Guernica, Jun Togawa's band

If you like her, I also highly recommend Chakra, Ippu-Do, Masami Tsuchiya, Moon Riders, Miharu Koshi, Melon, Apogee & Perigee, Halmens, Salon Music, Portable Rock, Zelda. Those are all Japanese synth-pop bands from the early '80s, though they're mostly more accessible than Jun Togawa's work (but they're definitely not mainstream!).

http://park10.wakwak.com/~techno/

http://www.artcontext.com/music/artskool/jem/

my girlfriend's been sending me some youtubes of jun togawa. this is my favourite, a song about a girl's first period, produced by haruomi hosono:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWGuc6E2UaI

amazing

Damn, I was hoping this would be about Erol Alkan's secret indie band shame past.

Wasn't David from The Boyfriends/Luxembourg also in this London Indie supergroup?

Oh, OK, OK, I'll listen to the YouTubes. I like the idea of a song about a girl's first period! But I would.

Actually, this is great!

Been listening to 'Energy For Remodeling' a lot recently. Really need to track down the other two.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFb2U5FbSds

a question for patrick south (or whomever else knows the answer): where can i find the jun togawa version of "yumemiru yakusoku" (2nd youtube above)? haruomi hosono recorded a version which is on the hosono box: 1969 - 2000 compilation, but i really need a decent recording of the jun togawa vocal. discogs has nothing, and google only knows the hosono version.

video for yapoo's 'roudou ian shouka' confuses wfmu blogger

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2009/08/戸-sichuan-pure-労-働-sings-comfortably.html#comments

Koji Ueno did some great music for this obscure game called Gadget:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaIRkDYJCpA

As one of the earlier computer game I played (around the time stuff like Myst was big), it made a pretty lasting impression. It was striking & odd, tons of uncanny valley & shades of La Jetee. Apparently David Lynch was once in talks to collaborate w/ the developers but nothing came of it.

r1o

The Jun Togawa version of "yumemiru yakusoku" is the final track on the album "Kyokuto Ian Shoka" by the Jun Togawa Unit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkuc_PJ9HR4

everyone watch this video. so amazing

Does anyone knows where this Yapoos song comes from? Pure bliss…
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5hw5GsFuSCQ"; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Sorry:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/5hw5GsFuSCQ

(learning, ach…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hw5GsFuSCQ&feature=player_embedded

Guernica on TV (1982), interviewed by Takahashi & Hosono & performing a short medley:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_yCb1NBmtM&feature=player_embedded

A 1982 clip for ‘Yume no Sangaku-chitai’, a track of their 1st LP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKPKmAF6xG8&feature=player_embedded

That Yapoos video is from one of their live DVDs. "Live + Clip" or something like that. It's bundled with the big Togawa box that came out a few years ago. Don't think there's a studio version.

thanking all for youtubes

Thanks for the answer!
Guernica is an amazing project. Does someone knows Keiichi Ohta’s Jingai Daimakyo LP?
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Keiichi+Ohta

It’s a collaborative concept album released on Yen records in 1983. Lyrics by Ohta, music by Koji Ueno. No Jun Togawa sadly but Koichi Makigami (Hikashu), Keiichi Suzuki (Moonriders), several unknown female singers (only Tamao Koike made other records) and the great Hosono himself, here are a few tracks. One of my faves of this era, I'd die (almost) to find a vinyl copy of this, impossible…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsSSltrVvg0&feature=player_embedded
A1. Jingai Daimakyo Vocals - Koichi Makigami

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9nD1dGIPtk&feature=player_embedded
A3. Pigumii Chorus - Hibari Children's Choir

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYMqfmdWA40&feature=player_embedded
A7. Kijuu Rakuen Deza Barimo Vocals - Haruomi Hosono

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvEaL023IqQ&feature=player_embedded
B1. Kyokuhoku No Kaii Vocals - Ikuko Sato

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSAhLAa9tUA&feature=player_embedded
B7. Siian No Kodomoichiba Vocals - Makito Hayashi

One last gem for the Guernica fans. Ueno produced ‘Atomic Bomb Rock’ a song for Maki Nomiya’s Pink no Kokoro (Pink Heart) 1981 LP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzwnv_XWcfE&feature=player_embedded

Keiichi Ohta’s website has a page dedicated to Guernica, full of great memorabilia: http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~keiticle/guernica/index.html

I am in love with Jun Togawa. Pretty much all I've been listening to for the last couple of days.

i'm getting into the Yapoos records; Togawa is definitely one of the most eccentric Japanese vocalists I've heard

