As the debut EP of coldwave/synth-pop duo Greenwave Beth makes the rounds, they treat us to a photo diary of their Japan tour.
If you ask me there's a severe lack of cold and impersonal post-rock/synthpop tunes in the Australian music sphere these days. We're lucky to have the likes of GREENWAVE BETH crafting some minimal, multifaceted bops that are as extroverted as they are introverted.
Consisting of Charles Rushforth and Will Blackburn of alt-rock group Flowertruck, Greenwave Beth is pop stripped back to the bare bones. There's dancey drum machine loops and ear-worm synth hooks, but they run underneath manic, shouty vocals. Kind of like if David Byrne, was in Suicide instead of Alan Vega. This was best shown on their debut EP People in Agony back in June - a four track release with enough cold bleeps and bloops to keep any New Order die-hard happy.
Greenwave Beth recently took their magic on tour to Japan, taking in the sights and sounds while honing their craft abroad. As their debut EP makes the rounds we thought we'd ask live drummer Will Blackburn to share a few words and photos about what it's like to experience Japan the Greenwave Beth way.
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"Shinkansens. Peachies. 5 dinners. 5 shows. Baseball. Coinage. Last trains at midnight. More coinage. 180 yen everything. Cat Island. Art Island. Forest. Beach. Tyrell. Ando. Wi-fi. Okonomiyaki. Takoyaki. Borrowed leads. Electric onsens. Straw mats. Black sand live burials. Temples. Pachinko. Thousands of years of tradition apexed by the sheer ubiquity of 7-11s. And also we went to Japan."
Trash beach off the bottom of Kyushu
Rabbit, snake, hawk, Lawsons. The food pyramid at Osaka Castle.
The Karaage Grumble in Oita
First trains at 6am
Beauty sleeps on a ferry to Naoshima
Lapping the island on electric bikes
Stove-top-table serving Okonomiyaki in Osaka
Birthday bath
Everything is smaller in Japan except for Ryan’s Reynolds
Ferrari featuring the world’s no.4 air guitarist on real guitar
Hangman in Tokyo
More cats than cars on the bottom island
Show 1: Kyoto supporting a 70-year-old Cowboy Hendrix
IMAGES BY GREENWAVE BETH, CHRISTIE CRAWFORD AND JANAE BEER
INTRODUCTION BY MAX LEWIS
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