I think I’ve just discovered my new favourite TV show. It’s called Captain Domino, and it started airing tonight for the first time, I think on the TBS station (I still don’t know what station is what, the numbers are fudged on my TV and my Japanese still wayyyy below the understanding line).

Anyways Captain Domino is genius through and through. Two teams, wearing what can only be described as military and spaceman outfits, battle each other on 5 games, which are by far the best TV games I’ve ever seen in my life:

• A real life version of Super Mario - where you jump across platforms and collect coins on a screen!!
• A real life pong - a giant screen on the floor holds a version of pong, with the contestants controlling the pads by moving along a line at the bottom of the screen
• A twisted version of Dance Dance Revolution - contestants have to tap a rhythm on pads strapped to their bodies (two on the chest, two on the legs, one on the head)
• Memory noughts and crosses - teams battle it out on noughts and crosses but based on memory. They see a number table for 10 secs and then have to say a number each trying to be the first team to make noughts or crosses
• A weird skill game where a contestant is shot down a roller coaster ramp with a lance in his arm and he has to hook a tiny ring onto the lance as he races past

All of which makes for thoroughly entertaining viewing. The Domino Body Beat game is particularly LOLsome. I can’t remember laughing that much to a TV game in years - the contestants’ lack of rhythm being the most hilarious element as they try to catch up to the song by hitting various parts of their bodies :lol: .

Unfortunately no youtube videos of this yet, though I assume it’s only a matter of time. You can see program information and game details here:

Captain Domino programme info

Also big up the Japanese TV programming schedule - stuff doesn’t run from 8 till 9pm, cos that would be too boring. It runs from 19.56 till 20.54 :lol:

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japanese tv

This actually made me laugh uncontrollably when I first read it. I mean come on seriously? Turns out a certain number of Japanese women were sold sheep as poodles by a company called Poodles as Pets, and didn’t realise their dogs weren’t too kosher until a Japanese actress discovered that her own poddle lacked the rk to its ba on TV.

“Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles.
Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.”

Full story here - Poodle scam

:lol:

Also the Stippy site has a more in depth look at the story here.

UPDATE - just found this link which proves the story to be a hoax! Which really isn’t too surprising, and while this story does perpetuate the stereotype of the crazy Japanese it was funny if only for a day. Ah well I’m sure there’s something true that is equally as hilarious happening somewhere right now.

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written by Laurent

We went to the amazing (I say that with a heavy dose of sarcasm) Namjatown amusement park in Ikebukuro the other day, an indoor amusement park from Namco which is pretty ‘peculiar’ to say the least. Amongst all the tacky weirdness, we played Namco’s Taiko drumming game for the first time.

Taiko drums are a traditional Japanese instrument, with origins in Korea and China, which has seen a massive resurgence in popularity in recent years, primarily due to the release of the aforementioned game Taiko no Tatsujin aka Taiko Drum Master and the increased popularity of taiko drumming ensembles.

Taiko Drum Master is a classic arcade game - two big drums, some sticks and a screen and speakers pumping out covers of various ‘classics’ to which the players have to drum in time, accumulating points in the process. Anyone who’s ever played the likes of Guitar Master or the more classic (and my personal favourite) Samba De Amigo and Parapa The Rapper will know what I’m talking about. The kind of game that allows you to feel like you can play an instrument if you have no musical bone in your body.

So anyways we played a couple of games on it, it was incredibly good fun, and I even managed to beat Ella even though I’m totally rhythmcally challenged.

I would actually like to check some proper Taiko drumming while I’m here, as the few bits I’ve seen on TV have been pretty interesting, and it’s apparently a really great live experience.

And then today I came across these two youtube video gems :shock: out to the otakus out there, some serious skills!

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written by Laurent \\ tags: taiko, video games

Only in Japan… :lol: The ninjas add that all essential touch!

And again, this time done by prisoners in the Phillipines :shock:

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written by Laurent

Last month was the 8th installment of Back To Chill, Tokyo’s only dubstep event fronted by the one and only Goth Trad and held at Unit in Daikanyama. Residents Ske, Hyaku Mado, Skinny K aka Kaji Peace and VJ Diagram were joined by MC Cardz and D2 for the occasion, as well as my good self.

It was a fun night once more, with a lot of drinking, laughing and people enjoying themselves. Though it was a little quieter than the last few events, it was still a success.

Hyaku Mado recorded all the sets on the night and I thought I’d spread a little love: so here are all 5 sets for you to grab in mp3 format. Click on the link below and you’ll be taken to a folder where you can download each set separately. Alternatively you can also stream them below to check before downloading.

