Win Versailles’ “Chateau de Versailles” DVD!
May 26th, 2009 by Lee Shichi M.
The Other East is giving away Versailles’ recently released “Chateau de Versailles” DVD, which is a live DVD of their December 23rd 2008 concert at C.C. Lemon Hall. The DVD features a massive 26 song set list (28 if you count the intro and outro) and retails for 6,000 Yen. First press of this DVD is sold out, but we have one to give away to one lucky reader. The DVD is region two of course.
First Prize
The runner up will receive 1,000 Yen credited to their account at HearJapan.com. They have a growing selection of Visual Kei but a very wide selection of other music, especially Jrock.
Runners Up
Three runners up will receive 500 Yen credited to their Hear Japan account.
——————————–
Contest: TOE wants to hear what your favorite “under the radar” band is. Whether its an older band/artist like D’erlanger or Issay that hasn’t caught on in the west, or a newer band like Xodiack. Tell us why you like your artist and why the rest of us should as well as how you discovered them and any other interesting bits you’d like to tell us. It doesn’t have to be very long, try to keep it under 300 words. The band doesn’t necessarily have to be Visual Kei, but it does have to be Japanese.
Rules: Contest starts today, and runs until June 12th. Submit your entry by comment or email(palerom@comcast.net) In your comment you must include a reliable way for me to contact you if you win. The winner’s entry and select other entries will be posted to the main page, so by entering you consent to that.
Add us on Twitter for updates and random musings
Wow, this is awesome. I’ll really have to think about which band to write about and write some good writing. Damn you for making me think
I’m not sure what I want more, the Versailles DVD or HearJapan creds. I have some HearJapan credits from my last purchase left over so I bet I could get the new Angelique
[Reply]
Oh damn you for lessening it. xP I’m more doing this for my love of this band, which probably made me love writing this more. This is a bit over 300 words, though, but not by much. Here you go:
———————-
There is an acquired taste when it comes to Japan – no matter what scene you want to look at. Whether Visual Kei, or pure harsh noise, it only gets harder to get into Japanese music the more you look at it. For everyone, there is something different to get into, however, and for everyone, there are different ways of getting into them.
Through the beauty of the internet in which I’m writing this to, did I find my first piece of Japanese intensity. It wasn’t the Visual Kei intensity, no, it was the noise intensity. That obscure, hard-to-reach area in Japanese musical ventures, it was that, with a hint of drone, a hint of metal, and a combination in which blew my brains out of proportions – or rather, opened them into new proportions.
Boris was the name of the band, a trio from Tokyo who ensued diversity in their discography I still from this day cannot out-grow and never will. From stoner metal, to experimental rock, to drone, to noise, to hardcore punk, to just some odd combination that never forgot to stay heavier than everyone else, they gave me musical intensity beyond my wildest dreams through albums like Heavy Rocks and Pink, whilst giving me musical appreciation through drone, minimalist compositions like Flood. They create music that can destroy cities, while giving albums that can leave them respect from all fields of music appreciation.
The first album that led me to love Boris was Pink, an album that is their most accessible. From there, I branched out into things like Akuma No Uta and Heavy Rocks, both of which were metal in forms that exemplify heaviness to the highest extent. Through their albums I got everything I ever dreamed of in a band from any country – HEAVY metal, fun, beauty, and at times, sheer perfection. They are what made me love Japanese music.
———————-
[Reply]
DaFalconGFX, please include a contact route should your entry win.
[Reply]
Under the radar huh? I’ll have to give this some thought.
[Reply]
I don’t think they’d be considered obscure, but I love THE BOOM, and not just ‘Shima Uta’.
[Reply]
Go ahead and write about them! =)
[Reply]
I’m not going to be in the running for the prize, but I will say that if you like music with Japanese lyrics you’ll love Asobi Seksu. They aren’t a purely Japanese band per se, but they do have a Japanese lead singer who sings (most of the time) in Japanese. Pretty awesome.
[Reply]
I nominate Peelander-Z. Aliens in colorful outfits playing to the wall punk rock. And in their lives, they pick audience members to play the instruments while they go human bowling with the lead singer and guitarist (one of the best punk guitarists out there).
[Reply]
Forgot a link: http://www.peelander-z.com/eng/home_e.html. They have a record contract in the US, but they are most definitely Japanese. If you listen to the singing, you will catch it.
[Reply]
Oh this should be interesting! I’m a little late coming into this contest (got married last weekend and am moving this weekend – too much to do to be online!) so I’ll have to give it some thought. I think I already know who I’m going to write about though.
Great contest! Thanks, TOE!
[Reply]
C-999 is probably my current favorite “unheard of” band.. They’re a J-Rock sort of thing (Think “The Pillows”) with great vocals and upbeat melodies.. Really good stuff..
[Reply]
[...] Oh don’t forget to enter our contest to win Versailles’ new DVD [...]
Remember, if you want to win the prize I need an email address from you so I can contact you.
[Reply]
[...] If you haven’t sent us your favorite under the radar band entry yet to enter our contest to win Versailles’ new DVD and Hear Japan point head over and enter. Link [...]
I would have to say one of my favorite “under the radar” artists would have to be THE SIX STRING SONICS. This group has featured artists from over a dozen different well-known and highly acclaimed Japanese indie and avant-garde bands. Each member plays a single string on a guitar, while two other members use some sort of thin piece of glass that has some sort of censor that gave off sound. It’s kind of like a theremin, but you touch it.
I found out about them when I went to a show in Harajuku in 2007. I saw them perform at the top floor of LaFayette with Mo’some Tonebender and Rovo. They were a very pleasing opening act. I bought the CD during the break before the next set. They are an incredible group of artists.
There website can be found here:
http://www.unsound.com/SSS/index.html
[Reply]