Major Label Debut: Disclosed

In late March, I somewhat facetiously remarked that I had made my major label debut with a major rock band, but was bound by a non-disclosure agreement and couldn't reveal any details.

The true story isn't quite as sexy, but it was still a cool experience for me. While recording their latest album Go!!GO!GO!Go!!, the management and members of GO!GO!7188 were looking to round up a group of people to record the shout chorus for the opening track. I've done a little bit of work with the management in the past, so they called me in on active duty to join in on the fun.

I've been playing music all my life and have a bit of experience playing drums at major recording studios in New York City, but I have never seen a recording studio quite as gargantuan as the one GO!GO! was using. The huge control room alone was only a third the size of the soundstage.

The small group of us gathered around a few microphones, were given instructions, and then were directed by bassist Akko to shout as loud as we could. "GO!...GO!GO!GO!...GO!...GO!GO!GO!" The engineers then multiplied our tiny ensemble to make us sound more like a screaming arena audience.

Go!!GO!GO!Go!! was released about a month ago on June 2nd and is available at major record stores throughout Japan.

When you get your hands on the album, flip to the back of the sleeve...

And take a closer look at the 'Special Thanks to' part...

In all seriousness though, Go!!GO!GO!Go!! is a great album that shows a bit of a departure from the band's previous release, Antenna.  For one, Yuu's guitar work on the album is noticeably more intense. But keeping with the band's signature style, there is still a lot of catchy songwriting and vocal interplay between Akko and Yuu.

My personal favorite song on the album is track 12, "Kyou no Uta" (Song for Today). The verse contains a little melodic interplay with a stereotypical asian melody that is followed by an exciting anthemic chorus. Another highlight of the album is the fourth track, "Saigo no Bansan" (The Last Supper). The song contains characteristcally GO!GO! style punk and ska guitarwork. Thrown in the middle of the song is an incredibly powerful and well placed guitar breakdown that gets me jumping everytime.

Finally, check out the video for "Mayakashi no Sekai" (Fake World) which is available via youtube. I think this song combines various elements that I've been trying to describe when I write about this band,
 mainly the group's quirky sense of melody, intense guitarwork, and energetic stage presence. And like the previous two songs, the listener is again treated to an anthemic chorus and aggressive guitar breakdown.

Check it out: