Boris - Feedbacker

Boris - Feedbacker
Originally uploaded by nofrills

Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo.
21 September 2009

*Sorry, this image is not Creative-Commons-Licensed.

Boris - Rainbow

Boris - Rainbow
Originally uploaded by nofrills

Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo.
21 September 2009

Setlist (if I remember correctly):
Tokyo Wonderland
Luna
Statement
My Neighbor Satan
Missing Pieces
Rainbow
Pink
Korosu
Ka Re Ha Te Ta Sa Ki
Feedbacker
Akirame Flower

Boris is a Tokyo-based rock-music group:
www.inoxia-rec.com/boris/
www.myspace.com/borisdronevil
www.last.fm/music/Boris/
... and I'm their lyrics translator. (To those who have said Boris' lyrics were mis-translated: NO. I spend a lot of time on their translation, talking with them in person to make sure what they really want to convey. Basically their lyrics do not make much "sense" - the Japanese poetry is not the same with the English poetry. And to those who are asking for the lyrics, BUY THEIR F***ING CDs from Southern Lord.)

Jim Jarmusch asked them to let him use their music for his film "the Limits of Control":
www.imdb.com/title/tt1135092/
nofrills.seesaa.net/article/128351557.html (my blog, in Japanese)

*Sorry, this image is not Creative-Commons-Licensed.

The Limits of Control (Flyer)

The Limits of Control (Flyer)
Originally uploaded by nofrills

loc-movie.jp/index.html (日本語)
www.tokyo-art.info/cinema/2009/c172.htm (日本語)
www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/the_limits_of_control
www.imdb.com/title/tt1135092/ (IMDB)
http://nymag.com/movies/features/56263/ (Jim Jarmusch's production note and interview)

My review. In Japanese:
nofrills.seesaa.net/article/128351557.html

"Leave Them All Behind" - 19 April 2009

"Leave Them All Behind" - 19 April 2009
Originally uploaded by nofrills

Leave Them All Behind
Sunday, 19 April, 2009
Liquidroom, Ebisu, Tokyo, Japan
www.smash-jpn.com/band/2009/04_leavethem/index.php

Conclusion: envy + Boris + SunnO))) + Isis + several hours sleep = vertigo + the loudest ever ear noise.

The show was sold out. All of my friends I met at the venue said it was surprising. "Heavy rock" in Tokyo have come so far.

Overall, it was LOUD. So LOUD. Sunn O))) and Boris. Their soundwave shakes your eye ball and brain - not only your eardrums. That is what Boris and Sunn O))) have been doing for years. I know. And so, I only wish I were ten years younger... Actually it was nothing on the next day back in the 1990s; I was all right (with less level of ear noise) on the day after I saw Boris live. ;-)

The LOUDEST of all was Sunn O))). So LOUD that they erased my memory. If you are going to see them live, make sure you are prepared. Take enough sleep, eat well, and don't drink too much. You stand on the floor and you just can't move during their whole set simply because of their sound. As you are being kept unmovable, the sound shakes your inner organs and changes your senses. I couldn't see the stage at all. Standing around me were people taller than I, and I was nailed to the floor and frozen. With things around you like that, there's nothing that can distract you. You are face-to-face with the sound wave. Theirs is the most creative way of using three-chord structure: repetition, feedback and wall of sound, for more than 45 minutes, live. The floor, your trousers, your shirt and your hair - you feel them tremble. Your eyes, ears, stomach, and everything get affected in ten minutes. You can't explode. You can just implode. Dope.

In fact, I wasn't fully prepared (lack of sleep etc), and I felt kinda physically sick at the end of their set, so I had to leave the floor early in order to get to the restroom without waiting - I have no idea how "early" it was as I totally lost the sense of time; maybe five minutes or so. Shame. Only if I had been fully prepared. Maybe next time.

And the fact is, they cured my dry eye syndrome. Next time, I hope they would shake my teeth and be my dentist! :)))

Somehow Boris' stage tonight reminded me of the first time I saw them live. A real floor shaker shakes your spine (and eye balls). It was a real shame that there was a persisting technical trouble with Wata's equipment. Even so, the music was good.

So, for me, ISIS' set was a bliss. After these two "VERY LOUD, and you are nailed to the floor" sets, they finally let me dance. They are a superb band. The song "Celestial" must be experienced live, at least once in a life time. They are a hardcore band in essence, methinks!