I first heard of her because she toured with Susumu Hirsawa in the late 80's and appears on some of his albums...the song "Rocket" has her singing and it's very, very over-the-top

been listening to Togawa's 1984 live album - it's really nuts, her mic seems to be turned way up and she screams her way through nearly the entire thing. and yet the packed crowd absolutely loves it; was she really so popular around this time???

love this live vid so much:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-uxpylXf5fQ

(same song that 1984 live album closes with)

i can see why they do it last. her voice must be completely destroyed after that. i dig the tracks where she kind of switches mid-song. like this one which is sung like a pop song but suddenly goes into this operatic chorus. this video has the lyrics which are pretty twisted as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c45a1WTr-wY

after watching this I realized there's a Denki Groove video that seems to closely parody/pay tribute to this. guess I know what this is all about, then:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFOgjHSx9go

I mean there's something seriously disturbed about that video. She doesn't just want the guy to love her, she wants to be destroyed by him. "Say you love me or I'll kill you" - if only American pop stars would dare to be so blunt!

yeah, "suki suki daisuki" is great. hosono produced that track, right?

here's a cool article with some context on where togawa may have been coming from:
http://groundzeromongkok.blogspot.com/2010/12/memory-and-gender-in-music-of-jun.html

Elsewhere, her lyrics present romance as a violent conflict which (like the aidoru industry itself) inscribes it’s violent territorialisation on the female body, as in the chorus to the single Suki Suki Daiksuki (which is otherwise a perfectly optimistic and upbeat aidoru-pop song):

KISS ME
Like a punch as blood stains my lip!
HOLD ME
As my ribs are breaking!
I love you so much! (x3)
Say you love me or I’ll kill you!

The capitalised lyrics are sung in English, mimicking aidoru-pop's anglophonic tendencies.

ever hear her cover of "because the night"? seriously great vocal performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uyIqycVeuk

that denki groove vid is pretty hilarious btw.

Yeah, I've read that article before - one of the few critiques you can find on the internet in English. It's pretty good as a resource for further stuff to find, and definitely interesting, but b/c there's so little else out there it's difficult to know quite how relevant the stance is to her work overall...

xp

yeah, it's frustrating how little information is out there, I agree. the article itself mostly rings true but what do I know? most everything in there is new to me.

xp - who's that a cover of?

No idea if Hosono produced that track. it does sound a bit like his work with Miharu Koshi. I know Hosono wrote "Tamahime Sama". If you're really familiar with his work it's apparent right away. Interestingly enough Hirasawa produces some of her later stuff, mostly with Yapoos, who are perhaps not as interesting conceptually as Togawa's solo works (or Guernica), but musically sound a bit better.

oh, I did not know that. just the title track and not the whole lp, I'm guessing?

hosono did this one too, I'm sure you've heard it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lnkoT9t1xs

probably my fave togawa track, and again, great live performance.

oh, missed your question. that's a patti smith cover.

oh yeah, great song off an album I'm kind of lukewarm about. that one's got YMO's fingerprints all over it (particularly Service-era YMO)

Greatly digging Togawa Fiction from 2004, it is utterly all over the place and fantastically so...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QdTKR_B9P8

Wow, that's great

This is a pretty good read.

http://aramajapan.com/aramaexclusive/arama-interview/jun-togawa-discusses-35-years-industry-return/82068/

OMG, thank you for this, I hadn't seen it before.

well, that explains what happened to her voice. so glad it seems to be coming back somehow.

Escalating feelings that far exceed common sense
A rose colored love that popped up like a sudden mutation
A love so pure that you could call it violent
A love so forceful that it's already been engraved into the Showa era

Kiss me as if you're punching me, until my lips bleed
Hold me until my ribs make a cracking sound and break
I like you, I like you, I love you
I like you, I like you, I love you
I like you, I like you, I love you
If you don't say you love me, I'll kill you

Eros takes shape and breaks down the everyday
Romance overlaps with instinct, creating an endless hell
An intuitive recognition of anti-nihilism
Triggers a tendency towards latent infantile violence

Kiss me as if you're punching me, until my lips bleed
Hold me until my ribs make a cracking sound and break
I like you, I like you, I love you
I like you, I like you, I love you
I like you, I like you, I love you
If you don't say you love me, I'll kill you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5-FRQbvn9U

Good people, talk to me about Yapoos and how they connect to this tangle of bands I've been exploring.

ヴィールス from Dadada ism just popped up on a random playlist, reminding me that Jun Togawa was someone I meant to check out more of.

how they connect to this tangle of bands I've been exploring.

