Introducing Interview: Tokyo Taboo

GIHE faves Tokyo Taboo have long been blowing us away with their immense, riotous live performances and seething energy, and so it’s with excitement that we heard they’re set to release their second album very soon!

Taken from the album, latest single ‘No Pleasure Only Pain’ rages with the band’s trademark ferocity as whirring hooks race alongside tremendous beats and the immense power of front-woman Dolly Daggerz’ vocals.

We caught up with Tokyo Taboo to find out more…

Hi Tokyo Taboo, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
We are Tokyo Taboo – a punk, rocker duo with weird visual ideas, lots of energy and acrobatics on stage!

How did you initially get together and start creating music?
Dolly auditioned Mickey when she was in search of a guitarist for her solo project. There was an old guy who made up his only chords, a guy who couldn’t play guitar at all and Mickey. The rest is history!

Your new single ‘No Pleasure Only Pain’ is out this week – can you tell us what it’s all about?
Dolly’s lyrics came from her realisation that she was sabotaging herself with alcohol and lusting after the wrong kinds of things that cause only pain. The song is about when you know something or someone is wrong for you but you still can’t stop thinking about how good it would feel to have it/them. Animal impulses basically that drive addiction and bad behaviour!

You’ve been compared to the likes of Deap Vally and Juliette & The Licks, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Madonna is a massive influence for Dolly along with Freddie Mercury and Bowie. Dolly is a big believer in the importance of commanding a stage and bewitching an audience! Any performers who are compelling to watch with that sense of unpredictable showmanship are going to be a massive influence on us.

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
We put on a lot of shows with other bands (especially female fronted acts). When we are putting together a line up we like to choose female fronted acts over male as the industry is so male dominated. We love to go to see live music and performance of any kind. Dance, aerialists, acrobats – all art inspires us.

We’ve been blown away by your live show many times! But can you explain what fans can expect from your live shows?
Dolly likes to push herself to the max. The last show we did in Canada involved Dolly doing a bridge (one handed back bend) whilst singing the final two minutes of the last song, high notes and all. She likes to jump on things (she climbs a lot on the bar or on high tables). She also likes to climb up poles and hang upside down off them. Our set is high energy with a lot of audience participation so it’s not one you can stand back and be detached from.

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new/upcoming bands you’d recommend we check out?
We are big fans of Polly Pikpockets, Yur Mum and Healthy Junkies, and are planning another show with all three in 2019! Watch this space!

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
The music industry sucks and will always suck for bands starting out as there are so many sharks out there that you need to blacklist and so many lessons to be learnt that you only learn from going at it! It is, of course, difficult to get noticed but perseverance is everything!

Finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Tokyo Taboo?
Our single launch night is on the 29th of November at Fest in Camden. We are then releasing our new music video the following week. We have been spending a lot of time at the moment booking festivals and planning for 2019. I don’t think we’ll stop working on music until Christmas Eve. But we love it so who’s complaining?

Huge thanks to Tokyo Taboo for answering our questions!

‘No Pleasure Only Pain’ is out 30th November, and you can catch Tokyo Taboo live at their single launch at Camden Fest on Friday 29th, along with Bugeye, Thunder On The Left and HAWXX and Bled The Fifth.

 

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Tallies

Toronto-based four piece Tallies have announced their self-titled debut album will be released on January 11th 2019 via Fear Of Missing Out Records. The band have shared the lead single from the record ‘Beat the Heart’ online – and it’s a dreamy slice of catchy indie-pop.

We caught up with band members Sarah & Dylan to ask about their “Five Favourites” – five artists or albums that have influenced their songwriting technique. Check out their responses below…

1. The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
I heard The Smith’s a few years ago, for the first time at this cafe that I used to work at. It was a sound that was very new to me, and I can only describe it as “the sound that I was looking for”. When I heard Jonny Marr’s guitar playing, I knew that was the sound I wanted to play. There is a 60’s influence in their songwriting which I really appreciate and love the humourous lyrics. The Queen is Dead has a great contrast between harsh lyrics & beautiful melodies. The sample at the beginning of the album sets this odd mood followed by a eerie whistle before the floor tom starts the rhythm. The build up gets me really pumped up. (Dylan)

2. Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas 
When listening to Cocteau Twins, they make you feel like you’re spinning in a room full of dancing light and feeling light-shadows on your skin, without getting dizzy. They have mastered a sound of constant motion that stands still. The production on this record has incredible depth, while having complete focus. It’s surprising how little synths are used on this record that’s so full of dreamy textures. The reverb delays, and chorus used on the guitars makes them sound like completely different instruments and is so intriguing. We first heard Heaven or Las Vegas from friends of ours a couple years ago and haven’t stopped playing it since. (Sarah & Dylan)

