Great video from Swedish rock gods OK Go. It won the youtube 2006 video awards. Great rockin’ sounds. Almost makes me want to go to the gym. Almost.
They aren’t the next Abba. They shot Abba.
If you make music, particularly music on your computer, or using samples, then you may be interested in the SampleSwap website. SampleSwap offers free professional audio samples without advertsing. The samples are available in the .aiff format which is easily convertable into .wav format for those still using windows.
At the time of writing SampleSwap’s collection is currently 4.6 GB (9,823 sounds) including 1,860 techno, hiphop, trance, and drum ‘n’ bass loops / breakbeats, 2700 drum hits, 2040 sound FX, 570 instrument samples, 810 vocal samples, 748 melodic loops, and more.
The site has a forum which includes useful tips for music production, music contests and other cool stuff.
UPDATE: They now have an iphones site for your enjoyment: “You can now listen to music by SampleSwap artists on your iPhone at iphone.sampleswap.org
Very nice!
UPDATE: Here is the video Maybe mentioned below:
Kiwi band Opshop have hit the top of iTunes New Zealand charts this week with their new song Maybe from their forthcoming album Second Hand Planet.
This was going to be a simple write up, introducing the band, but The Press (my local newspaper back in New Zealand) seems to have pulled the story. No idea why. And of course with the way the music industry is set up I have no way to check whether the band is in fact number 1. You can read google’s cached version of the story here.
Still, I found this video on youtube of a great track from their first album. The track is Nothing Can Wait, off Opshop’s first album.
It is great to see another New Zealand band doing so well. In this day and age it is possible for normal people to vote with their wallets and support what they like and not what record companies foist upon them. Still waiting for the day when this works internationally though!
Had a bit of a trawl around on youtube today for some videos of people playing Tokai guitars around the world. There are some pretty cool videos out there in a range of styles highlighting the versatility of Tokai guitars.
The first video is from Dime23 – his friend roscoebuzzsaw going pretty hard on a Tokai Gold Top through a Fender 25 watt. The picture is quite dark but the sound is wild and that is what we are here for isn’t it?
Next is a more melodic composition from another British guitarist – Chuwy8000 – he has a great relaxed alt-rock sound. Apparently the composition came about as a result of using a capo and an irregular tuning.
Thought we would finish things off with another video from roscoebuzzsaw showing off his Gold Top Tokai. He is using a Morley wah effects pedal on this track and there is some great overhand playing.
Well, it is almost that time of Friday afternoon when the lagers are calling. Before I go, here is some information from wikipedia about Tokai Guitars and the Tokai Gakki Co. LTD:
Tokai Gakki Co., Ltd. (東海楽器製造株式会社, Tōkai Gakki Seizō Kabushiki-gaisha), often referred as Tokai Guitars Company Ltd., is a Japanese guitar manufacturer founded in 1947 and situated in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka perfecture. Tokai Guitars produces acoustic guitars, electric guitars, electric basses, autoharps, and melodicas. Tokai have built a lot of Gibson and Fender replica models over the years such as the “Love Rock Model” and “Les Paul Reborn” Les Paul replicas and the “Springy Sound” Stratocaster replicas and the “BreezySound” Telecaster replicas. Tokai have also made a lot of Gibson and Martin Acoustic model replicas. In 1965 Tokai started making classical guitars and in 1968 started making the Hummingbird electric guitar models and in 1970 started making the Hummingbird Acoustic models. Brian May from Queen uses a Tokai Hummingbird Acoustic on some recordings. In 1972 Tokai went into a joint venture with Martin to supply Acoustic guitar parts and also build Martin’s solid body Sigma guitars. In 1973 Tokai started making the “Cat’s Eyes” Martin Acoustic replicas. In 1983 Tokai started making a metal body guitar called the Talbo which the band Devo played at one time. The Tokai “Les Paul Reborn” Les Paul replicas started around 1976 and around 1978 Tokai changed the name from “Les Paul Reborn” to “Love Rock Model”. Tokai also made Fender replicas starting in 1977 and Stevie Ray Vaughan played a “Tokai Springy Sound” Stratocaster replica at one time. Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top and Robert Fripp have also played Tokai guitars. Tokai have their own instrument making factory and have built guitars for lots of well known brands (OEM). Tokai (and Dyna Gakki) currently build the Fender Japan solid body models and have done so since 1997.
Having a rockin’ weekend.
Following the end of World War II the cultural influence of America on Japan was immense. Of course one area that this is really evident is in the development of music and guitar music in Japan. One artist who demonstrates this influence is Japanese legend Yuzo Kayama. Much like Elvis Presley he appeared in a series of movies. The following clip shows him playing Honky Tonk Party from one such movie – Young Guy in Hawaii (that is the English title, the Japanese title is Wakadaisho Hawaii). Very rock’n'roll!
Here is another video of Yuzo Kayama from 2006 – still going strong:
Yuzo Kayama was born in 1937 and rose to fame with the Wakadaisho series of movies in the 1960’s – from which the first clip was taken. He performed a distinctly Japanese form of psychedelic rockabilly music in the 1960s. His most famous song was Black Sand Beach which was covered by The Ventures. Not really my brand of lager, but some people out there like bud light.
Ok, thought we should kick things off with some of that classic “Dunedin Sound” Flying Nun magic. This track is She Speeds by the legendary Straitjacket Fits off the 1987 ep Life in One Chord. This track was later re-released on the UK version of the 1988 album Hail put out by Rough Trade.
There is a great post at the mixotheque blog with a whole bunch of New Zealand mp3’s you can download. Not sure about the copyright of those tracks, but if it gets people into the whole Flying Nun thing then it can’t be a bad thing. For an introduction to the Dunedin Sound and the Flying Nun story check out Stylus Magazine’s great feature In Love with Those Times: Flying Nun and the Dunedin Sound.
I never did see the Straitjacket Fits live although I did get to change Shayne Carter’s guitar strings during a gig in Christchurch back sometime in 1994 or 1995 when he was fronting Dimmer. A great claim to fame. I am not sure what effects pedals he was using on She Speeds but I assume he was using a hotcake. If anyone out there has some info about that his set up it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time to pop into the Aqua Effector Blog. We are planning to use this blog to have a bit of fun. We want to post different videos of various artists and musicians here to showcase some of the many different sounds out there. Of course we will feature effects pedals, because effects pedals are what this site is all about. But we also want to include videos of bands and musicians that rock, that get us going.
Being based in Japan, and selling mostly made in Japan effects pedals, it is natural that we also want to show off some of the more interesting and totally flavorsome acts that spring from the Land of the Rising Sun. One of the Aqua Effector team is from New Zealand and he has been a fan of what is known as the Flying Nun sound for more years than he cares to admit so New Zealand music will also get its chance to shine. And then there are the rock classics that one cant live without.
We also want to showcase new bands from around the world. Especially our customers:) So if you have bought a pedal from us, send us some pics (or some video that would rock) and we will put it up. We will also post when and where you are playing. If you haven’t bought one of our effects pedals yet, then that doesn’t matter – if we like what you do, then we may just write about you as well.
Shouts,
The Aqua Effector Team
