world's end girlfriend

starry starry night  Seven Idiots  Hurtbreak wonderland  The Lie Lay Land  Ending Story

World's End Girlfriend is a Japanese composer whose work blends complex sound structures with beautiful melodies, reaching from electronic glitch to jazz-infused rock to modern classical. Captivating, enthralling and like nothing you’ve heard before, WEG makes for a surprising yet central addition to London contemporary music label Erased Tapes. His brand new album ‘SEVEN IDIOTS’ will finally be released outside of Japan this April. Shifting seamlessly from catchy pop hooks to elaborate orchestrations and brutal IDM drones, it's an irregular pop album – filled with twists and turns that will have you reaching for the repeat button. At first recorded with vocals, he took the unusual composing method of building up the songs before erasing all of their vocal parts. By dismantling and re-constructing each track, WEG has produced a genre-defying album that truly transcends categorisation. World's End Girlfriend hails from Nagasaki Kyushu, Japan and currently resides in Tokyo. Fascinated by his father's classical music collection, he began his foray into sound at the tender age of 10, creating his early compositions on keyboard, guitar, tape recorders and computers. To date he has composed more than 600 songs, for the most part unreleased testaments of his early experimentations. WEG first came on Europe’s radar in 2002, invited to perform at Barcelona’s renowned Sonar Festival. On the back of the collaborative album ’Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain’ with Japanese post-rock band Mono, he embarked on extensive tours in Europe and North America in 2005, returning for an appearance at ATP Festival in 2008. Recently performing as a seven-piece ensemble, WEG's ostentious live show is currently selling out 800 capacity venues in Asia. Filmmakers seem smitten too, with the Go Shibata directed movie ‘Late Bloomer’ (2004) and the internationally renowned ‘Air Doll’ (2009) by award-winning director Hirokazu Koreeda both featuring soundtracks created by World’s End Girlfriend. The music video for ‘Les Enfants du Paradis’, taken from ‘SEVEN IDIOTS', has already received over 90.000 views on YouTube. Directed by Yohei Saito, this beguiling visual represents the high level of interest given to WEG's music, not widely available outside of Asia – until now. ‘The one album that would turn the entire music world on its head’ (8.5/10) #6 Top 100 Releases – The Silent Ballet (US) ‘There are few artists who can make a human being as overjoyed, ardent, or terrified as Katsuhiko Maeda through the sheer art of music. …there is no other conscientious artist in activity that crafts music in the same distinctive style as World’s End Girlfriend’ (8/10) – PopMatters (US) ’A defining statement and a full-length that has more than realised his potential to be one of the most unique and vital solo artists in modern music‘ (9/10) – Contact Music (UK) ‘World’s End Girlfriend sign to the label renowned for its recognition of innovative acts… and promises to blend sideways pop with strange and addictive hooks' – Bearded Magazine (UK) Katsuhiko Maeda(aka World's End Girlfriend)从十岁开始，沉醉於父亲的古典音乐收藏，12岁开始试著用吉他，钢琴，录音机开始作曲，到发行专辑之前，已经累积六百首以上的曲子。首张专辑「Ending Story」(2000)静谧、耽美而梦幻，听起来很有冰岛乐队mum的感觉，而WEG的吉他与弦乐，情感更为浓烈。第二张专辑「Farewell Kingdom」(2001)仍贴近电子音乐， hip hop节奏与拼贴、可爱Nintendo电玩旋律，最大的特色是弦乐与钢琴。近来，受到加拿大后摇滚乐队Godspeed You Black Emperor!影响的成分加深，编制更为壮丽。 World's End Girlfriend是目前备受曯目的日本新生代音乐家。2000年 他在半野喜弘（贾樟柯《站台》配乐者）厂牌发行首张专辑，后在Noble陆续出版Farewell Kingdom 与 Dream's End Come True，成功融合各类型音乐风格并传递出浓烈的悲剧性格与浪漫色彩，从而奠定他在techno、post-rock、avant pop 与electronica乐迷心目中的独特地位 。2002年WEG首度受邀至巴塞隆纳参加全球知名的音乐与多媒体艺术节Sonar。 去年夏天在台北、香港与澳门的三地巡回则让华人听众初次感受他峰回路转、充满电影感的现场演出。

World's End Girlfriend的音乐中带有明显的日系器乐摇滚风骨。就像Mono一样，他们同属于左手持刀右手执菊的维美残忍派。但WEG和Mono相比，要更为剑走偏锋一些。Mono还是流于比较传统的后摇模式，通常是中规中矩的用大气的氛围来烘托那种维美与残酷并存的气质，而往往缺乏细节上的亮点与突破。而WEG的音乐则显得更为高端一些。自小打下的扎实古典音乐功底为前田胜彦在日后将触角伸向电子、前卫、爵士等领域提供了丰富的养料。在这种开放性的大前提下，WEG音乐的基本要素是调性的电子声响以及追求结构的意向，而这些织理往往包含了丰富的故事性片段。我们还经常会听到受古典音乐影响的原音乐器的合奏。但我们能够辨别的，永远只是其中的一小部分。在前田胜彦所用音乐虚构出来的世界中，是没有任何定数可言的。在05年底，WEG与Mono联袂带来了一张以控诉战争与人性阴暗面为主题的概念专辑《Palmless Prayer Mass Murder Refrain》，双方均以大段弦乐为主线，比较温吞沉闷。面对战争与死亡，作为人类，基本上是无助的，因为前路并不能自由选择。我们生存在这里，大概只能以惭愧、谦卑、自省的心灵，检视人类深处的占有欲，祈望不会被拉扯出来，再次进入一次轮回。World's End Girlfriend就是以这个心态，来为这次与Mono的合作专辑而展开工作。双方都刻意隐退了那些签名式的电音及轰音，以相当纯净的小提玲及电结他互相交织出一张74分钟的网，小提琴的返覆演奏似是对死者的默悼，中段加入mono式不徐不疾的电结他，缓缓输送一种乐观天真的气息。到最后小提琴与结他的高潮融合，除了令听者出了一身冷汗，也感受到那种死亡与重生的拉锯。 在“世界末日女朋友”的世界里，听者永远都被拥抱在“仙境”的怀抱中，无论是天堂般美好的，还是地狱般冷酷的。强烈的电影原声质感总让你眼前如有真实胶片般光影闪烁。悲剧性格与浪漫色彩永远成双入对的出现，正是这种分裂的特质让人着迷不已。在参加这次“心碎仙境”之旅前，你一定要做好掉眼泪的准备。前田胜彦用时而磅礴时而单薄的弦乐，时而愉悦时而阴沉的钢琴，时而悠扬时而怪诞的萨克斯风，时而低调时而愤怒的吉他噪音，以及大量极具实验色彩的采样拼贴和Drum n’ Bass节拍，为你打造了一次跌宕起伏场面宏大的旅程。这里有无数无法预知的险境与深渊，但却无法阻止你一次次的靠近它，而每一次纵览全貌你都会得到全新的收获。