01	The Great Man			(Standing still with folded arms.) composed by Kenichi Morimoto. This song is front side of toscco.			03:01
	02	Overdrive Locomotive			composed by Kenichi Morimoto. This song is long size toscco.			06:34
	03	Nord Company Vs. Lead Company			composed by Takahiro Izutani. This song is right side of toscco.			05:23
	04	Filial Piety At The Dawn			composed by Tatsuya Miyano. This song is back side of toscco.			04:07
	05	The Sushi Bar			(with Bad face, Bad manners, and Bad taste.) composed by Takahiro Izutani. This song is toscco large.			11:49
	06	He Is Coming At Tokyo Station			composed by Kenichi Morimoto. This song is hustle toscco.			03:50
	07	The Picture Book - X Rated			composed by Kenichi Morimoto. This song is left side of toscco.			06:33
	08	The Three Leaves Insect			composed by Kenichi Morimoto. This song is small toscco.			12:22
	09	The Great Man (Revisited)			composed by Kenichi Morimoto. This song is house of toscco.			01:25

(c) 1997 Happy Family, (p) 1997 Cuneiform Records
PO Box 8427, Siver Spring, MD 20907-8427 USA

keyboards: Kenichi Morimoto;
guitar: Takahiro Izutani
bass: Tatsuya Miyano;
drums: Keiichi Nagase
recorded at Bazooka Studio, Tokyo
engineer: Hayami-san;
mixed: Hayami-san & H F
artwork & photo: Keiichi Nagase
that sax painted: Chiezo


Happy Family
Toscco
Cuneiform Records (rune 93)
Japan 1997

Kenichi Morimoto, keyboards; Tatsuya Miyano, bass; Takahiro Izutani, guitar; Keiichi Nagase, drums

Tracklist:
1. The Great Man - 3:01
2. Overdrive Locomotive - 6:31
3. Nord Company Vs. Lead Company - 5:19
4. Filial Piety at the Dawn - 4:03
5. The Sushi Bar - 11:42
6. He Is Coming at Tokyo Station - 3:50
7. The Picture Book - X Rated - 6:29
8. The Three Leaves Insect - 12:19
9. The Great Man (Revisited) - 1:25

total time 55:09


dom

This quartet formed in Tokyo in the late 80s, and has become popular with RIO prog-rock fans all over the world. Influenced by bands such as Magma, Ruins, Univers Zero, and King Crimson, they play a hyper-aggressive form of rock that will either raise your adrenaline level or give you a migraine.
Unlike most bands of this sort, Happy Family exhibit a punk-ish edge. Odd New Wave keyboards, out-of-tune bass, and an anarchic drummer almost disguise the incredibly complicated nature of the tunes. Imagine Minor Threat opening for Mahavishnu Orchestra. Could be described as fusion for the 90s, but their sound is about as far as can be from your average jazz-rock band. Whatever you call it, it's good, visceral, odd-metered fun.

The band's second album finds them tightening up the arrangements while simultaneously stretching their improvisatory tendencies. The band is anchored by drummer Keiichi Nagase and bassist Tatsuya Miyano, though most of the tunes are written by keyboardist Kenichi Morimoto. Here, they showcase their obviously studied chops in a slightly less frantic mode.

"The Sushi Bar" is a long track written by new guitarist Takahiro Izutani. It begins with a subdued processional duet between keyboard and bass, then to an uptempo marimba romp, followed closely by a crushingly funky jam-section, and ends with the bass/keys duo again. Everything that is good about the band is featured here. "The Picture Book - X Rated" is a Crimson-like track featuring many of the goofy keyboard sounds Morimoto conjurs from his synthesizer rack. Imagine "One More Red Nightmare" with a few more chops, and much less John Wetton. Which is probably good thing.

c ground and sky



HAPPY FAMILY

Toscco
Cuneiform Rune 93

Fenn Music


1.The Great Man 3:01
2. Overdrive Locomotive 6:31
3. Nord Company vs. Lead Company 5:19
4. Filial Piety at the Dawn 4:03
5. The Sushi Bar (with bad face, bad manners and bad taste) 11:42
6. He is Coming at Tokyo Station 3:50
7. The Picture Book- X-Rated 6:29
8. The Three Leaves Insect 12:19
9. The Great Man (Revisited) 1:25

Kenichi Morimoto: keyboards
Takahito Izutani: guitar
Tatsuya Miyano: bass
Keiichi Nagase: drums

Recorded at Bazooka Studio, Tokyo by Hayami-San
Mixed by Hayami-San



Happy Family is a Japanese instrumental quartet from Tokyo. They describe their own music as chamber jazz-rock driven by hard-rock's fast and heavy rhythms. Toscco is their second release.

