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Japancakes is an instrumental project formed in 1997 in Athens (Georgia) by
Eric Berg, a big fan of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar.
Legend has it that, originally, Berg assembled this ensemble to play a
Steve Reich-ian
minimalistic composition made of only a single chord for one hour.
If I Could See Dallas (Kindercore, 1999) is a sprawling exhibition of
that method, although not quite as austere and uncompromising.
Thanks to pedal steel player John Neff, Japancakes often sounds like a
country version of Slint or a meeting of
Tortoise and
of Godspeed You Black Emperor.
From the same recording sessions the band produced the
four-track 40-minute EP Down the Elements (Kindercore, 2000).
The Sleepy Strange (Kindercore, 2001) contains seven lengthy jams that
were fully improvised with no rehearsals.
This time the cello of Heather McIntosh and the keyboards of Todd Kelly
join the pedal steel in directing the
hypnotic, droning and symphonic sound.
The combo (Eric Berg on guitar, John Neff on pedal steel guitar, Heather McIntosh on cello and keyboards, Nick Bielli on bass guitar, Brant Rackley on drums)
achieves an almost transcendental fusion of
post-rock, alt-country and atmospheric instrumental rock
(Calexico) on
Waking Hours (Warm, 2004).
Giving Machines (Darla, 2007), containing eight gentle instrumentals,
is another dreamy work.
They also recorded a full version of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless (Darla, 2007).
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Moreno Marcon)
Japancakes e' un progetto musicale
formato nel
1997 ad Athens(Georgia) da Eric Berg ,un grande fan del
sitar-player
indiano Ravi Shankar.La leggenda dice che,originalmente,Berg
assemblo'
questo complesso per suonare una composizione minimalistica Steve
Reich-iana
fatta di un singolo accordo per un'ora.
If I Could See Dallas (Kindercore, 1999) e'
un'esibizione
allargata di quel metodo,sebbene non abbastanza austera e
intransigente.Grazie
al pedal-steel player John Neff, i Japancakes spesso suonano come una
versione
country degli Slint o un'incontro di Tortoise e di Godspeed You Black
Emperor.Dalle stesse sessioni di registrazione la band produce la
traccia
quattro di quaranta minuti raccolta sull' EP Down the
Elements
(Kindercore, 2000).
The Sleepy Strange (Kindercore, 2001) contiene
sette lunghissime jams che erano pienamente improvvisate senza
prove.Questa
volta il violoncello di Heather McIntosh e le tastiere di Todd
Kelly
uniscono il pedal-steel in direzione di un ipnotico,bordonico e
sinfonico
sound.
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