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