A TALE OF SAMURAI COOKING – A TRUE LOVE STORY

There was quite the influx of food-related films at this year’s TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, A Tale of Samurai Cooking (Bushi-no Kondate) joining the likes of Taiwan’s 27˚C – Loaf Rocks and Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast, in the realm of cuisine-focused cinema. This Japanese contribution is by no means overshadowed by its Taiwanese rivals, offering its own powerful take on the role food has played in history. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 5 →

LOVE IS THE PERFECT CRIME

Love Is The Perfect Crime (L’amour est un crime parfait) is a captivating thriller set in the picturesque mountains between Switzerland and France. Following the disappearance of one of his students, Barbara, immediately after a night of passion between the two, university professor Marc (the enigmatic Mathieu Amalric, from The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, Quantum Solace, Munich) is haunted by the mystery of her absence as well as the constant presence of her terrified mother Anna Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 4 →

THE DOUBLE

Directed by The IT Crowd‘s Richard Ayoade, and adapted into a film based on the classic novella of the same name by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Double tells of a nervous, depressed individual named Simon James who feels desperately haunted by his loneliness and invisibility at work and by the woman he loves. Then one day a new employee starts up at his company, a man named James Simon, who looks exactly like him in every way, much to Simon’s absolute terror. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 3 continued →

In 1984, an American-owned pesticide factory called Union Carbide, located in the city of Bhopal, India, malfunctioned and sent poisonous gas churning into the atmosphere, enveloping the city and killing thousands upon thousands of people. To this day, Union Carbide has not issued an apology, and the compensation paid out was a mere 300 dollars per death. In response, writer and director Ravi Kumar, a paediatrician in India with modest experience in filmmaking, took it upon himself to create the film BHOPAL – A PRAYER FOR RAIN which tells the story of the Bhopal victims of Union Carbide. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 3: BHOPAL – A PRAYER FOR RAIN →

Tuesday evening in Tokyo, SHATTERJAPAN was lucky enough to catch British folk queen BETH ORTON play a cosy set in the safety of Shibuya’s Club Quattro to the backdrop of a raging typhoon. It was certainly more comfortable on the top floor of the building than it was outside, in a packed-out venue surrounded by unwinding post-work salarymen and wine-sipping couples. Continue reading BETH ORTON warms the crowds in a stormy Tokyo →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

THE XX were one of the final bands to perform at Fuji Rock 2013, and they closed the evening with a show to be remembered, bestowing hauntingly beautiful indie melodies upon a dedicated audience who chose to see them instead of coinciding rock enigmas The Cure, a group which The xx cites as being one of their major influences. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – THE XX →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

THE CURE played an absolute marathon set as the headliner for Day 3 of the festival. A whopping 3 hours of music comprised of 36 tracks had them finishing up at 12:15am, at which point even the most die-hard fans were probably ready for bed, especially after a whole day of running around the mountains catching other bands. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – THE CURE →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

CAT POWER‘s set on the White Stage began with a solitary Chan Marshall lighting a stick of incense at the front of the stage, taking a swig of beer and stalking around the dimly-lit stage before hauntingly singing out with her signature powerful and impassioned vocals. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – CAT POWER →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

VAMPIRE WEEKEND‘s performance at Fuji Rock was one of great success, the area completely filled with fans eager to see these indie pop wonder boys that have gained worldwide attention for their unique and upbeat music. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – VAMPIRE WEEKEND →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

Chilled out electro-vibe artist TORO Y MOI had audience members grooving in the mud at the White Stage on the Sunday, paying no mind to the drizzly weather.

The man behind the moniker is Chazwick Bundick, a 26 year old from South Carolina playing as Toro Y Moi since 2007 and so far releasing three albums plus a handful of offerings from his solo side-projects. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – TORO Y MOI →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

The girls in London band SAVAGES certainly know how to play a banger of a show, with leading lady Jehnny Beth putting on an intensely stirring performance on the White Stage of Fuji Rock, all clenched fists and domineering stares at audience members. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – SAVAGES →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

Perhaps the most pleasantly surprising act of the entire festival was that of three sisters from LA by the name of HAIM. The title is the surname of these three female rock wonders Danielle, Alana and Este plus drummer Dash Hutton, who have positively rocketed to international fame in a short period of time, only seriously starting to call themselves a band in 2012 and having yet to release an actual album (their debut effort “Days Are Gone” is set to be released 30 September). Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – HAIM →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

DAUGHTER dished out an impassioned set at Fuji Rock, a group certainly adored by any lovers of indie-folk attending the event. They were yet another band that demonstrated a heartwarming humility onstage, an honest appreciation for the opportunity to play at Japan’s largest music festival. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – DAUGHTER →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

YO LA TENGO are veterans of the indie rock scene, forming in 1984 in New Jersey and playing shows ever since, releasing a total of 13 albums in their impressive career. Their worldwide popularity and musical prowess has allowed them numerous accomplishments such as working with Yoko Ono in 2003 on a charity album and composing tracks for film soundtracks such as “Junebug” and “Old Joy.” Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – YO LA TENGO →

Continuing our highlights from Day 3 of FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013…

Post-rock instrumental quartet from Tokyo, LITE, bestowed their noodly guitar goodness to a small but tightly-packed crowd of fans next at the Red Marquee.

The group has been playing shows in Japan since 2003, and their prowess in creating massive math-rock styled expanses of music has allowed them to tour internationally, further solidifying their position as a front-runner in the genre. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – LITE →

BO NINGEN are a favourite live act for this reporter, so it was an absolute treat to have them open up the third day of Fuji Rock Festival in the Red Marquee.

The last time I caught these four London-based rockers (originally from Japan) was at Style Band Tokyo in Shibuya back in February, and it was there that I was witness to the brutal unleashing of raw acid-punk passion for which Bo Ningen have become notorious. Continue reading FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2013 DAY 3 – BO NINGEN →