You know by now that Fujiya & Miyagi aren’ the latest group out of Kyoto – the Brighton, UK, based group thought referencing the Karate Kid and the Japanese record player would give them a get out of touring and press duties card. As it turns out, they were wrong. A series of three 10 inch singles on Nuphonic-offshoot Tirk delivered lots of great reviews, plus the dreaded interview and gig schedule. Those singles, and now an album that compiles all three plus an extra song, show the band as dedicated fans of Can’ late “70s disco krautrock experiments. The band’ first album, Electro Karaoke in the Negative Style, was released on Brighton’ ironically titled Massive Advance Records to general acclaim, but it wasn’ until they signed with the larger Tirk, following a chance encounter with the label’ boss, that the band started to draw a wider audience. Their first single for Tirk set a kind of template, pairing an extended instrumental that channelled Can through a post-rock prism (Conductor 71) with a kraut disco groove featuring Best’s nonchalant vocals and a Teutonic backing singer (In One Ear and Out the Other). The next two singles followed likewise. It’s not only advantageous for the label’ marketing team (“We can sell it to underground heads and the Modular kids too!’) but reflects two sides of the same coin. It’s tempting to dismiss F&M’ pop moments in favour of the extended jams, but psychedelia and pop have always gone hand in hand, and here it just serves to heighten the contrast.
Listen:
Fujiya Miyagi – In One Ear and Out the Other
Fujiya Miyagi – Conductor