Is this related to the proto-Visual Kei thread? Because in that case, I don't know!

I still really want a good English biography of Jun Togawa - I find it difficult to place the work in context because of how little stuff in English there is. I could definitely recommend some individual songs, youtubes etc if you wanted those.

The reason I was asking about connections: this track popped up on an algorithmic playlist. (I don't know how people feel about Spotify / alorithmic content around here.) With YMO and Takahashi and Hosono and Ippu-Do and Soft Ballet and Guniw Tools. Who are tangentially linked through Hirasawa. I saw his name mentioned upthread. So I don't know if the theme is just 'Japanese New Wave' or if there is a connection!

I really liked the track on Dadada ism. But was not sold on the first Guernica track I played. (It was a bit toooo Showa Era for my taste.) So I was wondering where else in her catalog to look for that demented spiky new wave feel of Yapoos?

So you probably want the Suki Suki Daisuki stuff, that's quite new wavey-ish (single and album). Though I think you might appreciate the punk version of 'Mushi no onna', the linked youtube is one hell of a performance, I adore it so much.

She also did some backing vocals for Halmens around the 'Q-P Dance' time but I've never been sure which songs she's actually on. That's proper new wave, though!

Also re: connection, yes she did work with Hosono a fair amount.

I don't know much of her work but based on Youtube recommendations I see I think simply being "Japanese New Wave" is the most likely connection. She made records with Hosono (who as I'm sure you know is pretty much connected to everyone in the 70s and 80s).

I don't really have anything to add but "Love Clone" is such a great song, it's in my head constantly

Thank you for the recc! Yes, Suki Suki Daisuki is exactly what I was looking for.

Definitely one of those artists where the lyrics and the context is so important. At the same time, somehow being both a punk rock idol, but also an avant guarde satire of the entire concept of idols. (Wondering if she was at all an influence on the kind of Jirai Kei thing. Though I'm really out of my depth talking about youth culture that is more fashion oriented. That kind of 'femininity pushed to the extreme where it becomes perceived as deliberately hysterical or dangerous'. But I also think there's a difference between where styles start as avant guarde hyper-parody, but Instagram / Internet gets hold of it and turns it into something else.)

And since new posts have appeared, thank you for explaining the connection. It is probably Hosono, who connects to every musician in Japan within about 3 degrees.

"3 degrees" may be understating it actually, I mean just check this out. I don't think Togawa even appears on this though I'm pretty sure he at least wrote the music for the title track of her debut. definitely not the lyrics though!!

https://www.discogs.com/release/11508013-Various-%E7%B4%B0%E9%87%8E%E6%99%B4%E8%87%A3%E3%81%AE%E6%AD%8C%E8%AC%A1%E6%9B%B220%E4%B8%96%E7%B4%80%E3%83%9C%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9-%E7%B4%B0%E9%87%8E%E6%99%B4%E8%87%A3%E6%8F%90%E4%BE%9B%E6%A5%BD%E6%9B%B2%E9%9B%86-20th-Century-Box-Th

That box does have Jun but not the two songs Hosono wrote for her -- she's on there singing for Apogee & Perigee.

I think Jun is Hosono's nearest link to Hirasawa...? I was googling Hosono and Hirasawa once, wondering whether a direct connection existed, and the best thing I found was someone losing his shit in an old Twitter post because Hosono talked about Hirasawa during some TV talk show once (but the poster didn't mention *what* Hosono said!).

The Jun Togawa Unit album from 1985 rules. Very short, but perfect.

tbf its hard to link Hirasawa to anyone, Jun Togawa is one of the few somewhat well known musicians he's actually worked with.

amusingly while searching around I did find out that a new Phnonpenh Model album comes out tomorrow, with Hirasawa providing some guitars and Togawa doing vocals on a track...though I would never be able to tell it's her.

finding the Guernica & Apogee 7"s for relatively cheap were my best vinyl hunting scores last year, both great records. would love the Apogee LP but that's more of a pipe dream, someone reissue it dammit!

Was just thinking I should relisten to A&P the other day, it's not something I return to that often but it is great and I should listen to it more. I'm definitely a huge Guernica fan but I see why it might not be to everyone's taste.

i became obsessed with 勅使河原美加の半生 off the Jun Togawa Unit album. So moody!

i didn't think an Apogee album reissue was likely but seeing Testpattern reissued anything is possible.

if you’re into heavy prog, don’t sleep on this record with the ruins drummer. rules.

https://www.discogs.com/master/1527526-%E6%88%B8%E5%B7%9D%E7%B4%94%E3%83%90%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89-Togawa-Fiction