Today, Brooklyn’s premier psych-synth jazz trio announced their Japanese tour, which kicks off at the end of this month. The new tour dates come on the heels of Guardian Alien‘s announcement (in Japanese) of their upcoming Japan-only release Elf In µ.
On the surface, spreading the news of a country-specific release in that country’s native tongue makes sense—convey a message in the form most accessible to your target audience. That common sense practice did factor into their announcement but we know the mind of GA’s Greg Fox wouldn’t be satisfied by purely surface-level thinking. “It’s so easy these days to communicate directly and fluidly with people, even if nobody speaks the same language,” explained Fox.
“Google Translate makes things sounds very poetic. I like that. The translation is rarely accurate or correct but people can still understand each other and bridge the communication barrier. Proto-futuristic communication. It’s exciting.“
The poetry of translation plays a big role in Elf In µ. To create the Japanese-only album, Greg edited audio from Guardian Alien’s live performance on WFMU this past Valentine’s Day, reconfiguring his muted snare beats, Bernard Gann’s flickering guitar riffs and Alexandra Drewchin’s swelling, ethereal vocals and synth work into a new expression of instrumental experimentation.
Guardian Alien’s Japanese tour kicks off August 29 in Osaka. Scroll down for full tour dates. Elf In µ comes out August 20 on Tokyo label Plancha Records.
Guardian Alien (+ Greg Fox Solo) Japanese Tour
August:
29 Osaka – Conpass w/ Nanao Traveler, Seiichi Yamamoto, sand Toshima NANI & more
30 Osaka – Conpass/club STOMP w/ big, Madegg, Buffalomckee & more *
September:
01 Kyoto – Kyoto Metro w/ Oorutaichi, Soft and Water Fai
02 Nagoya – Second Vision w/Gagakirise, The Act We Act and Video Girl
03 Hamamatsu – G-Side w/ Gagakirise and more
04 Tokyo – WWW w/ Nanao travelers, 433 aka field self-taught, Dustin Wong, Akira Sakata & more
05 Tokyo – TBD
06 Tokyo – TBD
07 Tokyo – Soup w/ Greg Fox + Dustin Wong duo, kuruucrew & more*
08 Tokyo – Shimokitazawa THREE w/ Gagakirise and more
* = Greg Fox solo show
