While the big streaming services are certainly conveinent and useful, (And surprisingly packed with idol music.) they are, at their core, in league with Satan. And not Satan in a cool metal kind of way, but Satan as in soulless and greedy corporate ogres. You know who’s not in league with Satan though? Bandcamp!
I’ve mentioned it a few times before, but I believe Bandcamp is the very best thing that’s happened to music distribution in the 21st century. I love it and surf it addictively, searching for neat stuff and often striking gold. And the other reason I love is because it’s a terrific company with ethical practices and noble motives. As you may know by now, in light of Covid’s destructive impact on the ability of musicians and music providers to earn a living, the website began “Bandcamp Fridays”, where on the first Friday of every month, the revenue earned on that day goes entirely to the artist. I’ve been trying to keep this when in mind when purchasing from the website, and since today is the first Friday of October, here’s a few idol and idol-adjacent offerings I felt compelled to share with you…
Okinawa Electric Girl Saya has been uploading the majority of her prolific catalog of experimental releases onto Bandcamp, and there’s a couple that especially stand out for me: Continue reading →
Daemon mentioned this MV in the weekender, but after watching it several times, I’ve felt compelled to write a further commentary on it, so here we go!
It oughta be clear by this point that our favorite avant-garde idol, Okinawa Electric Girl Saya, isn’t slowing down for anything, be it the challenges of a music career, or a virus, or simply exhaustion from working so hard all the time. Saya continues to be on total fire in all the right ways with her rapid fire creative output and inspirational can-do spirit. And with that, she dropped her 167th MV from her upcoming 83rd album (Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but give her time and she’ll get there.)…
<New song MV rhythm!>
Released at the end of April! Pre-release of the pop tune "Rhythm" from the Asian development album "NEO SAYA" in a MV! Please enjoy the new colors of the dance that dances with the sun on your side in the Tokyo sky!
— 沖縄電子少女彩 Okinawa Electric Girl Saya (@Tincy_saya) April 14, 2020
The song is called “Rhythm” and will be included on her upcoming release “NEO SAYA”. It’s a bit of a departure because it’s (almost) a straightforward pop song that could possibly be kind of a hit if the powers that be freed their minds just a little further….
Peeps, allow me to just apologize right off the bat, because this MV came just over week ago and I kinda sat on it cause real life sometimes keeps me from writing about cool stuff I’d really like to talk about. But hey, this glorious new offering from Okinawa Electric Girl Saya is still relevant and deserves more views, so here we are, dagnabbit!
＜彩階段MV第一弾！＞
非常階段+沖縄電子少女彩=彩階段！ 梶芽衣子！女囚さそり！『怨み節』が21世紀に蘇る！
HIJOKAIDAN + Okinawa electric girl Saya = SAYAKAIDAN! Meiko Kaji! Female prisoner scorpion! "Grudge" revives in the 21st century!
— 沖縄電子少女彩 Okinawa Electric Girl Saya(彩階段CDリリース！) (@Tincy_saya) March 1, 2020
Anyway, the world’s busiest avant-garde idol released what I believe is her 536th release last month, and at last, it’s a CD that we should’ve suspected was inevitable: That’s right, Saya has finally teamed up with the legendary “Kings of Noise”Hijokaidan! And yes, the the project is indeed referred to as “Sayakaidan” because that’s the traditional naming convention for all Hijokaidan/idol collaborations.
And we’ve got this evocative, beautifully shot MV to get the mood just right. Let’s go check it out…
Wow! Okinawa Electric Saya is so full-steam-ahead at this point that I really can’t keep up with her, but I’m trying my best! I joked before that I suspect that she doesn’t actually sleep, and that theory seems to only continue to hold up to the evidence at hand…
— 沖縄電子少女彩 Okinawa Electric Girl Saya 9/6〜11/22全国ツアー (@Tincy_saya) September 10, 2019
So our favorite black-clad-experimental-neo-art-idol from Okinawa dropped another MV today, her third video set piece promoting her recent album “Black Angel”. As per usual, it’s worth checking out and delving into a world significantly different than what anybody else in the game is exploring…
Okinawa Electric Girl Saya’s new album “Black Angel” is finally out, and she’s been working overtime doing shows and publicity to promote it! Not only is she consistently interesting and daring with her musical choices, but with a non-stop succession of live performances and a highly active social media presence, Saya has also emerged to be easily one of the most tirelessly committed artists on the scene right now. I’m really not sure if she actually sleeps or has a battery pack hidden under her black clothing.
