Band of the Week: LITE

[27 四月 - 3 五月]
LITE
Sounds Like: Math Rock
Drinking Buddies: Piglet, Giraffes? Giraffes!, Minus the Bear
Synopsis: 狂気のロック・ミュージック! 十分に言われる。
Makes You Want To...: ギター; 考える; 狂気に行きなさい。
[マイスペース]



This month, Voilà! is covering foreign bands!
1 日の週、聞くべき1 バンド。典型的なルーチンを知っている。
This week, the featured artist is LITE.


We've been to Sweden. We've been to Iceland. We've even been to South Africa. With Voilà!'s band of the week articles, all this month, we've glanced at some of the wildly eclectic, extremely unique music that comes from the rest of the world. And oddly enough, all of this music is in the English language, easily one of the most commonly spoken languages throughout the world. And once again, our opportunity at voyeurism to our foreign friends is coming to an end. But never fear, for there is one more glimpse set for us.

This is a band who should speak Japanese. But they don't sing. They don't need to. Language is not an advantage to their music - it is simply another cumbersome addition, and moreso, an unnecessary addition. Their name is LITE. Hailing from Tokyo, this math rock quartet has begun to make their name in the music world through a progressive sense of independent thinking and vibrant individuality. And it's working.

Their ensemble had its beginnings quite a long time ago, back in 2003, playing here and there, crafting their art and style. 4 years later, they're prepared to unleash a maelstrom of sound that they call music. Very intricate, very exact, very planned, LITE plays their own version of modern, instrumental math rock. Hasty and unrestrained, LITE pours out a fast paced and erratic, yet well constructed guitar taps and drum beats. Musical meals served in perfect portions, fast by themselves, but filling together. It's not a chance for your imagination to run wild, but for the imagination to enter a full-on sprint. LITE makes your mind hustle!

Presently, LITE is on tour. They'll play one last show in Tokyo before travelling across the Pacific to the United States! They'll be playing in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland Heights, and Detroit; if you're in the area, you're definitely not going to want to miss these shows. Then the quartet is back to Japan for more local shows in Tokyo and elsewhere in the land of the Rising Sun. They released their first LP, Filmlets, back in 2007, and quickly followed it with their sophomore release, Phantasia, the next year. Their latest is Live In Leeds, and you can snag this among their other albums right from iTunes! Or feel very free to visit LITE's Myspace, right over here.