Big ups to Hyaku Mado for the recording and to all the BTC crew for having me down once more. Next one is a special all nighter at Club Asia next week, 3rd of May. Bang in the middle of the Golden Week Holidays too, nice :mrgreen:

BTC vol 8 sets - Goth Trad, Hyaku Mado, Ske, Kaji Peace, Kper

And if you like what you hear don’t forget to check out Goth-Trad’s first releases on two UK labels out this month. The first one is the long awaited release of ‘Back To Chill’, as an EP and out now on Skud Beats. The second one is his Deep Medi Musik debut, Cut End b/w Flags, out in May. Go to Goth Trad’s Blog for direct links and audio.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: back to chill, clubs, dubstep, goth trad, kper, mad rave, Music, raving, Tokyo

I found this interesting, well designed and pretty funny link the other day while looking for information about love hotels in Shibuya.

lovehomap.com

The site contains maps for the main love hotel areas in Tokyo including Shibuya, Ikebukuro and Shinjuku (it’s all in Japanese though, but look at the url for a bit of help). The design is pretty cool in a reminiscing kinda way (Habbo Hotel anyone?), and the main attraction of the site to be honest. It’s pretty useful too if you’ve got the urge :wink: It doesn’t seem to be too accurate in terms of actual placements unfortunately but google maps is always there to help you for that.

A good one if you’re bored, or horny :lol:

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written by Laurent \\ tags: love hotel, Random, Tokyo

So I am practising the use of expressions for arranging and scheduling, when I ask this woman I teach on tuesday evenings what she’s doing tonight (we’re doing a mock diary for the week).

Me: So Yachiyo what are you doing tonight?
Yachiyo: Fighting… always fighting. I’m always fighting with my husband.
*cue smile*
*cue me thinking ‘okaaaay what do I do now?’ :???: *

Nice…

Today I was doing what was a pretty good lesson with some of my kids, who are 11/12 years old, and we’re asking each other ‘Do you want…?’ in response to things like ‘I’m thirsty’, ‘I’m hungry’ etc…

Me: I’m ill…
Kid: Do you want supplements?
Me: :lol:

Me: I’m tired…
Kid: Do you want a knife?
Me: :shock: :lol:

Me: I’m sad…
Kid: Do you want a hug?
Me: :lol:

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Random, Teaching

When people ask me why I came to Japan, I always feel like my answer may strike them as a little odd. Aside from the fact that I came to Tokyo because I needed a change of scenery after ten years in London and 27 spent living around Europe, the real reason why I came to Japan is simple: I came to live in Japan because I was raised on Japanese animation as a kid. I’ve always felt like I’ve known Japan and its people, through years spent watching, absorbing and devouring countless anime series and mangas.

You see between 1975 and 1995, France (alongside most of mainlaind Western Europe) imported a huge portion of its children’s television programmes from Japan. A pretty odd, and little known, fact. After all it’s not like France had no children entertainment of its own - ‘bandes dessines’ (you’ll have to excuse the lack of accents, English keyboard and all that) or the French equivalent to comics has always been incredibly popular both in and out of the country (Tintin or Asterix anyone?). But when it came to cartoons, someone, somewhere decided that the best thing to do was to import them from the other side of the world. And I’m thankful to them for making such a decision, though I know realise that this was a decision more likely influenced by money and other less interesting factors.

Continue reading »

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written by Laurent \\ tags: anime, Japan, memories

Been listening to various bits over the last couple of months. Here’s a list of recommended listens amongst my latest iPod rotations. Check the last.fm page for more.

El-P - I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead - Definitive Jux
El Producto does it again. Raps, beats and atmosphere like no one else. Gets better with every listen. Grimey, dark and oppressive at times but so enjoyable.

2tall presents Dudley & Georgia - Beautiful Mindz - Eclectic Breaks
This one isn’t out till the summer, but when it does you want to make sure you grab it. 2tall mans the boards, offering beautifully varied beats for Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow to drop some heavy consciousness. Happy, uplifting, conscious, emotional, and more. The kind of album you go back to again and again.

Rumi - Hell Me Why?! - POPGROUP Recs
Heavy, electronic mayhem with a touch of soul from Rumi, with production from Ske, Goth Trad, O.N.O and more.

Second Class Citizen - Wyred Folk - Equinox
Stunning EP from the man - blending folk, electronic beats and hip hop into a whole that is much more than the sum of its parts. Beautiful music.

DJ Pinch BBC 1 Dubstep vs Techno set
Amazing set showing the similarities in sound between the techno and dubstep scenes. This mix reminds me of the night I saw Pinch at DMZ and he transported me to another world - leaving me feeling like I hadn’t felt after a DJ set for years.

Mala - Changes b/w Forgive - Deep Medi Musik
Deep, deep tracks from Mala Myzticks. So simple and so enjoyable.

Massive Music - Find My Way (Kode 9 remix) - Hyperdub
Catchiest hook in ages, and bad ass production. Mr 9 does it again.

Dabrye - One/Three - Ghostly
Oldy but goody. Instrumental hip hop with a twist.