3. Aztec Camera – High Land, Hard Rain 
When I came across this album, it sounded so familiar, like it was already a great influence on me. Realizing after talking to my dad, that he used to play this album around the house all the time when I was growing up. That explains the familiarity. He gave me his vinyl form the 80’s to add to my collection which I listen to all the time. I play “Oblivious” at every party I go to. There is no one else that can pull off holding one note for that long in a guitar solo, making for the best air-guitar performance. The instrumentation on this record has a Latin vibe that I really like and is mainly acoustic-guitar driven. (Dylan)

4. The Sundays – Reading, Writing & Arithmetic
The sounds created on this album are just heavenly and so easy to listen to. The melodies are unique and graceful. I first heard The Sundays while watching the 90’s flick, “Fear” with young Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon. I fell in-love with the crystal sounding jangly guitars and Harriet Wheeler’s voice instantly. The songwriting reminds me of the soft essence and the fragilty of a butterfly. Wheeler’s heartfelt sharing of personal feelings makes me feel like she’s in the room reading from her diary. Reminding us that we’re not alone in sinking emotions. (Sarah)

5. Air – Moon Safari 
I have this album on repeat constantly. It’s the perfect background music to any setting. Each song has so much depth and the lyrics are always stunning. I am quite the late-bloomer on this band. I just heard them for the first time this year after Stephen (bass) bought a bundle of thrift store CD’s to play in our new van. I’ll never forget the first time listening, how each song shocked me, “Woah, there’s so many instruments on this track.” “How did they do that?” I knew that this record was going to be inspiring just 30 seconds in. I want to make music like Air, music that makes your emotions tingle and spiral in so many directions, yet sounding so chill and simple at the same time. (Sarah)

Follow Tallies on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Alex Gray

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LIVE: Wolf Girl, Charmpit & Sex Jokes @ Rough Trade Nottingham, 15.11.18

A Fan Club show is always a treat not only for being brilliantly curated, but for its ‘everyone welcome’ party vibe. Tonight we’re getting three acts who give out summer-esque sounds about winter-cold feelings, and back up that sense of belonging by adding to a tribe made of those who don’t comfortably fit.

Opening tonight is Derby’s Sex Jokes – one of the many musical guises of Shelley Jane Newman (also of Mighty Kids) – who has been one of my favourite acts to debut this year, and with each performance I’m a little more deeply in love. The set opens with ‘Talk’, the only track available online, a power pop anthem with voluminous guitar and “bored-of-your-bullshit” vocals. It brings in influences from Rilo Kiley to Jucifer, Tacocat to Pillow Queens, but the result is recognisable as being very much Sex Jokes’ own sound.

Charmpit are, well, charming. With laid-back chat between songs and a definite surf-pop vibe, they bring the sunshine and some gorgeous dual-harmonies which evoke the best of ‘60s sound. Recent single ‘Squirrel Vision’ and ‘Summer Up My Skirt’ mix the rough-edged guitar with the back and forth mid-song chat of The Shangri-Las, before the chants break back in. It’s the mix of the punk attitude of The Slits with the harmonies and sing-a-long hooks of The Ronettes which make Charmpit instantly recognisable and irresistibly catchy.

Charmpit

Headlining are Wolf Girl – and while the two opening acts have set the bar high, they vault it with ease with a set consisting of the best from new album Every Now and Then. These songs are full of determination and vulnerability, intelligent lyrics that are relatable, not aloof, and melodies that cut through you in the best possible way.

There’s plenty of West Coast surf-pop here too, and the sort of wistful melancholy wrapped in jangling melody that Upset and The Muffs have, but it’s the lyricism which sticks with you. Lines like, “Don’t want to get to thirty without learning to drive / Don’t want to look back having felt barely alive” become visceral through their resonance rather than through the words themselves, and while slacker-pop and problematic adulting are dealt with, so are themes of identity and love; making this a set of songs unafraid of the big and small details of life.

Most of all, Wolf Girl, like Charmpit and Sex Jokes before them tonight, are about belonging even when you feel you don’t belong. All three bands are suave and scrappy, giving a night full of 60’s pop-influenced hooks with the sweetness razor-edged by grating guitars, and wry but honest lyrics sung in dual-vocals to amplify the personal and political. These are our experiences echoed back from the stage, these are our thoughts and feelings honed into three minute punk pop chunks that make the heart soar and the feet dance. This gig, these bands, are the sound of the new underground and the real punk spirit and tonight they delivered in style.

Words: Sarah Lay
Photo Credit: Sarah Lay

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