Fujiya & Miyagi Talk With Trendland

Listen to “Ecstatic Dancer” here

[mp3j track=”dancer.mp3″]

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Casting a line of exoticism into a pool of vibratos, David Best, Matt Hainsby, Steve Lewis and Lee Adams of Fujiya & Miyagi are at it again. It is nearly sinful to cover Fujiya & Miyagi releases more than an hour past release, but embarrassing not to at all. Soundwaves are pulsating through music tunnels over their latest single Ecstatic Dancer. Elevating this year’s album, Ventriloquizzing (UK label, Full Time Hobby & USA label, Yep Roc), the British bowl of four is waving electric chords and banging bass under deep vocals in this dangerously sexy single. 

“Ecstatic Dancer is in some ways an extension of Ventriloquizzing, and that’s why we released it as a single rather than put it on the next record. It’s pretty glammy and has lots of key changes,” as David Best hands Trendland some side notes on the new single. “The words are pretty dumb, in the tradition of songs like the twist, peanut duck and the mashed potato. It doesn’t have a message, it’s just a song. It took a long time to arrange and produce, but I think it was worth it and sounds pretty good. In some ways it’s the single Ventriloquizzing needed so more people would have heard it.”

When asked about the work behind the album, David Best responded, “We tried to not repeat ourselves. Thom Monahan co-produced it and that’s the first time we’ve worked with someone else in that capacity. It’s less sparse than previous records. In retrospect, we might have been too respectful of the songs in how we arranged them. I think our next record will be more electronic and less traditional song structure wise. I am very fond of Ventriloquizzing though, far more so than our other records. “

David is also fond of a few particular tracks on the album: “Minestrone and Tinsel and Glitter are my two favourite tracks at the moment…We play Tinsel and Glitter quite differently live and some nights it really swings like a bastard. Its about how a couple of years ago every pop act was dressed super sparkly and were great successes where as we look like we are supply teachers or work nights in a petrol station. Minestrone is a favourite simply because it is very different than anything we’ve done before. Lyrically it is quite linear rather than fragmented, and musically it is us trying to sound like Miles Davis circa Jack Johnson.”

Listen to “Minestrone” here

[mp3j track=”Fujiya-Miyagi_Minestrone.mp3″]

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Listen to “Sixteen Shades of Black and Blue” here

[mp3j track=”fujiya-miyagi-sixteen-shades-of-black-and-blue.mp3″]

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As they maneuver through monotones, epitomizing their niche sounds, the band emerges from what feels like an eerie romantic painting stolen from the Tate? If any of their previous material made you weak in the knees, get buffed for their new releases. Pronouncing the drum and gracing the keys, “Sixteen Shades of Black and Blue” crawls into the spotlight with a recent French version, also one of the album’s smokey tracks on buzz. They further steam the screen with their vintage babe video, glorifying dancing black and white pin-ups.

 

UK is armored with indie scene music, electro leaders, and fresh DJs. We asked David what and who are some of the influences behind Fujiya and Miyagi, musically, creatively, socially, even globally, and how he has seen music change over the years from their early days in 2000? “We have become a live group where as we began as more of a computer based endeavour. Apart from briefly with transparent things, we have an uncanny knack of doing the complete opposite of whatever is in vogue at that point. We were purely electronic based when guitars were fashionable, and now that electronic music is ubiquitous we use live instruments more. It’s just how it is, I suppose.”

The band has been rocking the digital floor and cruising through the krautrock scene for nearly a solid decade, and they continue to churn out rockstar beats. Though they are gearing up for a the next record, they will relish in Ventriloquizzing through early 2012. Lyrically seductive and melodically laced, Fujiya & Miyagi unravel 2012 with an all-star tour lineup throughout North America in January. Be first to catch the men in motion in Brooklyn’s Glasslands on the 19th.

 




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