Rhythm Incursions podcasts
Trick and Waxfactor have been bringing the guests in regularly over the last few months and this has led to some amazing podcast sessions, including ones from Wrongtom and Joey Beats. Trust these guys to bring stuff to your ears you’ll be thanking them for later.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Music

I’ve been reading various ‘you know you’ve been in Japan for too long when’ lists recently, and thought to myself ‘why does no one ever do the opposite?’. So here it is, cos as they say if you want things done you should do it yourself. And also because I’m in a ‘trying to be funny’ mood.

You know you haven’t been in Japan long enough when…

• You still wonder why the Japanese spell and pronounce curry as ‘kare’ even though their language does have the sounds ka and ri
• You think people wearing face masks are freaks
• You haven’t got the hang of stopping people from overpackaging your goods
• You want to scream bloody murder whilst being shoved and pushed like human cattle in an overcrowded train
• You still can’t tell the difference between local, semi express, rapid and express trains - they all seem to stop at the same stations
• You can’t figure out what recycling colour bag is really for what much less where you’re supposed to leave them and on what day
• Pet Bottles still doesn’t make any sense as a name for plastic bottles
• You’re confused by all the different counting systems (surely ordering beer shouldn’t be that difficult)
• The sight of noodles-inna-bun and strawberry sandwiches makes you want to barf
• You haven’t got a Suica card yet
• You can’t ride your bike, hold an umbrella and talk on the phone at the same time
• You only have one umbrella (and it’s not white or see through)
• You don’t like noodles
• You think bowing to machines is freaky
• You get bruises on your legs everytime you get into a cab
• You don’t like the taste of canned coffee
• You think cheap synthesizer covers of classic 80s and 90s tunes are freaky
• You wonder why the hell is every shop playing Auld Lang Syne when it closes?
• You keep trying to cook in a kitchen the size of a sink
• You read ‘you know you’ve been in Japan for too long when…’ lists and think ‘you what?’

:smile:

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, Random

Political campaigning is another thing the Japanese have their own individual style for. Local elections are currently being held in Japan, with the second round next week.

What this means is that for the last week, and until the 22nd I gather, potential canditates are campaigning in their local areas. But unlike European politicians who are content with token visits in their local communities, speeches in their local party branch, shaking hands, holding babies, groping fruits and the likes, Japanese politicians take to the streets - literally.

What happens is that vans, or big cars, with mounted loud speakers patrol the areas blurting out a constant stream of speeches. And this is pretty much non stop from like 9am till 8pm. And when I say loud speakers, we’re talking enough of them on one van to make sure that you hear what they have to say no matter how much double glazing you’re rocking in your flat/office/house etc… To the monotonous and downright grating sound of their names and promises they drive around waving their white gloved hands out of their windows.

That’s another hilarious thing about Japanese politics. Politicians all wear white gloves (and so do their helpers - the ones in the cars at least) to help promote an idea of cleanliness. The irony of which is pretty priceless.

I got to admit this loud speaker campaigning is horribly annoying - though to the average Japanese, who contends with incredible amounts of in your face and overbearing promotional assaults every day in most places, it’s business as usual. They obviously develop an ability to tune out or tune down those kind of intrusive, aural assaults. An average Japanese main street is pretty noisy on a normal day, with a constant stream of promotional blurbs coming at you from all angles not counting the vocal assaults of people in the service industry, so this is probably no different to them.

I’ve yet to become accustomed to it though.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, noise, politics

I’ve just had my second travel related piece published - this time it’s in the excellent weekly free magazine/paper One Week To Live which you can get in London (and in some other big UK towns too). Last I remember you can grab it in most places, shops, clubs, etc… The piece is called Yabai! (Japanese slang for bad, as in meaning good) and is about Tokyo: the cool, the eccentric and the funny. It’s in the fashion section, which is kinda funny seeing as fashion and me don’t really get on that well :lol: .

Anyways if you’re in London check it - oneweektolive.com for more info on where to find it. Enjoy! I’ll post up a pdf of it later on this week.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: portfolio, writing

Your internet connection goes down and you find yourself unable to stop clicking the refresh button for the best part of an hour after you’ve confirmed that it is indeed down and you’re unable to find out when it’ll be back.

Your only thoughts are things like: ‘I really want to check my emails right now’, ‘I wonder what the weather is like in Burkina Faso right now’, ‘I know I’ll check the news on the BBC site, oh shit I can’t', ‘It’s only the internet I can just sit down and read a book for the night’ (only to find yourself looking at the computer on the table and eyeing the icon in the tray to see if it’s not miraculously fixed itself).

