A&e / Oi!

Sonig

AE are back, sort of. In 2004, Emiko Ota (Mami Chan Band, Sakura, Tornaod, Urban Sax, Villa St Michel) and Andrew Sharpley (Stock, Hausen & Walkman, Dummy Run) were asked to change the name of their band by lawyers representing Warp artists Autechre (who apparently claim legal ownership of the ligature). So it goes. ®, A&E, what’s in a name anyway, it’s all about the music, right?  Those who recall the anarchic electro-punk of the duo’s 2003 debut, Bootleg, are in for a surprise. Of course it’s possible that this meld of traditional Japanese singing, deft jazz guitar and Gameboy chirping could surprise a lot of people. Junkshop keyboards and punk drums? Drum’n’bass mayhem and Hawaiian lap steel? Oi! is rife with such fiendish concoctions.  In cross-pollinating sounds from different eras, while exploiting a century of popular music, this “no-genre” band has in fact created a new one. Though A&E create “meta-music”, or music about music, by placing familiar elements outside their original contexts, they’re not overly concerned with culture- clash made into sound - the primary focus is music, not music theory.  On Oi!, pleasant ballads drift into daringly arranged pop songs and at any moment conventional playing can yield to wild experimenting. And these troubadours sing in many tongues: four of the tracks are electric interpretations of Japanese folk songs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries (an era in which Japan opened itself up to western influences). Together, Ota and Sharpley create a montage of stylistic elements, that whether coherent or absurd, has to be taken seriously.  • Follow-up to 2003’s ground-breaking debut, Bootleg  • The artists formerly known as Æ  • A&E is Emiko Ota (Mami Chan Band, Sakura, Tornaod, Urban Sax, Villa St Michel) and Andrew Sharpley (Stock, Hausen & Walkman, Dummy Run)  • No exports outside North America

• SHARE

  •  Twitter
  •  Stumbleupon
  •  Digg
  •  del.icio.us
  •  Facebook
  •  Mixx