Afrirampo to split

Late last night, I received an email from my absolute Japanese noise sweethearts, the female duo Afrirampo.

The email contained both sad and happy news. The sad was the fact that the two ladies have finally chosen to call it a day. Boo! The happy is that they've decided to celebrate the fact with a joyful, THREE or FOUR hour-long, live-to-air concert that will be streamed over at U Stream, starting 19:00 Japanese time (which I believe is similar to Australian time). Don't miss it! These ladies are incredible! And I still haven't forgiven the massed ranks of the Brisbane photographers for not getting one single shot of me carrying around Oni on my shoulders at their Powerhouse concert last year.

Here's the email that Pika sent me.

hi ! mr Everett san !

this is PIKA from afrirampo. I met you in Australia so hot time !

we will  breack up AFRIRAMPO this month !!!

and We will do live show in internet !!!6/26

please see it !!!

thank you so much !!!

I hope I see you somewhere some day again !!!

chao !!!

pika

Dear.

ALL AFRIRAMPO's FRIENDS ☆ !!!

We will play UST live fainal afrirampo show on japan time  6/26 2010　19:00~ maybe for 3 ~4 house. 

Please check it !!! →　http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bm-records-tv

please tell to friends !!!  some one !!! one !!!

Please Don't miss it!!!

MUST check It !!! →　www.afrirampo.com

ONI PIKA We are very very happy !

Thank you so much !☆！☆！☆ HONMA NI ARIGATOU !!!

ALL NEED IS LOVE 

AFRIRAMPO  miracule lucky girls☆

ONI and PIKA

Here's what I wrote about them for The Guardian.

I saw one of the greatest gigs ever, last week. It had all the elements: spontaneity, disruption, fiercely hammered drums, stage costumes, feedback, apples, and guitars wielded as instruments of ridicule. It began with the two members of Japanese noise-explosion-psychedelicistsAfrirampo parading barefoot around a mostly empty Brisbane Powerhouse, while an audience unfamiliar with them craned their necks for a better look. It ended with the two members being paraded around a near-packed Brisbane Powerhouse on the shoulders of the audience, their converts filled with delight and awe.


The gig peaked with a splatter of short, mischievous "songs" that consisted of Pika (drums) and Oni (vocals) swapping screams and welters of noise, before dropping into an intensely sweet, 20-minute tribal chant that eventually lost all need for instrumentation and echoes of which were carried into the humid night. In between, there were bursts of virtuoso percussion that might've shamed Chris Corsano and shimmering, spaced-out guitar jams that would have made their musical soulmates Acid Mothers Temple proud.


There was banter – mostly poking gentle fun at the audience's problems understanding Japanese culture – and there were feather boas. It was like the realisation of riot grrrl two decades later, from an entirely weird and magical point of view. Audience members were heard to exclaim afterwards – in a good way – that witchcraft must have been used as the crowd was so under Afrirampo's spell.


The music incorporated disparate styles, sometimes furiously. On occasions, it was like watching a sped-up, more intricate and totally rockin' version of the 5,6,7,8s, the house band from Kill Bill. At other times, it made me angry at the sheer gall of most rock bands, the way that they think getting up on stage is enough in itself, that somehow we, the audience, should be impressed they've managed to turn the amps on all by themselves, and that they need to do nothing more than stand there and play.


No, no no! You're up on stage! So perform for us. Perform! And remember the golden mantra: spontaneity is at the heart of all great rock music.