extract from
Free magazine "Japanzine"June 2004
Kimochi Rock (P27)
By Laura Huston
There was a kimono or two in the audience.
The hall was dotted with softly glowing red and white paper lanterns,
the andon of the show's title, a bit of supremely Japanese imagery.
This was no ordinary pop music show.
Let there be wa. A little bit o'wabi,a little bit o'sabi. Kimochiiiiii!
The Uta-Andon show featured two Osaka bands,
Mahoroba Gakuza (まほろば楽座) and Amane (アマネ).
What sets these acts apart from the mainstream of J-pop and rock
is their firm foundation in traditional Japanese culture and music,
an unabashed expression of their roots.
Japan's fascination with all things foreign, especially Western, is a familiar topic.
This attitude can encourage a neglect of the Japanese artistic heritage and,
despite the thriving worlds of anime and manga,
leave something of an artistic vacuum.
But even if an exploration of traditional forms is a rejection of Japan's faux West,
it too often leads to still other foreign sources, to shallow,
uninformed day trips in a hodgepodge of cultures.
Somehow it all ends up as reggae, curry, and long cotton scarves.
Why don't more Japanese look to their own artistic heritage for soul,
for real inspiration, for a break from kitsch and ugliness??
Modern Japan's shiny plastic disposable culture of cuteness
drives many young Japanese to seek out cultural expression
that taps into some authentic tradition.
Mahoroba Gakuza and Amane are doing exactly this,
going back to their roots, and the results are impressive.
Mahoroba is an old Jpanese word meaning "prosperous country;"
a gakuza is a musical company or troupe.
Mahoroba Gakuza has played throughout Kansai in various incarnations since 2000.
Their most outstanding feature is the electrically amplified shamisen,
played by lead singer Yasushi Kita.
Expect for nice, raucous taiko drumming,
traditional Japanese music can be an acquired taste,
at times subtle to the point of dullness, at others,
a dissonant outburst of shrieks and squawks.
Not the shamisen: its lightness makes sharp,
non-Western tones easy on the ear,
and firmness of its sound bring a fine pecussive feel.
Mahoroba Gakuza seeks consciously to create
a new genre of japanese identity music
-they actually have a song called "Wabi Sabi."
Yet their influences are diverse.
Their Japanese sources include nursery songs, classical court music
heard at temple festivals, and the music of Kansai's particular version
of the O-Bon dance welcoming the annual visit of departed ancestral spirits.
Travel throughout Japan awakened an interest in Ainu and Tohoku music.
Outside their native culture, they draw on everything from
Turkish pop to heavy metal to New Orleans jazz.
(The clean-cut drummer, Motohiro Fujiwara, confessed that Bon Jovi
"changed my life, but not my hair.")
These varied traditions do not form a gimmicky mess.
Mahoroba Gakuza is comprised of true musicians,
not empty novelty-seekers.
You'd be surprised how well the shamisen works
with a mid-'70s-country-rock-fravored song.
(Think of its similarity to the banjo.)
Japanese festival-style call-and-response,
an accordion, and a trippy shamisen blend
wonderfully with a rollicking Dixieland beat.
Another very traditional touch is
lead singer Kita's soaring, heroic, high-pitched vocals,
which never descend into maudlin enka warblings.
Don't miss this remarkable band.