AKFG: Japan's Beloved Alt-Rock Aces
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION has long since been a staple of J-Rock.
Starting from indie obscurity in the early 2000s, Asian Kung-Fu Generation (stylized as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION) quickly captured the hearts of the land of the rising sun with their passionate, energetic, and infectious sound. Taking cues from 90s alternative rock, AKFG's distorted, melodic power pop draws comparison to the likes of Weezer, Oasis, and many more. Over the years, AKFG has gained a huge fan base outside of Japan touring in Europe, South America, and recently for the first time North America. While their sound has steadily expanded over the years, a few things remain constant: powerful and energetic instrumentation, emotional and poetic lyricism, and simple, driven, captivating melodies.
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION formed in 1996 at Kanto Gakuin University in Yokohama, Japan where Masafumi Gotoh (Lead Vocals and Rhythm Guitar), Kensuke Kita (Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals), and Takahiro Yamada (Bassist and Backing Vocals) met at a music club at their university and bonded over similar music interests, particularly British and American alternative rock. Not long after, Kiyoshi Ijichi (Drums) joined the band as well. After graduating college, the four-piece rock band embarked on their music careers.
AKFG's early efforts included two independently released EPs in 2000, Carmelman and Asian Kung-Fu Generation and The Time Past and I Could Not See You Again which targeted western audiences with its mostly English lyrics. Their next and final independently released EP, I'm Standing Here (2001), shifted the band's focus to their domestic crowd.
In 2003, AKFG signed to a major music label, Ki/oon Music, and released their EP Hōkai Amplifier (Destruction Amplifier) introducing their explosive, punk-influenced sound to Japan. The lead track on this EP, "Haruka Kanata (Far Away)," would help boost the band's popularity by being used as the second opening for the popular anime, Naruto. Later that year would be the release of their debut LP Kimi Tsunagi 5M (Connected to the 5M) which was met with critical and commercial acclaim topping the Japanese charts at #5.
AKFG's First Major EP, Hōkai Amplifier (Destruction Amplifier)
The band's next release would be the start of their international success. In 2004, AKFG's sophomore effort, Sol-fa, was released and instantly gained favor from Japan and around the world topping the Japanese charts at #1 and the World charts at #3. The album consists of four singles including concert staples such as "Loop and Loop," "Kimi No Machi Made (To Your Town)," and "Rewrite" which also served as an opening for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist.
AKFG's Second Studio Album, Sol-fa
AKFG continued their success with subsequent albums Fanclub and World World World released in 2006 and 2008 respectively. 2008 also introduced another album, Surf Bungaku Kamakura, and an EP, Mada Minu Ashita Ni (Into an Unseen Tomorrow) which hinted at a slightly more experimental side of AKFG.
The year 2010 saw the release of AKFG's sixth LP, Magic Disk. Described as "monumental" by lead vocalist Gotoh, the album displays a much more expansive sound than their past efforts incorporating big-band brass ("Maigoinu to Ame no Beat (A Stray Dog and the Beat of the Rain))," delicate string arrangements ("Kakuu Seibutsu no Blues (Blues of an Imaginary Creature))," and buzzy synthesizers ("Microphone") into their guitar-powered mix.
AKFG's Sixth Studio Album, Magic Disk
AKFG's seventh LP would prove to be even more challenging than its previous efforts. While standing firm on their alt-rock foundation, the band dabbles with elements of shoegaze ("N2"), incorporates thunderous tribal-like beats ("A and Z"), and emits submerged-sounding eletronica ("Machine Guns to Keiyoshi (Machine Guns and Adjectives)."
AKFG's Seventh Studio Album, Landmark
The band's most recent LP, Wonder Future, reverts to the band's more guitar-based sound. However, AKFG's growth as a band is evident throughout the album exhibiting riffs that are as catchy as they are wild. This album was recored at the Foo Fighters' private studio, Studio 606, and indicates a shift in production style as the instrumentation exhibits more clarity than any of their previous albums.
AKFG's Eighth Studio Album, Wonder Future
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION'S music is very accessible to listeners outside of Japan and can be found on various sites such as Apple Music and Spotify. Listening to this band's loud and lively brand of alternative rock/indie rock is worth pushing through the barrier of foreign language. It goes to show that there's good music everywhere if you look hard enough, even if it's on the other side of the world.
About the Creator
Sean Martin
Just a college student trying to enjoy myself anyway I can. As a musician and songwriter, music is always on my mind. I'm also a big Japanese culture nerd and a huge fan of its music scene. Hope you enjoy!
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Uncle Vanya.
For the modern theater lover "Uncle Vanya" at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater may very well be for you. This "Vanya" is not the typical play by Chekhov; in its new rendition by Heidi Schreck, we get more modern language, modern costumes (Kaye Voyce) and modern direction by Lila Neugebauer. Vanya (Steve Carell) has spent most of his life farming the land so that Alexander (Alfred Molina) can carry on with his art studies as a celebrated professor and teacher. Both Molina and Carell as well as Alison Pill as Sonya are standouts in this production, laying waste to all the other actors in the cast. Where the sound resonates in this well appointed theater (Mikhail Fiksel and Beth Lake), the sets by Mimi Lien are unimpressive. Lap Chi Chu gives us the support on lighting and her moods vary well amongst this two hours and fifteen minutes. "Uncle Vanya" is slow at times, very slow due to Neugebauer's direction. Actors don't always blend well causing pockets of weakness in the dialogue. Both William Jackson Harper as Astrov and Anika Noni Rose as Elena cannot hold the stage nor the attention of the audience. Since the show is put in modern language, these two actors appear more like people in the inner city rather than stage professionals; even their body language goes anathema to this great classic. In a slow-go of this play, the show does pick up almost half way through the first act. The dialogue and the melding of characters never fully catches its stride however. We get a mesh-mosh of thoughts, feelings and adversity, but the true feelings are never brought to the forefront emotionally. At the end of the play we get to hear Vanya rant about his feelings, how he gave up his life for the farm which is weakly portrayed at the back of the theater. The audience never feels his pain as Carell holds back and we never feel the strong emotions. More comedic than serious, he is at his best when the show has him bantering about. In Voyce's costumes we get both the elegant and the mundane. Never overwhelmed by the garb, it fades away like much of this play does. For the modern theater lover, however, there are a lot of things in this show that you will like. The sets which never really blend with the show are intricate and give meaning to the modern. The deft sound keeps the play eery at times especially with the reverbs at different times during the performance. The backdrop in the second act is clever even though it is difficult to sift through the conventional writings of Chekhov... it goes against the grain of what we have seen in the past. "Uncle Vayna" is a mixed bag and is not for everyone, it takes the conventional completely out of the picture and puts us in the new world of modern.
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