The music scene has always been linked with fashion. Everything may be a bit too contrived today with music videos turning into sets for product placement exercises and singers faking happy collaborations with fashion houses and brands. Yet throughout the decades iconic looks favoured by different stars and bands shaped and coded the styles of entire generations of people. Shonen Knife are among the few bands that managed to preserve their own styles and aesthetic, musically and stylistically influencing their fans and other bands as well. Currently taking their 20th album - "Overdrive" - on their European tour, the band is going to storm Glasgow's CCA tonight.
Inspired by 1960s girl groups and punk-pop bands, the all-female trio was formed in Osaka in 1981 by sisters guitarist-vocalist Naoko and drummer Atsuko Yamano (who also designed the band's outfits) plus bassist Michie Nakatani.
Though The Ramones were among their main inspirations, their catchy and energetic melodies, silly lyrics revolving around pets, candies, cookies, and sushi, and a strong do-it-yourself ethos allowed them to carve their own happy and positive niche in the music scene.
The band played its first gig in 1982, releasing their debut album "Burning Farm" on Zero Records the following year.
In the mid-'80s they started appealing to the American underground rock scene, while in the UK John Peel played their tracks on BBC radio.
Around the same time Shonen Knife joined Sonic Youth as guests at the Muse Hall in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, but their popularity rose in the 1990s when they found an unlikely supporter in Kurt Cobain, and ended up playing with Nirvana on their "Nevermind" tour.
Their punk music with a kawaii twist proved successful also for more commercial purposes: a song called "Buttercup (I'm a Super Girl)" appeared indeed on the cartoon series "The Powerpuff Girls: Heroes & Villains".
As the years passed, there were quite a few changes in the main band line up that now comprises Naoko Yamano (lead vocals, guitar), Ritsuko Taneda (bass, backing vocals), Emi Morimoto (drums, backing vocals).
The band's latest album "Overdrive", released in April, moves from their original rock/punk inspirations, and features tracks such as "Shopping" in which trivial lyrics may actually be hinting at more serious issues.
The band image has always been a sort of mix of '60s dresses with a DIY and at times grunge edge. At times they look more Space Age in a Pierre Cardin kind of way, at others they adopt revised versions of Yves Saint Laurent's iconic "Mondrian" dress.
Having played with Scottish bands Eugenius and BMX Bandits, the Glasgow gig will resonate with the local audience and, hopefully, some local musicians will also play some tracks with them.
As a Saturday soundtrack I'm going to leave you with "It's a New Find", a Shonen Knife track celebrating the power of looking "hip in old ugly clothes". Enjoy.
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