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Hideki Spaghetti - Hideki Spaghetti CD [SIESTA216] $17.25
(OUT OF STOCK
Why?)
Label: Siesta Notify Me (What is this?)
Is this the soundtrack of the first Japanese spaghetti-western? Is Hideki Kaji -the official emperor of Shibuya-ku pop- now in full cowboy gear or is he now a charming and romantic character alla italiana? Has Jez Butler sculpted another highly stylised retrofuturistic fantasy? Will this Italian trip from the neo-aco heroe please the many legions of his fans? Did he use a time machine to travel to the good old days of lost pop? Well, Hideki Spaghetti is an italian adventure created by Hideki Kaji and Jez Butler. And all the responses can be found in this fantastic record. Hideki Kaji started his career as a bassist and songwriter for Bridge, a Japanese band that played well-crafted twee pop music and turned into pop icons. Mr Kaji went solo in 1996 and reached full-fledged indie stardom as a singer/songwriter/producer after a myriad of chart singles, massively broadcast commercial jingles and collaboration with celebrities such as Faye Wong, Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne (Tokyo to London), Chocolat, Noriko Kato, Pop-in bags, Eggstone, Tore Johansson and Hiromix. Since then has established a consistent release and tour schedule over the years and ranks as the guru of the neo-acoustic pop. Even now he has gained notoriety as one of the influences for the new pop kitten's sensibilities in Europe, USA and Japan. Jeremy Butler (Jez Butler) is a talented British writer, producer and performer, with a vast luminous array of projects Tomorrow's World, Death By Chocolate, David Candy, Maria Napoleon, Lollipop Train, Mild Euphoria, Continuous Electric Now and past experience in bands such as Beatnik Filmstars, Groove Farm, Tramway, Vision on, Cake and Airbomb Repeater. His influences are French pop (Gainsbourg, Gall, Polnareff, Hardy), Beatles, Manfred Mann, Tony Hatch, '60s soundtracks, soft and sunshine pop (Association, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Harpers Bizarre, Free Design), Kraftwerk, Japanese Pop, el Records (Marden Hill, King of Luxembourg, Louis Philippe, Would-Be-Goods etc.) European indie pop, Young Marble Giants, Margo Guryan, Talulah Gosh, etc-- Hideki Spaghetti is the ultimate full circle experience, a concept album that shows the taste of these two geniuses for the whimsical and the fantastical. The sonic variety of the album is startling, a soundscape or travelogue that incorporates large dosings of beat and light and pastoral psychedelia, some Japanese twangy/ jangly pop, a spot of crisp spaghetti western, a hint at camp Italian muzak and lush cafe-pop and even some sort of la-de-da something and dancefloor groove. It is an unprecedented collision of Italian sights and sounds through a time machine that could be a flying sleigh, a magic carpet, a Vespa or a Fiat 500. Hideki possesses powers mightier than those of most mortals. And time travel to the past is theoretically allowed at the speed of light or using wormholes, cosmic strings or black holes. Hideki in a way reminds us of Stephane the central character in Gondry's film "The Science of Sleep" who was played by Gael García Bernal. He is slim, handsome, passionate and escapist and expresses himself through all sorts of visualizations. And Butler's music is indeed between the conscious and the unconscious; states of waking and dreaming collide and a new sort of reality is born. The record is classic cinematic pop refracted through the looking glass of two music sensibilities. Like a cross between late 1960's west coast pop, groovy J-pop, Easy Tempo stuff, Cannaby Street and some long lost Ennio Morricone or Armando Trovaioli soundtrack. Melodies are stylish, smart, catchy and self-assured. The overall sound and attitude can be linked to the glamorous echoes of the Songs for the Jet or Reveries series but with a more accomplished musicianship and an over-riding sense of mirth, achieving an incredible overall coherence. Guitar in one hand, Hideki could be a cosmic cowboy or an Italian "bon vivant" seeking freedom from the bonds of the world-a rock'n'roll archetype. Siesta and Jez Butler offered him this freewheeling adventure in the sunshine and at the heart of a special time that is, sadly, gone. Hideki Spaghetti is a sonic time travelogue for a movie still waiting to be filmed.Need more info? Try an
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