I had something to do before heading to Ebisu, and unfortunately I missed Growing. It was the first time for to see Envy play live in ... how many years I can't recall, and their live music is totally beautifully emotional. Check them out if you have a chance. Sadly enough I don't have much to write because my memory was erased during Sunn O)))'s show.

The crowd were like 70 percent male and 30 percent female, at least I could see. Apart from Japanese, I heard American accents a lot and some British accents on the floor.

It's Monday today, and I've been struggling all day to kill this super massive ear noise. This is the LOUDEST ear noise ever. And since I woke up, I feel a bit strange. My usual mayonaise or plain biscuits taste so strong. I opted for simple おかゆ (rice porridge), hoping my taste would be back to normal in a few hours. You know what I mean. Their records can't do this to you. Their live music does. This is what the true 轟音 is . Awesome.

Additional info:
Liquidroom has got a gallery space on the first floor (upstairs). Currently on the show is an Acid-house retrospective. A lot of eye-candies from the Second Summer of Love!
www.timeoutcafe.jp/news/090410000066.html
ourculturalhistory.com/

Flyer

Flyer
Originally uploaded by nofrills

It says:
one-off special live show
leave them all behind
ISIS
BORIS
sunn o)))
envy
GROWING

2009. 4. 19 (sun) Ebisu Liquidroom

www.smash-jpn.com
www.daymarerecordings.com
www.last.fm/event/866549

*****
Growing has put a live album for free on emusic - Live at Floristree 1.26.08. Three tracks, 25:30.

The woman (and men) on the screen

The woman (and men) on the screen
Originally uploaded by nofrills

The floor was already packed when I arrived, though I didn't miss Massonna performing... it was quite a long show for him, being on stage for at least two minutes.

Anyway I couldn't get close enough to the stage (I tried, but I gave up). There was a TV monitor above the bar counter and this is what it was showing.

From left to right:
Wata, Atsuo (invisible behind the light and smoke), Takeshi and Michio Kurihara (invisible apart from his guitar).

The show was just awesome, except that they used too much smoke. ;-)

14 December 2008, Unit, Daikanyama, Tokyo, Japan

At the door

At the door
Originally uploaded by nofrills

14 December 2008, Unit, Daikanyama, Tokyo, Japan

The door

The door
Originally uploaded by nofrills

14 December 2008, Unit, Daikanyama, Tokyo, Japan

Chart Action (webpage capture)

Chart Action (webpage capture)
Originally uploaded by nofrills

From the Billboard:
www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=353...

Boris
Statement

Chart Listing For The Week Of 3 29 2008:
This Week: 23
Last Week: 35
Two Weeks Ago: N/A
Weeks on Chart: 2
Peak Position: 23

Boris:
www.myspace.com/borisdronevil

See also:
flickr.com/photos/nofrills/49385324/

Wata of Boris

Wata of Boris
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

Picture taken on 9 July 2005 (very late into the night, so exactly 10 July), at the Loft, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. (Too much smoke!!!!!)

VIEW FULLSIZE HERE.

My friend Wata, guitarist of a Tokyo band called "Boris" (website | last.fm). Do not expect a stereotyped "girl on guitar". She's a feedbacker. How they sound ... imagine Pink Floyd meet Black Sabbath in the 21st century in a desert.

They are touring in the US very soon (in October 2005). Check Caroline Records' website for dates. (Click on the name "BORIS".)

Earlier this year, they toured the UK, Ireland and Europe with SUN O))) and Thrones (Joe Preston).

--

Here are some video clips of the band (RealPlayer needed), three songs during these five years. They've been around for more than 10 years and they keep changing, and these three clips are just a part of what they've been doing.

I've found some of their gig posters. This one was for their first UK tour, and this one is for the forth-coming US tour. This and this are for their tour in Europe (spring 2005).

They are soon releasing a new full album, and a collaboration with Merzbow is on sale, too. (CMJ has a sample audio file, or try wfmu radio's archive.

Actually I'm translating for them. One of my first works is "Black: Implication Flooding" by Keiji Haino and Boris, which was recorded live in Tokyo at the end of January 1998 and released in the summer of that year. The original phrases for this album in Japanese have never been made public, I think. There was a lot of discussions between the musicians and me, about word selection etc. One of the things that Mr Haino thought most important was to erase subject as much as possible. In a way, "Question The Language Itself" was what they asked me. It was tough, indeed, but it taught me a lot.