— 沖縄電子少女彩 Okinawa Electric Girl Saya 8/21代々木23小岩 (@Tincy_saya) July 21, 2019
The avant-garde idol from Okinawa is also quite prolific, releasing a steady stream of experimental CDRs nearly monthly along with her regular output. A few of those works are even on Bandcamp, which we covered here a months ago. Her new album is a crowd-funded effort, featuring quite a number of collaborative guests helping this unique vision come out in what’s certainly her biggest push on the edge of the envelope yet. Saya already released one MV last week, and now a second one has already arrived! Here’s the most recent, a video for “Black Flower”…
It’s been far too long since we’ve talked about Okinawa Electric Girl Saya, but within the space of when we last discussed her idol/experimental art fusions and now, she’s truly been tireless in her pursuit of her craft. I’d say Saya is among the most relentlessly active people on the scene, with consistent live performances, new collaborations, (Hey Soze!) and recordings practically weekly if not daily. What may have begun as a casual dipping into the well of avant-garde audio has become a full-time embrace of the bolder and more outré edges of the musical spectrum…
For some time now, Saya’s been releasing monthly CDRs of her noise experiments that she sells at shows, but these releases are a bit hard to get hold of outside of Japan. If you recall in the previous article, I mentioned that Saya has a unique aura that would do quite well with the Bandcamp business model, and I’m pleased to tell you that currently there are indeed some selections available at last.
Aside from her own self-released works, Saya’s been offering a few of her collaborations via Terminal Explosion, a label based around noise, industrial, hip-hop, and underground electronica run by a mysterious beat-maker known only as Ax. Currently, there are two available CDR (or digital) releases and a collaboration album that you can pre-order, along with some nice little merch items!
The first is “Dischord”, an EP that features a beautifully unique take on a Okinawan folk song..
The second is “Mayhem” , a series of chaotic but compelling noise-blasts that go hard…
And soon-to-come is a full-length album titled “Chastity”, which you can pre-order now…
The digital downloads for “Dischord” and “Mayhem” are “name your price”, or you can buy them as CDRs for ¥1,000 each with (very reasonable) international shipping available. The album “Chastity” has a pre-determined price digitally, but also has a few tangible package options that include a t-shirt, a badge, or even all three recordings as a bundle, so check out the options and see what looks good to you!
In addition to these cool releases, the ever-prolific noise maker is also currently about 80% done crowdfunding another entirely new album called “Black Angel” that as of this writing, only has about two days left! The funding site, Campfire, is intended to be used only in Japan, but it is possible to lend your support by using a service like Tenso to serve as your “Japanese address”, so there is a window to help if you wish…
— 沖縄電子少女彩 Okinawa Electric Girl Saya 4/30までクラファン中！ (@Tincy_saya) April 28, 2019
And you know what the other cool thing is? We’re not even half-way through the year yet, so it’s realistic to expect that this flurry of output for 2019 isn’t even close to being finished yet! What else will Saya do, and who else will she collaborate with? I don’t think she’s conceding any limitations on what she’ll accomplish. That’s what keeps an artist artist fresh and exciting, so let’s all enjoy where the trip takes us, and support her wherever we can.
Okinawa Electric Girl Saya is one of those artists we’ve been intending to cover on Homicidols for quite a while (Like at least a year.) but criminally, we haven’t gotten to it until now. My apologies for the wait, but the truth is, that while I’ve been digging what she’s been up to, I felt like I never knew enough about her to flesh out an article. But in recent days I decided that it was simply past-due to give this avant-garde idol a feature she undoubtably deserves. Saya is actually still a bit of an enigma to me, but that’s not a bad thing, and we should embrace the mystery. We’ve certainly done that with other idols who fall into the experimental realm before, after all!
Saya traces her home base to the lovely island of Okinawa. This is fascinating already, because I don’t really picture experimental music coming from such a laid-back, easy-going region of Japan. On the other hand, Okinawa also has a reputation for fiercely independent people, so maybe it does make perfect sense. This island is where the idol group she originated from, Tincy, was created. Continue reading →
You must be logged in to post a comment.