that for the speed at which natural disasters strike, the chords of concern and care upon the affected human heart will always strike faster.  Best wishes!

We hope you enjoy the show!

To see a list of the tracks from this episode’s playlist, click HERE

Beasts 3/12/11 Spring Break Show

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Jam Session at "jazz live bar MINGUS" (Hiroshima)

Our THEMATIC run comes to a chill point in today’s episode, as we dedicate this episode to the sonic pursuit of all things Jazz.   You’ll hear all sorts—from Big Band, Acid (DJ Ryou), Club (Jazztronik). to Fusion (Casiopea).  In the studio, we have Jamie, Alex (from UGAnime and last week’s anime fest), and holding down the point are Sean and Koty.  They both being avid followers of the scene, you’ll hear some light descriptions about some of the styles featured on the show, as well as some interesting facts about the performers.  Koty has some experience as a jazz student, and we play on that through the podcast.

As an added bonus, there are guest appearances from Chick Corea (pairing off with pianist Hiromi Uehara), Carlos Santana (with the great Sadao Watanabe in a mesmerizing collaboration from a 1991 concert), and even a Japanese radio station interview with the one and only John Coltrane.  It’s a quick snippet we offer, but the sage words he offers on the internal process of creativity and the “you get or you don’t get it” logic he sticks to are well worth hearing.

Hiromi Uehara

True to the jazz forum, there’s a tight composure during the show overall, but the finer moments result from the impromptu jam experience of live radio and freeform conversation.

Educating folks on jazz (i.e. Ken Burns) is a daunting challenge, and at times revisiting and expanding your knowledge of its discipline is damnably required to keep a good footing in the music.  But the entertainment and solace one can find in the world that set foundations for greats like Lady Day, Satchmo, Miles, C. Adderley, Sir Duke— just as much as Sadao, Hiroshima, Tiger Okoshi, and Quasimode—-will always be there.  If there’s anything to be gained from today’s audio adventure, it’s that the enjoyment of the music you expose yourself to is ALWAYS the best and simplest thing to get out of it beyond any depth or transience of meaning.

We prepared quite well for this installment, and we’re proud of it.  And may you be as well!

Beasts 3/5/11 Show

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To see a list of the tracks from this episode, click HERE

Sadao Watanabe

(WUOG has a couple of shows dedicated to jazz music—-Matter Of Jazz on Sundays from 7-9pm and Jazz Cafe on Tuesdays from 7-8pm.  Check out their blogs listed on the bottom of the WUOG page)

Beasts Central has reached MAXIMUM CAPACITY!!  The proof is in the photo:

The Touyou Kanon/UGAnime Coalition---One Nation Under An Anime-Centric Groove

In a proving moment of our divine existence (or self-delusion), we have culled an armada of a Studio Crew for today’s show.

To the uninitiated, a large portion of the people in the picture are from the club UGAnime, UGA’s club for lovers of Japanese animation.  Coincidentally, UGAnime was the place where Sean and Jamie (DJ S.O.S. and DJ Diamond respectively) would first meet and later on unite under the banner of Touyou Kanon via your favorite Awesome Diety Power Level Music show.

The love of anime literally brought Beasts to life, so this is a round robin affair the likes of which could only be captured properly via our series THEMATIC For The People.

This ditty, the 10th chapter of THEMATIC, is all about anime, and the music that accompanies it (and our nostalgia ultimately).  You’ll hear opening themes, closing themes, and background music from the following shows:

-Sailor Moon

-Naruto

-Rose of Versailles

-Ranma 1/2

-One Piece

-Cowboy Bebop

-Revolutionary Girl Utena

-And MORE!

And we take some time to ask questions of the crew about their interest in anime, their history with it, and even ask how one would define it.

Thanks to everybody who came through, and thanks to you for getting this close to the experience.  It’s just a Play button click away…..

To see a list of the songs from this episode, click HERE

Beasts 2/26/11 Show

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The cover of a 2000 anime song compilation. Note the "One Piece" caption feature on the bottom left.