I mean it is only the internet and not having it for a night isn’t the end of the world, but it sure as hell feels like it when the realisation dawns on you :lol: . Christ I really do have an addiction :sad:. I know I can be weak minded when it comes to the net but it is funny…

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written by Laurent

Finally updated the portfolio part of the site with a selection of my writing from the last four or so years. After all this isn’t just a nombrilistic blog, it’s also an online portfolio of my writing, so it’s even more about me then a blog would be :lol: .

God knows why, but probably because I love music and writing, I decided to become a freelance music journalist and writer after leaving university, and with a little perseverance and lots of hard work I guess I managed to become one of sorts, having written for a variety of magazines and websites worldwide over the last 4 years - primarily about DJs and turntablists but also about other music scenes and music in general. Writing about music, and writing in general, is incredibly fun and I love it - shame it don’t pay the bills though.

I continue to write regularly (for ATM and Serie B) though these days I’m trying to diversify my writing a little bit more (one of the primary reasons for this blog). Travel pieces are my new thing - they’re fun and I’ve done two in the last month. I also still run/edit/do everything over at Spin Science, the only site of its kind in the world baby, and present Turntable Radio as well as maintain the blog over there. I used to be a frequent contributor to ukhh.com too, but I’ve given that up since moving here as it’s too much of a demand on my time - you can find a stack of reviews and features in their archive too.

Anyways I’ve added a whole bunch of the printed features, interviews and event reviews I’ve done since 2003, which were published by such fine magazines as ATM (UK, Australia, New Zealand), Undercover (UK), Serie B (Spain), Scratch Magazine (US) and Japanzine (Japan). This is a selection of what I think are some of my nicest or at least most interesting pieces. Maybe you’ll agree or you’ll think it’s a lot of toss. Whichever way at least you’ve had a look.

These include interviews with and features on the likes of DJ Supreme from Hijack, Third Sight, Kode 9, Skream, dubstep, Mr Lif, Spinbad, Baku, Tatsuki, Kentaro, 2tall, DMC, Mix Master Mike, Roni Size & Bryan Gee, Jonny L, A Trak and more.

I’ll be finishing the portfolio section at some point soon by adding a selection of the hundreds of music reviews I’ve written over the last few years for various magazines and websites. There’s a lot more selecting to be done there cos god knows I’ve written some fraff reviews at times (what can I say we all have our bad moments).

Seriously though anyone reading this who wants to give me a job writing then please get in touch - if it’s a job based in Tokyo, even better. If not the internet is a wonderful tool for allowing people to work anywhere in the world :wink: . Right I better go to bed before I totally put anyone off reading any of this or giving me a job.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Music, portfolio, writing

Sakura holds of lot of significance for the Japanese. It’s history is long and intertwined with that of the country (though accounts diverge as to the origin of such significance) and the tradition of hanami is also important. Sakura and hanami symbolise the Japanese’s love for the beauty of life, the inner beauty of things, new beginnings (Sakura season falls around early April - the beginning of new school terms in Japan) and the appreciation of such things.

While it’s true that these days hanami is likely to be more of an excuse to get drunk and stagger round in the parks, it’s ’supposed’ to be about sitting down, stopping and appreciating the beauty of such temporal flowers. In their fleeting beauty is symbolised the fleetingness of life - blink and you’ll miss it. Nothing is infinite, nothing lasts. One should be able to stop and appreciate the beauty of the flowers, and in turn the beauty of life and the things which life brings us.

Samurai, philosophers and famous Japanese figures alike all mention the need for such things, for such appreciation. And having enjoyed my first ever sakura season in Japan, I must admit this feeling of fleeting beauty, of a moment which never lasts as long as you’d want it to, is strange and at the same time deeply impressive. Maybe I’m getting old, but seeing all the cherry blossom trees two weeks later, with petals on the floor and their colours having changed from myriads of pink and white to shades of green is an odd feeling.

Whether you want to or not you find yourself drawn towards contemplation. Towards appreciating those finer things in life, the things which never last quite as long as you’d want them to. Being able to see this, to appreciate it but to also understand and appreciate that it must end is a feeling I’ve never really felt before without being brought to it by some personal event. It’s not like this is some new discovery, but more that this time round the feeling was brought by nature, and also by Japanese tradition to an extent, and it feels different to how it’s felt before. Like the impact of the realisation is stronger, and having a much more profound effect on me. After all life is short, you should cherish those moments which bring you joy, keep them in your heart and learn to appreciate them. Just like you should learn that when things are rough, there’s always something at the end of it that will bring back the balance.

The cherry blossom are all but gone now, and while I find myself a little sad biking or walking around, I also find myself a lot more peaceful and happy that I was there to experience it this year.

As for the Japanese, they sure as hell know how to have a good time when there’s a reason to have one. Or more accurately when it’s the thing to do to have a good time. Hell we even caught some people rocking a portable karaoke setup in the blowing wind. Now that’s dedication to relaxation!

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written by Laurent \\ tags: beautiful, cherry blossom, flowers, Japan, pictures, sakura