It has just been announced that following the success of Half Japanese’s catalogue reissue series the band have re-signed to the Fire Records stable and are currently recording a new album.
November will bring the final volume of the extensive four-part Half Japanese box sets “Volume 4: 1997-2001” – this will include the albums “Bone Head”, “Heaven Sent” and “Hello”. Showcasing a range of experimental pop smarts and noisy punk bite, these albums see the band surrounding Jad Fair’s musings on subjects from hopeless monsters to hopeless romantics with everything from sharp melodies to 64 minute work outs, with a Primal Scream cover thrown in there for good measure.
Heaven Sent was first released in 1997 and was a live recording for a radio broadcast on Radio 5 VPRO’s De Avonden:
Fire will also be reissuing Half Japanese’s “Boo!”, capturing their 1992 European barnstorming tour, just in time for Halloween. The record features a removable mask (no strings attached!) designed by the one and only Jad Fair.
Issued for the first time on vinyl on 16th October, ‘Boo!’ was recorded at a pivotal time for the influential act, as they were gaining international recognition from the likes of Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Teenage Fanclub. These recordings capture the fierce and lively performances from their shows in Switzerland, Holland and Germany, highlighting all the things that are so amazing about the band. Europe was never quite the same after these shows!
Jad Fair will be performing at this year’s Incubate Festival, alongside other Fire bands, in a specially curated segment of the popular outsider arts festival in Holland. More information, and further dates, to follow…
Live dates:
Jad Fair w/ Norman Blake – 19 Sept: Incubate Festival, Tilburg, Netherlands
Half Japanese – 28 Nov: BBMIX, Boulogne-Billancourt, France