Jungle Indie Rock
by Mar de Miguel Bonet
Japanther is the music project founded in 2001 by Ian Vanek and Matt Reilly. The two met at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn while studying art and they have worked since then on an extensive discography and an exciting life.
With a mix of punk, rock and quite of independent art, this duo has made of their concerts an indispensable point of reference if you have the chance to attend. In their shows, anything can happen and anything can fly. Just open your mind and come with me to know and enjoy this amazing band from New York.
Friday, November 16 and we have a meeting with Japanther, a punk rock band from New York. Galician band Telephones Rouges are opening for them. Signed to Mama Vynila Records and Matapadre, Telephone Rouges are presenting their album Dissent, an album that I recommend and is available at their Bandcamp page.
And then it’s the turn for Japanther, the New York duo that brought me to Nasti Club with lot of illusion to see them and to be with them. The public is quite expectantly, general smile on every face of a crowd which you can see from far that loves the band. And there were many people there, many of those became fans of Japanther after this show.
Japanther will surprise you by the way they play, with that security, you can feel lots of hours of stage on their backs. This band has spent years sweating the shirt in all kinds of venues and festivals. And you can tell this from the very first second after seeing them playing.
Japanther is a duo and therefore very limited at the time to compose and perform their songs. But surprisingly, Japanther has an extraordinary ability to harness all their resources, both at their studio recordings and live performances. Many bands complain of not having this or that, whether they can’t not bring to their live performances what they want, because of a lack of resources or other excuses. But the fact is that you just need some creativity to do what ever you want, and Japanther knows this very well. In other words, being a duo is not a handicap for the band.
Their music is a soft punk rock, very close to surf music, with very fresh and kind sounds. Even on tracks that might sound more melancholic, you will find
some irony, so at the end the result is generally cheerful. Their shows, of course are really dynamic and funny. As they said in their interview with us, at a Japanther’s show anything can
happen.
On more than one occasion Ian ended on the floor, or parts of the drums fell by one side or the other, but for them this is nothing. It is part of the party, and the music and Japanther shows are for fun.
They are very friendly, incredibly friendly which breaks with the topic of punk music and the unfriendly attitude adopted by some bands. No, Japanther are not like that. They have their feet on the ground and they are very eager to please.
Their audience is also in this line and they go to see them knowing that they will have lot of fun. A show that everybody liked and I recommend, if you have the chance to spend some time with the two Japanthers, don’t miss it. It’s worth the time.
