Zazen Boys

On Tour

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japanese, j-rock, rock, experimental, alternative… see all

Frontman Mukai Shutoku founded what would later be called Zazen Boys shortly after the demise of his previous band Number Girl. He initially recruited former Number Girl drummer Ahito Inazawa. Mukai’s original idea for Zazen Boys centered around himself and Inazawa playing together with guest talent. This changed after Mukai brought in Hinata Hidekazu (ex-ART-SCHOOL) on bass and Yoshikane Sou (Kicking the Lion) to fill out the band’s lineup. He named the group Zazen Boys after an old project with 54-71 and pop singer hal. The band’s self-titled album was released in January of 2004 to considerable underground success.

The band’s debut continued the steady evolution apparent in Number Girl’s final albums, but taken several steps further. The precise rhythms and minor-key melodies of Mukai’s former band were still part of the equation, though a heavy dose of experimentation moved the sound even farther left-of-center.

Mukai started working on a new album the same year, released in September 2004. Zazen Boys II smoothed out the rough edges of the band’s debut and featured another hometown friend, Shiina Ringo, on backup vocals.

Inazawa announced his sudden departure the next year. Mukai quickly brought in Matsushita Atsushi as the new drummer, then released the five-track single Himitsu Girl’s Top Secret in July followed by Zazen Boys III in January 2006. The new album looked to be a push towards free jazz, with a clear focus on improvisation and ambient experimentation.

Source: Keikaku.net

Zazen Boys
Zazen Boys
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Zazen Boys III
Zazen Boys
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Himitsu Girl's Top Secret
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Zazen Boys 2
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Top Tracks

1	Weekend	149
2	Asobi	143
3	Honnoji	141
4	Memories	127
5	Idiot Funk	125
6	Taratine	114
6	Fureai	114
8	Sabaku	108
9	The Drifting / I Don't Wanna Be With You	96
10	Crazy Days Crazy Feeling	51
11	Usodarake	43
12	Kimochi	42
13	Himitsu Girl's Top Secret	39
14	Cold Beat	37
14	Zazen Bo	37

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ihateRBF wrote:
Saturday evening

Somebody taped the Hoboken show, and most come forward with the footage!!! Asobi live made heads explode.

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Nananine wrote:
14 days ago

The Brooklyn, NYC show's set list was: 1. Himitsu Girl's Top Secret 2. Maboroshi in My Blood 3. Ikasama Love 4. Daruma 5. I don't wanna be with you 6. Asobi 7. Cold Beat 8. Riff Man. They had awesome extended jams on Daruma, I don't wanna be with you, Asobi, and Cold Beat. Pretty much one of the best live shows I've ever seen.

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ihateRBF wrote:
last month

iTunes just refunded me. Hopefully they'll have the album at the Hoboken show next week.

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dism wrote:
last month

I bought it too. Send plz.

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ihateRBF wrote:
last month

Can somebody send me the new album please? I just bought it off iTunes and the -42023 error got me, and I only got the first three songs. If need be, I'll show screenshots of my invoice and broken download queue to prove that I did indeed buy it and am being screwed by iTunes.

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chuuzetsu wrote:
last month

What the fuck yeah

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dism wrote:
last month

What the fuck new album is awesome.

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Kashkabald wrote:
last month

Taratine is awesome, I agree with The Drifting/IDWBWY, though.

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chuuzetsu wrote:
last month

"It's a reprise made up of 2 songs, actually. " It's still the weakest moment of the album.

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starox wrote:
last month

Good album but not as great as the first two ZB albums, some songs are killers, others like "Taratine" should have never made it to the final cut.

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orange-sky wrote:
last month

It's a reprise made up of 2 songs, actually.

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KMFCM wrote:
last month

this is in fact better than 3 (I will say though "i don't want to be with you" got old quick and certainly didn't need to be made LONGER)

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adamcooleyisdea wrote:
last month

I agree that it's one of the best of the year. My favorite is suishou no fune's "Prayer for Chibi".

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adamcooleyisdea wrote:
last month

New album rules.

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chuuzetsu wrote:
last month

Fucking shit...I need to post again. Best album of 2008. It's right there with MemoryStorm's debut album.

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chuuzetsu wrote:
last month

FUCKING BONER JAMZ OF AN ALBUM

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iacus123 wrote:
last month

The new album is kinda disjointed but still solid.

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XeroXIII wrote:
last month

Loving the new album. Great stuff.

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orange-sky wrote:
last month

It's just a GREAT album... I love all the songs from it!

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roninbuddha wrote:
last month

ZB4 IS what we have been waiting for

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