The year that post-rock broke continues with a visit from Japanese quartet TOE. Within the genre's landscape, TOE boast a distinct but restrained sound – lacking Mogwai’s violent shifts in volume, Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s penchant for epic dramatics, and Mono’s otherworldly beauty. Rather, their style is marked by clean guitar tones and subtle shifts in tempo, melodies and dynamics – the type of band that are thus considered ‘underground,’ even by those within the underground world of post-rock.
“On [2009’s] For Long Tomorrow, we started using acoustic guitars, vibraphones and Rhodes [pianos],” says guitarist Yamazaki Hirokazu. “We are in the process of making our new record and it will still have our sound but there might be slightly more electronic stuff going on.”
Boasting a conventional rock lineup of guitarists Hirokazu and Mino Takaaki, bassist and drummer Kashikura Takashi, the group have amassed an international following with standout discs like 2003’s Songs, Ideas We Forgot. Members of TOE started their own independent record label Machu Picchu, signing peers like Mouse on Keys. Last year, their records were reissued in America culminating in a first tour of the country.
“We were so grateful that almost all of our shows on that tour sold out,” Hirokazu says. “Although we might have a more Asian sound than similar bands [in the US], we still felt that the crowds were really into our songs. We can’t wait to go back once our new record is out.”
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Now approaching their 15th anniversary, the band formed in 2000 by accident – the result of four friends playing in different groups that started jamming with each other.
“We just wanted to do something different from the music we were playing before,” Hirokazu explains. “We never wanted to be an instrumental group, but it just kinda happened. When we started writing songs, we didn’t have a singer so we really focused on the melodies and dynamics within the song. We all felt they were good so we just continued without adding vocals.”
In a genre marked by frequent member changes, TOE has been a model of stability. Hirokazu attributes this to the band’s democratic nature, which extends to their songwriting, and the fact that they are individually busy with other projects and their families. “The main thing is that all of us have input in the band,” he says.
“We are all different characters with different personalities, but when it comes to music all of us have a place within the band. It’s a great outlet for us and after all these years we still get along very well with each other.”
That bond is something the band draw on for their shows. And while their records may be defined by restraint, Hirokazu promises that the live shows are an altogether different beast.
“Our shows are intense and we try to push the live experience to the maximum,” Hirokazu says. “We like to play in a circle so that we can communicate and feel each other. As a result, we play in a very emotional way. The loud parts become even louder.”
// MAO Livehouse, RMB160-200. Sep 5, 9pm-late
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