Osaka Monaurail

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Osaka Monaurail
General information
Genre (s) Wireless
founding 1992
Website www.osakamonaurail.com
Founding members
Nakata Ryo
Current occupation
Nakata Ryo
Hiraishi Katsutoshi
Sakakibara Seiji
Yamagata Kentaro
Mukai Shimon
Hayami Dan
Ikeda Yuichi
Nakamura Dai
Kimura Soki
Osaka Monaurail 2012

Osaka Monaurail ( Japanese オ ー サ カ ・ モ ノ レ ー ル , Ōsaka Monorēru ) is a Japanese funk band that was founded in Osaka in 1992 and currently has nine members and is now performing successfully in Europe.

Band history

The beginning as a college ensemble

Osaka Monaurail was founded in 1992 when Nakata Ryo, the group's front man, was a student. The name was taken from the track It's the JBs Monaurail (with deliberately incorrect spelling) by James Brown's band The JB's . The JB's were one of the biggest influences and an important source of inspiration for Osaka Monaurail from the start. Originally the group consisted of over twenty members; Brass and rhythm instruments were particularly well represented. Most of these musicians knew each other from the jazz club at the same college . The first track Osaka Monaurail rehearsed at the time was the funk classic I Got The Feeling by James Brown.

Soon the 13-strong core of the group began to develop: Nakata Ryo (vocals and keyboards), Matsunaga Hiroaki and Yamamoto Nobuki (trumpets), Terada Hiroichi (background vocals and trombone), Hiraishi Katsutoshi (trombone), Nakamoto Goji (alto saxophone), Hibino Norihiko (tenor saxophone), Takegai Tomoki (baritone saxophone), Kikuchi Hiroshi and Ichinose Takayuki (guitars), Yatabe Teruyuki (bass), Suetsugu Toshimitu (percussion) and Igarashi Shuichi (drums). After a few school concerts, Osaka Monaurail's first public live show was performed in the Bustle Hall in Osaka with this line -up. That was in 1993.

The SHOUT! Era

Between 1993 and 1996 the group performed primarily in local bars and clubs. When they met the singer Boo, the DJ Muro, the rapper Dev Large and the artist Dragon after several member changes at the 1997 Soul Banana Festival in Banana Hall, also in Osaka, Nakata and Boo began soul parties together in 1998 To promote and promote Dawn, a club in Osaka. The events were SHOUT! and the main actors were Osaka Monaurail and Boo, along with Soul Nuts and four local DJs . The SHOUT! Flyers were characterized by illustrations that were borrowed from the black cinema scene of the early 1970s. This advertising, unusual at the time, attracted many visitors, so SHOUT! became an institution in Osaka as a bi-monthly event and was also held in Tokyo twice a year. The SHOUT! Events continued until 2002 and the name was also used for a record label.

In 1998 the group got together with members of the JB's, including Clyde Stubblefield (drums), John "Jabo" Starks (drums) and Fred Wesley (trombone).

The first publications

In 1999 Osaka Monaurail performed joint studio recordings for the first time. However, this was not done for its own release, but was the opener of the first album by Buddha Brand , at that time one of the most popular rap formations in Japan. The album Yameru Mugen No Buddha No Sekai was released in 2000, with the contribution Super Heavy Funk Introduction by Osaka Monaurail.

In 2000 Osaka Monaurail released their first own album: What It Is ... What It Was was entirely dedicated to funk and, in addition to many original vocal and instrumental pieces, also contained a cover version of Theme From The Men , which was originally written by Isaac Hayes in 1973 and was performed. It was released under the SHOUT! Label, now a sub-label of the record company RD Records .

The second album, Rumble 'n' Struggle , was released in December 2001, whereby the first recordings, such as the title track, had already been recorded and mixed in June 2001, before the terrorist attacks of September 11th - Nakata already addresses den here coming war:

"There ain't a lot of land invading, but a whole lot of weapon trading."
“There, it's killing for good sakes. 'Justice' is always defined by snakes "

In addition to this title track, the album also contained four instrumental and two vocal pieces. The line-up for the album consisted of Nakata Ryo (vocals, keyboard and percussion), Matsunaga Hiroaki and Fukutani Shigeki (trumpets), Hiraishi Katsutoshi (trombone), Kobayashi Mitsuru (alto saxophone and flute), Takeshima Satoru (tenor saxophone and flute), Hayami Dan and Kuroishida Keishi (guitar), Ouchi Tsuyoshi (bass) and Kimura Yuichiro (drums).

Shortly afterwards, three 45 were rpm - Singles : Published New New Type Thing (first and second part) from the first album, Just Bein 'Free (first and second part) and Down And Out (first and second part) from the second album. The disk label of the single to Just Bein 'Free contains the remark "Inspired by the movie, Superfly" ( "inspired by the film' Superfly '') , which shows that the song is a tribute to the radio classics Give Me Your Love from the year 1972 by Curtis Mayfield is.

From Osaka to Tokyo

In 2003 Osaka Monaurail moved to Tokyo, five members left the group and four joined the ensemble in Tokyo, which brought new instruments and thus a new group dynamic with it, as well as a modern tour bus that made it possible for Osaka Monaurail to be full and complete Equipment to go on tour and thus to be able to maintain its own optical and audible vintage style at every location .

Nakata then started to build up his own studio, where the third album, Thankful (For What You've Done) was completely mixed together in 2004. However, since the landlord went bankrupt, the studio had to be given up again at the end of the year. Thankful contained instrumental pieces and four with vocals. Overall, attempts were made to adapt and retain the sound of the early seventies. Mind Power , the last track on the album, is again a track from JB's from 1973. Double-Up Now , an instrumental piece, became a popular hit in the radio clubs.

The first live album was created in 2005: Eyewitness to the ...: Live in Heavy Funk System was recorded during the performance together with Pinch, a DJ and long-time friend of the group, and Keb Darge, the founder of The Legendary Deep Funk movement, in Osaka recorded on April 28, 2005. It contains the complete concert. The live album contains 24 regular and two hidden additional tracks, including numerous originals and cover versions, for example Soulful Strut by The Young-Holt Unlimited (1968), Pick Up The Pieces One By One by Above Average Black Band (1975), Theme From Shaft by Isaac Hayes (1971), Soul Pride by The James Brown Orchestra, Alligator Bogaloo by Lou Donaldson (1967) and Mother Popcorn by James Brown from 1968.

The beginning of the collaboration with Marva Whitney

In the summer of 2006, Osaka Monaurail toured as a backup band for Marva Whitney (known as "Soulsister Number One", "The First Lady Of Funk", as one of "The James Brown's Original Funky Divas", as well as "First Diva" in the James Brown Revue of the late 1960s) through six cities. Whitney also came to Japan from Kansas City, Kansa, USA, to tour from northern Sapporo to Okinawa in the south - in Okinawa she had already performed with James Brown in 1968 when she was on her way to Vietnam. The tour with Marva Whitney is seen by Osaka Monaurail and their fans as a milestone in the band's history. It was also the starting point for a fruitful collaboration between Whitney and the musicians from Osaka, which lasted until Whitney's death in December 2012.

After the one and a half week tour, Osaka Monaurail and Marva Whitney recorded their first solo album together after 36 years in the recording studio. This was published in December 2006 initially exclusively in Japan under the name I Am What I Am . It was released in Europe in spring 2007 on the record label Freestyle Records . There are new songs on the album, for example the title I Am What I Am , but also cover versions of Whitney's own songs such as Soulsisters Of The World , which was released as one of her singles in 1967 under the name Saving My Love For My Baby . Whitney also reinterpreted several funk classics: Give It Up Or Turn It A Loose by James Brown as well as He's Mine by The Platters and Every Little Bit Hurts . Osaka Monaurail contributed two instrumentals, It's Her Thing and We Sing Soul . The final piece, Peace In The Valley , is considered Whitney's personal favorite among her own pieces.

In the fall of 2006, despite his role as a co-founder at RD Records, Nakata left the company to start SHOUT! Rebuild Productions as an independent record label; the label currently has many artists under contract or working with them, including Marva Whitney, Osaka Monaurail, Cauliflowers and The Takosan.

The first European tour and the band's 15th anniversary

In November 2006 Osaka Monaurail performed for the first time in Europe, the tour took place in six cities: London, Southampton, Montpellier, Berlin, Hamburg and Wiesbaden. In the same year, the fifth Osaka Monaurail album was released as the first release of the rebuilt label SHOUT! Productions: Reality For The People with the opener Quicksand puts more emphasis on the rhythm instruments and contains a cover version of the bossa nova piece Ceora by Lee Morgan .

In 2007 another European tour took place on the occasion of the band's fifteenth anniversary. Nakata frequently remarked in interviews:

"We've been working very hard for 15 years only to find a way to play funk music."
("We worked hard for 15 years just to find our way to funk.")

The tour cast consisted of Ryo Nakata (vocals, keyboards), Kentaro Yamagata and Seiji Sakakibara (trumpets), Katsutoshi Hiraishi (trombone and flute), Shimon Mukai (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone and flute), Dan Hayami and Yuichi Ikeda (guitars), Dai Nakamura (Bass) and Kensuke Okuse (drums).

At the end of 2008, Osaka Monaurail performed again in Europe, again together with Marva Whitney.

Film distribution

Front man Nakata Ryo is also involved in independent film distribution for Black Cinema . With money raised from friends (around six million yen) in 1999, he acquired the rights to two films: Superfly from 1972 and Coffy - the Big Cat (1973), which he released in June 2000 as an independent film distributor in 17 cinemas across Japan let. Almost 30 years after the premiere, the films were shown in cinemas and released on video for the first time in Japan. A few years later, Nakata also distributed the films When We Were Kings from 1997 and Soul To Soul from 1971. He was also the editor of the book The Soul Of Black Movies .

Trivia

  • After the live concert was recorded on Eyewitness to the ... Live in Heavy Funk System, you can hear someone calling:
"Hontoni bikkuri shitadesune mo, Osaka Monaurail sugoku jozu ne. Moichi do over here! "
("Amazing! Kudos to Osaka Monaurail - here again [in Osaka, after moving to Tokyo] !") .
It's about Keb Darge , the founder of the Legendary Deep Funk Nights in London, who at that time had been on good terms with Osaka Monaurail for a long time.

Discography

Singles

7 "vinyl

  • January 20, 2001: New New Type Thing (pts. 1 & 2)
  • January 20, 2001: (She Lights My Fire, The Baby Sure Is) Down And Out (pts. 1 & 2)
  • June 16, 2001: Just Bein 'Free (pts. 1 & 2)
  • November 12, 2004: Mind Power (pts. 1 & 2)
  • November 12, 2004: Double-Up Now (pt. 1) b / w Groovy, Groovy, Groovy (pt.2)
  • April 15, 2004: Hot Pants Road (pt. 1) b / w Pick Up The Pieces One By One (pt. 2)
  • April 15, 2004: Pick Up The Pieces One By One (pt. 1) b / w Hot Pants Road (pt. 2)
  • June 16, 2006: Marva Whitney with Osaka Monaurail: I Am What I Am (pts. 1 & 2)
  • March 16, 2007: Marva Whitney with Osaka Monaurail: Soulsisters Of The World (pt. 1) b / w It's Her Thing (pt. 2) "
  • April 20, 2007: Quicksand (pt. 1) b / w Ceola (pt. 2)
  • August 17, 2007: We got One (A Show) b / w We got One (A Show) - Instrumental ( Our Label Records )
  • November 14, 2008: Signed Sealed Delivered, I'm Yours b / w Supershine # 9 ( Our Label Records )

Studio albums

12 "vinyl

  • March 2000: What It Is… What It Was

CD

  • April 28, 2000: What It Is… What It Was
  • December 1, 2001: Rumble 'n Struggle
  • September 23, 2004: Thankful (For What You've Done)
  • December 15, 2006: Reality For The People
  • December 15, 2006: Marva Whitney with Osaka Monaurail: I Am What I Am
  • November 21, 2008: Amen, Brother

Live albums

CD

  • November 2002: Soul Scream feat. Osaka Monaurail Tour 2002 - Future Is Now
  • October 19, 2005: Eyewitness To The… Live In Heavy Funk System At Raindogs, Osaka, April 28, 2005

DVD

  • March 2003: Soul Scream feat. Osaka Monaurail Tour 2002 - Future Is Now exclusive live mix

Contribution to compilations

  • March 2000: Buddha Brand: Yameru Mugen no Buddha no Sekai (CD, Track 1: Super Heavy Funky Introduction feat. Osaka Monaurail)
  • December 2000: Diverse: Shifuku Deka (Compilation CD, Track 6: Theme Of Osaka Monaurail (edited version) )
  • March 2002: Diverse: New York Times Tribute to Blue Notes (Compilation CD, Track 8: Alligator Boogaloo )
  • April 2002: Diverse: Space Shower Retsuden Utage (Compilation CD, Track 7: Your Thing (Do It!) )
  • January 2003: Diverse: Project Massive (Compilation CD, Track 6: Whatever you do )
  • August 2003: Diverse: Yumezamurai no Shishu (Compilation CD, Track 8: Double-Up Now )
  • October 2003: Diverse: Funk Your Style (Compilation CD, Track 3: Two Houses Make A Happy Home )
  • December 2004: Diverse: The Orchard Style Two (Compilation CD, Track 6: Theme from Ironside )

Web links