Consequence of Sound » Fujiya & Miyagi

South by Southwest 2011 announces initial lineup

Alex Young — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:03:05 +0000

Now that CMJ ’10 is out of the way, it’s time to gear up for music’s spring clusterfuck, South by Southwest. The first batch of 2011 artists were just announced and highlights include Erykah Badu, Klaxons, MSTRKRFT, A Place to Bury Strangers, El Guincho, Cloud Nothings, Plan B, Asobi Seksu, Dredg, Fujiya & Miyagi, Liam Finn, Small Black, Starfucker, Toro y Moi, Ebony Bones, The War on Drugs, and former Fratellis frontman Jon Fratelli, among others. About 45,000 other acts will be announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for updates.

The music portion of South by Southwest 2011 runs from March 16-20 in Austin, Texas. For ticket information and all other necessary details, visit sxsw.com.

Fujiya & Miyagi’s fourth album will be dark, free mp3 proves it

Harry Painter — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:00:44 +0000

Fujiya & Miyagi, which actually isn’t a Japanese comedy duo, but rather an English neo-Kraut quartet, has recently completed its fourth full-length LP. Ventriloquizzing will be the band’s first album not entirely self-produced. The Brighton band signed on Denvendra Banhart/Vetiver/Silver Jews producer Thom Monahan for the effort, which was recorded in Sacramento and Los Angeles.

Frontman David Best assures us the album will indeed differ from previous work. Best said in a press release, “We wanted to make a record that was musically darker and had more going on than our previous LPs.” He continued, “This record is its own thing. It’s far less indebted to any past influences than our previous records and in my opinion it is all the better for it.”

If it’s any indication, the track “Sixteen Shades of Black & Blue” — check out a free mp3 at Pitchfork — is certainly dark. You can judge the rest of his comments when the full album arrives January 25th on Yep Roc Records.

Furthermore, Fujiya & Miyagi promises tour dates — in London and Paris come December, and stateside come early next year.

fhttp://downloads.pitchforkmedia.com/Fujiya%20and%20Miyagi%20-%20Sixteen%20Shades%20of%20Black%20and%20Blue.mp3

Watch: Fujiya & Miyagi’s “Sore Thumb”

E.N. May — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:15:44 +0000

When it comes to being imaginative, Brighton natives Fujiya and Miyagi make it look easy. If their tripped out electro-inspired rock doesn’t show you that, then their videos should be the proper wake up. Each one is an overly stimulating visual that plays with the performance based video in all sorts of fun ways. At the very end of this past year the guys released a tubular (literally) video for their latest single “Sore Thumb” that also features a cameo by the old computer game, Tanks.

By using the same animation found on a certain Windows screen saver, they were able to mold a full on performance with the members’ heads floating above the boxy, wiry bodies. The visuals have already snagged some eyes, and even grabbed approval from the likes of Kanye West, who ranted about him over on his blog.

Even without the high profile approval, the lightweight effects seem to have worked well as this is probably the best video they have put out. It fits the spirit of the song perfectly, and provides some nostalgia for the floppy disk generation. The trio will be hitting the road next month, but until then let this clip get you in the mood.

Fujia and Miyagi 2009 Tour Dates
02/11 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
02/12 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
02/13 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
02/14 – Alfred, NY @ Alfred University Knight Club
02/15 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
02/17 – New York, NY @ LPR
02/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero
02/19 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
02/20 – Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle
02/21 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
02/23 – Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
02/24 – Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder
02/25 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
02/27 – Austin, TX @ Emos Alternative Lounge
02/28 – Dallas, TX @ Palladum Loft
03/02 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
03/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex
03/05 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
03/06 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
03/07 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos