New items

It's been a while since updates.  I more or less took the last month off, just keeping up with mailorders and behind the scenes stuff, because my boy started crawling, and climbing, and falling off things, so it became even more of a full time job to keep an eye on him and keep him out of trouble.  He's just hanging out today, so I was able tog et all this together.

First up, the new Slowmotions single, excellent as always, and the Isterismo discography 12", both on 540, released for Chaos In Tejas courtesy of Timmy Hefner.  Istermismo are raging Japanese crustiness, obviously inspired by the Italian classics.  Next, I got copies of the recent Annihilation Time reissues on Tank Crimes.  Sure it falls outside my general focus on Japanese hardcore, but it's a similar rock/hardcore fusion, and frankly I think they were one of the best American bands in the last ten years.  Similarly, I got a few copies of the reissue of Poison Idea "Feel The Darkness" on Farewell.  Like Discharge, undisputed classic and very influential on the Japanese scene.  Finally got some copies of the newest Crude 12", "Corner".  Raw and along the lines with their last 7" on HG Fact.  And brand new is the Etae discography 12".  Compiling both their 7"s on the A side and all 5 comp tracks on the B side.  Etae were from Hakodate and shared a guitarist with Crude around the time of their "Attitude" 12".  If the new raw Crude doesn't satisfy your jones for burly melodic Hakodate style HC, Etae will.

Unfortunately, thanks to soft European cardboard, some of the Etae and Crude jackets suffered corner damage in shipping.  I'll sell the cleanest copies first while I wait and see if the label can send me replacements for the rest.

Also, a lot of stuff in the distro is getting down the last copies, so I noted that where applicable in the mailorder list.

Origin of M tour wrap-up part 1

There are a lot of great photos and videos from Origin of M's tour.  I'm going try to post some each time I update the site.  To begin with, here's one from West Philadelphia, shot and edited by Clones and Fashions.  For a higher res version, follow the link and check out their other videos too.
http://www.clonesandfashions.com/clonecast/clonecast-films-episode-04-origin-of-m/

As for the Burai Core label, I want to keep things a little secret for right now until they're 100% certain, but I'm working on the second release right now, laying the groundwork for the third, and next year might see a vinyl release of Origin of M "Struggle".

New Items

The full list is down a few posts, but here are the highlights of the new stuff this week.

I took a few Havoc LPs in on trade, tangentially related to my regular Japanese focus.  You can't underestimate the worldwide impact of Discharge, and it's nice to see these 12"s back in the hands of a diehard punk label rather than the usual.  Classic reproduced precisely, only exception being the Havoc logo on the back instead of Clay.  From Ashes Rise had a bit of the Japanese influence filtering through their sound by the end, particularly the anthem Reaction with it's massive rolling intro.  Severed Head of State did as well, though with more of a raucous Motorhead charge to their harsh punk on the "Power Hazard" 12".  9 Shocks Terror need no introduction, they were some of the key figures responsible for the popularity of Japanese HC in the US in the last decade.  And Skitsystem, well, I just like this record. Compiles all their earliest and rawest output before they got heavier.

The second Nightbringer 7" is out on Deer Healer Records, "31st and Michigan" b/w "A Better Tomorrow".  The first song is a speedy ripper with a personal take on the urban decay in Detroit, and the second one is a Hawkwind and MC5 via Motorhead semi-instrumental featuring guest guitar from ex-Nightbringer Matt.  The download hasn't been turned on yet, but it also includes 2.5 new songs intended for a Michigan/Ontario comp that failed to come together.  The 'half' song is an alternate mix of one of the other songs with noise guitar substituted.  Also still available is the first 7", though copies of the first press of that may be dwindling, and the "Fight Like Hell" shirt in medium and lots of colors.  Speaking of, the "Fight Like Hell" single will be coming out in a couple months as a preview of the LP and will have some Detroit area covers on the B side.

Last but certainly not least, restocked the Kriegshog CD and got the Forward/Warhead US tour DVD and the Elekidz 7".  The DVD has songs from all over the tour and is a neat capsule of that time.  Elekidz is quirky punk, friendly with the Slowmotions but sounds more like a girl punk cartoon show soundtrack or something.  I like it and so does our little boy.  Got a few copies of the Paintbox DVD but they were all reserved, so I'm going to have to reorder that yet again.  If you're interested in one, please email me so I make sure to get enough copies this time.  It's selling much better than any other DVD, so it caught me by surprise.

Elekidz "エレキッズの電気的占星術" 7"  $9

Forward / Warhead "Live In USA" DVD  $29

Kriegshog CD  $16

Origin of M 12"  $5.50 w/other stuff plus postage, $9.50 ppd by itself

Discharge "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" 12"  $8

Discharge "Why" 12"  $8

From Ashes Rise "Nightmares" 12"  $8

From Ashes Rise / Victims 12"  $8

Nightbringer "31st and Michigan" 7"  $3

9 Shocks Terror "Zen And the Art of Beating Your Ass" 12"  $8

Severed Head of State "Power Hazard" 12"  $8

Skitsystem "Allt E Skit" 12"  $8

Wurzel ex Motorhead, RIP

Motorhead are pretty much the standard by which I measure all music, and one of the big appeals of Japanese hardcore, and particularly the Tokyo Burning Spirits scene, is the degree of shared sound with Motorhead.  I don't know if it has been reliably confirmed yet, but the rumor is going around that Wurzel passed away a few days.  While he had been out of the band for sometime now, even Lemmy remarked in the past that in the mid '80s Wurzel may have been more Motorhead in spirit than even Lemmy was.  The band lost a lot when he left, he was a great counterpoint to Phil Campbell and he took his busy stylized riffs with him.  I don't take much interest in celebrity death or put much value in internet memorializing, but when someone's whose music changed the way I hear all other music dies, it does get to me.  I felt similarly when Chelsea and Pig Champion passed away, definitely felt some serious denial at first.  Anyway, after Motorhead, Wurzel played on the second Disgust CD and released an ambient record that I didn't even know existed until today.  He also had a solo ep from 1987 that's worth a listen.

Forward and Turtle Island outdoors, Gauze response to tsunami

Here are a couple recent videos that have been making the rounds.  First up, Forward and Turtle Island playing outdoors in Ueno at the Punks Were Made Before Sounds gig.  There's also footage on YouTube from the same show of Jabara, Piledriver, Spike Shoes, Hat Trickers, Pinprick Punishment, and Melt Banana.

And here is a recent video of Gauze.  Before they play, bassist Shin addresses the audience, as translated in the comments, "He talking about Ex SVS member is school teacher at Tohoku, and his school is using as shelter of Earthquake victims....1,000-yen/each T-shirts donate. And they are singing "We would like to cry, but we can't cry, because don't have a time to" and "Japan is Never Die!!"  The response of punks in Japan to the tsunami disaster has been quite moving, with people like Ko from Slang organizing relief work and punk flea markets popping up at shows as benefits.

Origin of M 12" out now

I'll make this look prettier tonight after work, but here's the crucial info for early adopters:

1 copy postpaid in the US, includes shipping: $9.50
1 copy postpaid to Europe: $18.50
paypal to buraicore@gmail.com

There is no special edition or tour edition, but the first round of mailorders get special bonus treats.
The band will have copies with them on tour and at Chaos In Tejas.

BCR-01 Origin of M 12"

Burai Core presents the first Origin of M 12"!  With similar speed and power as bands like FORWARD but with their own Hiroshima hardcore style, Origin of M has Mr Guy ex GUDON on vocals and Maru ex ASPHALT on guitar.  Raging sound and insightful lyrics, all new art by the master illustrator Sugi.  Originally released on CD by Under The Surface in 2008 and long sold out, this 12" also includes their song from the "Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage" compilation.  Includes digital download code.

Listen at http://originofm.bandcamp.com/

Origin of M US tour 2011

June 2 - Chaos In Tejas after party at the Broken Neck w/ Tragedy

June 3 - Chaos In Tejas at Emo's w/ Doom, Kriegshog, Kieltolaki, Isterismo, Spazm 151, Mata Mata, Wild/Tribe

June 5 - Chaos In Tejas at Beerland w/ D-Clone, Kieltolaki, Crazy Spirit, Vaaska

June 6 - Denton, TX at Rubber Gloves w/ Slowmotions, Crazy Spirit, Perdition, and Wild/Tribe

June 7 - St Louis, MO at Rue 13 w/ Tenement, Chinese Telephones, and Shaved Women

June 8 - Milwaukee, WI at the Ground Zero, w/ See You In Hell, Lotus Fucker, Impatient, and Bored Straight

June 9 - Chicago, IL w/ See You In Hell and Lotus Fucker

June 10 - Detroit, MI at the Shelter w/ Nightbringer, xBrainiax, Wind of Death, Final Assault, Wells

June 11 - Cleveland, OH at Now That's Class w/ Wind of Death

June 12 - Pittsburgh, PA at Helter Shelter w/ Nightbringer

June 13 - Richmond, VA at Strange Matter w/ Parasytic and Aghast

June 14 - Baltimore, MD at the Barclay House w/ See You In Hell, xBrainiax and Lotus Fucker

June 15 - Philadelphia, PA at the Milcreek Tavern

June 16 - Boston, MA

June 17 - Brooklyn, NY at the Charleston w/ Agitator

June 18 - Portland, OR at the Know w/ Slowmotions, Crazy Spirit and PROBLEMS

June 19 - Portland, OR at the Branx w/ Slowmotions, Burning Leather, No Statik and Martyrdod

Origin of M 12" release on Tuesday!

I picked up the vinyl this morning, it's still in the trunk of my car so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. It's going to be $9.50 postpaid (including paypal fee) in the US, payable to buraicore@gmail.com. I've been working on setting up the digital download code tonight, but now it's time to fold diapers and go sleep (glamorous, I know). In the meantime, you can now listen to the entire record here

New Releases

Got the latest batch of HG Fact releases.  First up is the Himei 7", reissue of their first self-released ep, now on split red/yellow splatter vinyl.  Bit reminiscent of the Stalin.  Next is the Zone CD/DVD.  Compiling their early 7"s and compilation tracks, I prefer the slightly rawer sound of this to their LP.  The DVD has live material from throughout the years.  Very nice package.  I've seen them twice, killer band, and I guess I was lucky because they have only played Tokyo a few times ever.  Burly, anthemic hardcore, the type I love.  Restocked the amazing Paintbox DVD.  Got a few Kriegshog discography CDs and already only have two left.  Compiles their demo, 7", both splits, LP and mystery bonus track, full booklet, great sound so you can hear all the distorted noise in crystal clarity.  Honestly really good, and I'm not really one for "raw lo fi D beat".  Kriegshog were many notches above that sort.  Playing their last show at Chaos In Tejas with a special guest second guitarist, Souichi from Forward.  And last but not least, the new Warhead single (front and back cover pictured).  Two noisy thrashers with guest guitarist Jacky from Framtid filling in.  Crucial as always.

Recent video of Warhead playing at the Studio Dom rehearsal space in Kouenji.  I can't even imagine what it would be like to see them in a tiny room like this.

Remember to include your zip code when reserving so I can calculate postage, email orders to buraicore@gmail.com, and check out the sale and regular lists below.

悲鳴 (Himei) s/t 7"  $11
Kriegshog CD  $16
Paintbox "Anarchy, Madness & Love" DVD  $28
Warhead "This World of Confusion/Acceleration" 7"  $6
Zone "Win Back To Sanity" CD/DVD  $21

Origin of M 12" nearing completion

The Origin of M 12" jackets arrived yesterday, the lyric sheets arrived a week or two ago, and I should have vinyl before Memorial Day.  So assuming there are surprises, I will start shipping them May 31st.  I will have prices up soon, just need to settle a couple little things.

They are playing three times at Chaos In Tejas including the first day's after party with Tragedy at the Broken Neck and will have 12"s for those shows (as well as tour).

Origin 12" jacket with 1984 Honda Interceptor 500

Origin of M tour poster and video

Burai Core Release 01 - Origin of M 12"

I'm taking the plunge back into the label game after a ten year break.  First up is the debut 12" from Origin of M.  Hiroshima City Hardcore style, featuring Mr. Guy from Gudon, Cavemen and the man behind Bloodsucker Records.  Needless to say, raging stuff with its own sound.  This is the first time on vinyl for the first CD originally released by Under The Surface.  All new artwork by the master Sugi.  They will be playing Chaos In Tejas and touring through the midwest, hitting the east and west coasts before flying home.  Also look for the second CD on Straight Up, it smokes.

June 4th Chaos in Tejas at Emo's with Doom,Kriegshog,Isterismo,Spazm 151 and Wild//Trive
June 5th Chaos in Tejas
June 6th Denton,TX at Rubber Gloves w/ the Slowmotions,Crazy Spirit,Perdition and Wild//Tribe 
June 7th St Louis,MO at Cranky Yellow
June 8th Milwaukee,WI at the Doghouse (2438 N Bremen) w/ See You In Hell,Lotus Fucker and Protestant 
June 9th Chicago,IL w/ See You In Hell and Lotus Fucker
June 10th Detroit,MI at the Shelter w/ Nightbringer 
June 11th Cleveland,OH at Now That's Class
June 12th Pittsburgh,PA w/ Nightbringer 
June 13th Richmond,VA at Strange Matter w/ Parasytic and Aghast
June 14th Baltimore,MD at the Barclay House w/ See You In Hell,xBrainiax and Lotus Fucker
June 15th Philadelphia,PA at the Millcreek Tavern 
June 16th Boston,MA
June 17th Brooklyn,NYC
June 18th Portland,OR at the Know w/ the Slowmotions,Crazy Spirit and P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S
June 19th Portland,OR w/ the Slowmotions and Burning Leather

Nightbringer new singles preview

Here are the A-sides to the next two Nightbringer singles.  31st and Michigan will be released by Deer Healer, and Fight Like Hell will be released by... me!  31st should be out in May, and FLH will follow after that.

Bastard / Paintbox / Super Frisky !!!

It isn't uncommon in the most productive scenes to find the same people involved in multiple projects, and the Japanese hardcore scene is no exception.

Using BASTARD as a starting point...

vocalist Tokurow is now in FIGHT BACK (with Iron Fist Tatsushima from CROW, GISM, DIE YOU BASTARD!, etc)

guitarist Zigyaku was in GUDON and SYSTEMATIC DEATH and went on to form JUDGEMENT

bassist Iizawa went on to JUDGEMENT, BUZZY 大和町バンド, and is now in RANGE AND THE DIRTY HOSPITAL and 鉄アレイ (Tetsu Arrey).

Zigyaku and Iizawa both played on OGREISH ORGANISM recordings with Pill from LIP CREAM. 

drummer Koba (aka Masaaki Sweden) was in SYSTEMATIC DEATH, DISARM, went on to ROCKY & THE SWEDEN, and is now in RYDEEN and SYSTEMATIC DEATH (if not more).

Bastard "No Hope In Here" official discography CD  $29.50

Fight Back/Hazard "Realities of Hardcore Punk" CD  $10.25

Gudon "Early Years" CD  $10.25

Systematic Death "Systema 6" 12"  $10

Systematic Death / See You In Hell 7"  $8.50

Judgement "Just Be" 7"  $5.50

Range & The Dirty Hospital CD  $11

鉄アレイ "14All All41" CD  $10

Ogreish Organism "鬼" CD  $31

Ogreish Organism "偽物の時間" CD  $31

Ogreish Organism "4th Pill" CD  $15

Rydeen "AAAA" CD  $11

SUPER FRISKY is a relatively new band, their CD just came out, really great, the first thing to come to mind is a mix of the Comes (for the female vocals) and Motorhead-ish Japanese punk hardcore.

SUPER FRISKY

vocalist Yoko from AKUTARE

guitarist Keiro from AKUTARE, 鉄アレイ, and formerly EXTINCT GOVERNMENT

bassist Sakura from JUDGEMENT and SCREAMING HOG

drummer Kaki from 鉄アレイ

WATERBED is

vocalist Jhajha from LIP CREAM and JUDGEMENT

guitarist 宇賀秀樹(MADORDEATH) 

bassist Ali (Deep Count)

drummer Kaki from 鉄アレイ

Super Frisky "For Buddy" CD  $28

鉄アレイ "14All All41" CD  $10

Judgement "Just Be" 7"  $5.50

Waterbed CD  $7.50

Lip Cream II DVD  $30.50

Lip Cream VII DVD  $30.50

all nine Lip Cream DVDs, poster, stickers special:  $250   --last set--

Lip Cream "Trash Til Death" CD  $27.50

Lip Cream "9 Shocking Terror" CD  $24

And that's just to start.  Add in the Death Side family tree and it seems to touch nearly every top tier Tokyo band by some degree of relation.

I should note that the Lip Cream complete DVD set is the last one I have and I don't intend to break it up.  I do a have some extra copies of the second and seventh DVDs to sell separately (two of the best in the series).  I have very limited copies of a lot of these things, particularly the Bastard, Super Frisky, Gudon, and Waterbed CDs, and I'm down to my last couple Lip Cream CDs as well.

And the Paintbox DVD is finally here!  31 songs from multiple shows, 146 minutes.  The opening clip is literally stunning, with the band in their early days playing 炎 from the first single, looking like reclusive hippie wizards conjuring their otherworldly sound...  Just awesome.  The DVD goes through the rest of their career, including their trip to the US, the later shows with Akira from Continental Kids singing (while Mune was incarcerated) and ending with their final tour with Osamu from ALLIANCE playing guitar after Chelsea passed away.  Includes a booklet listing every show they played.  There's a lot here, including vacation footage from the US trip, I haven't even had the chance to really dig into it yet.  Worth every penny.  Limited copies, of course...  I'm also down to the last copies of the "Trip Trance, Traveling" CD, these are the first press in a gatefold cover (the repress was in a standard jewel case).

Paintbox "Anarchy, Madness & Love" DVD  $28

Paintbox "Relicts" 12"  $11.25

Paintbox "Trip Trance & Traveling" CD  $22.50

Paintbox "Trip Trance & Traveling" 2xLP  $19

Paintbox "炎/砂漠" 7"  $45
Paintbox "The Door/Provided Railroad" 7"  $55

v/a Burning Spirits 2004-2005 DVD  $24.50

Slowmotions at Chaos in Tejas and west coast tour!

Chaos in Tejas invariably brings a batch of Japanese bands to the US, and while the full line up hasn't been completely announced yet, the Slowmotions will be coming over for it and to do some shows on the west coast.  I've seen them twice, fantastic band.  Definitely a favorite and a nice break from the Motorhead/bands that sound like Motorhead that I listen to 90% of the time.  I really think these are some of the best punk songs being written these days. 

June 2nd Chaos in Tejas

June 3rd Chaos in Tejas

June 4th Chaos in Tejas

June 5th Chaos in Tejas

June 6th Dallas,TX

June 7th OFF

June 8th Phoenix,AZ

June 9th Los Angeles,CA

June 10th Orange County,CA

June 11th Bakersfield,CA

June 12th San Jose,CA

June 13th Oakland,CA

June 14th San Francisco,CA

June 15th Sacramento,CA

June 16th Arcata,CA

June 17th Seattle,WA

June 18th Portland,OR w/ Origin of [M]

June 19th Portland,OR w/ Origin of [M]

from the Burning Spirits 2006-2007 DVD

from the Dead Heat Disco 05 VHS

the Slowmotions/Burning Leather 7"  $6.25

the Slowmotions "Mystery Action" 7"  $8.75

the Slowmotions "ダイオルを回せ！" CD  $6

the Slowmotions "マケロベ / Yes, Future!!" 7"  $15

v/a Burning Spirits 2006-2007 DVD  $32

Winter Update

I took it a bit easy this fall with the distro, mostly as I was saving up to release a 12" by...  Well, more on that later, tthe distro is going to expand into a label this spring.  I'm only planning to release one record at a time to roll the money from one to the next.  I'll announce the first one in the coming weeks when the artwork is completed by Sugi, who has done innumerable classic Japanese record covers, shirts, and flier designs.  So to catch up, I went to Japan for a week at the end of November.  Good trip, arrived and got to hang out with Slowmotions and FUK guys at the end of their tour, saw Forward, Zone, and 鉄アレイ (Tetsu Arrey) at EarthDOM (phenomenal show from all three bands, Forward with their new drummer playing a mix of early songs and four new ones, Zone making a rare Tokyo appearance, and 鉄アレイ not missing a note with the recent addition of Keiro (Akutare/Super Frisky) on guitar), and then things came to a wretched halt when I woke up the next morning and proceeded to throw up for 24 hours from a stomach virus.  Went to the hospital to make sure I wasn't getting dehydrated and then slept all day, meaning I missed the Burning Leather tour final with AI, Slowmotions, Forward, GATES and Nanox.  Squeezed in a whopping 30 minutes of record shopping the next day, took care of some other stuff and then went across the country to Hiroshima where I met Guy san (Bloodsucker Records, Origin of M).  Got to see Origin of M practice (killer), got some good stuff at Guy's store Misery, and hung out at Dumb Records (cool Ramones/garage punk record label, coffee shop and bar).  Woke up early the next morning to take the shinkansen back across the country and flew home the next day.  The trip was way too short, I felt like I barely had any time in Tokyo and wish I could have hung out longer in Hiroshima.

But I did bring back a few things, namely recent Bloodsucker releases and a few old 7"s.  First up is the Fight Back/Hazard split CD.  Hazard are long running Tokyo punks, maybe you know them from the split with Extinct Government or the recent full length CD, and they now have Eiji (ex DSB) drumming for them.  Raw recording, turn it up and destroy your speakers.  Fight Back is the return of Tokurow, ex Bastard vocalist, with Iron Fist Tatsushima (Die You Bastard!, Crow, GISM etc) drumming.  Crushing D beat/thrash hardcore, almost Swedish sounding.  

Next up from Bloodsucker is the debut ep from Waterbed.  Mellow sounds from the drummer from  鉄アレイ and the singer from Lip Cream.  I only got a few copies for people who are willing to take a chance on something unexpected, and Guy san gave me some screened patches that I'll include with them.  

I also got a handful of the last copies of the Gudon "Early Years" CD and some stickers to go with them.  This is all the insane early noise core that wasn't included on the discography on Bloodsucker and Partners In Crime, both demos and the flexi.  

Also the third Crossface CD, the Veihaiz CD (burly hardcore), both Persevere 7"s (UK punk style) and some other odds and ends. The first Nightbringer 7" came out in November, and the second one will hopefully be out by the end of winter.  Nightbringer 7" is on colored vinyl.

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Also new is the No Problem/Doomsday Hour CD on Under the Surface.  Doomsday Hour are from California, ex Star Strangled Bastards, and No Problem are the original bassist from Paintbox and the singer from Geshpenst and Sticks In Throat.  Got a few copies of the Nightmare "Bloodsucker Years" CD, crucial material from the 7"s and comp after the first LP and before the CD on Dan Doh.  Definitely some of my favorite stuff from them.