The band formed in 1987, when all members were freshmen at Tokyo's University of Meiji. The founding members included Kenichi Morimoto (keyboards), Shigeru Makino (guitar), Tatsuya Miyano (bass), and a saxophonist and a drummer. In 1990, Keiichi Nagase joined Happy Family as drummer. The quartet of Morimoto, Makino, Miyano, and Nagase formed the band's lineup on their first CD release, the self-titled Happy Family [Cuneiform Rune 73] from 1995.

Avidly awaited by the band's vocal fan base, Happy Family got immediate and positive notice world wide, gathering overwhelmingly enthusiastic reviews in the US, South America, Japan, and Europe. i/e magazine remarked that "This debut CD surpasses [Happy Family's] reputation... An all-instrumental bulldozer of an album that doesn't just redirect Crimson's current -- it nukes the circuit." Expose described the CD as "like Slayer covering Univers Zero tracks - like Paga overdosing on amphetamines...this is heavy, rapidly paced, balls first and unequivocally brilliant...Certainly my vote for one of the best of the year, Happy Family have delivered on all the hype!" And Keyboard noted that "Fans of hard-core avant- jazz may want to push their Medeski Martin & Wood CDs out of the way to make room for Happy Family."

Shortly after Happy Family's first CD release, guitarist Makino left to perform with heavy metal groups; he was replaced by guitarist/composer Takahiro Izutani.

KenIchi Morimoto (keyboards) composes much of the material for the group. His musical tastes lean towards jazz/rock, chamber/rock, the more avant garde side of rock music, and especially bands such as Universe Zero, Magma, Area, and Henry Cow.

Takahiro Izutani (guitars) has brought a new, "grittier" sound to the band, both with his playing style and with his compositional abilites.

Tatsuya Miyano (electric fretless bass) has been influenced by the "zeuhl" style of Magma bassists Jannik Top & Bernard Paganotti. Miyano also plays in Mekanik Kommandoh, a Magma cover band formed by Tatsuya Yoshida, leader of the noted Japanese band, Ruins.

KeiIchi Nagase (drums) introduces rhythmic complexity into Happy Family's music. He extends the range of the band's compositions with his intricate drum patterns and poly-rhythms. Nagase is also responsible for designing the striking covers for band's releases.

The members of Happy Family are all in their mid-20's and perform several times per year, usually at the Silver Elephant in Tokyo. Keyboard magazine said: "No matter where you live, it's almost worth buying a ticket and flying to Japan to see these guys in action." Happy Family are currently exploring the possibility of coming to the US for a tour.











Happy Family [Japan]
Updated 1/26/01
Discography
Happy Family (90, Demo Tape)
Live at Kichizyouji (92)
Flying Spirit Dance Live (94)
Happy Family (95)
Toscco (97)


Reviews
Happy Family - Keiichi Nagase (drums), Tatsuya Miyano (fretless bass), Kenichi Morimoto (keyboards) and Takahiro Izutani (guitar)

Let me give you the Reader's Digest Condensed version first, because it's the most essential part of this entry. Happy Family are one of the best bands currently happening in Japan right now. In fact, along with Il Berlione, Happy Family are one of the best Japanese bands to have played in the past decade. Flying Spirit Dance Live was one of my top releases for 1994 and their CD debut, Happy Family, one of my best for 1995!.

OK, so you want to know why? I'll tell you but let's get some of the details out of the way first. Happy Family are a quartet, namely Keiichi Nagase (drums), Shige Makino (guitar), Tatsuya Miyano (fretless bass) and Kenichi Morimoto (keyboards). The first three releases listed above in the discography are all cassette-only and long out of print. The titles I use below are rough English translations provided to me by Takayuki Tomi of Rotters' Paper, the label that released the Flying Spirit Dance Live cassette. All three tapes are similar in style, though, and broadly defined by three bands; King Crimson, Univers Zero and Magma. That should be enough to make you sit up and pay attention. Specifically, the guitar work is in the vein of Robert Fripp (circa '73), the keyboards recall either Univers Zero or Magma, depending on what is happening at the moment. The fretless bass work instantly reminds of the trademark Magma/zeuhl fusion sound, and sometimes the heavy Wetton bass sound. And the drums remind me of Daniel Denis of Univers Zero and Bill Bruford.

I can't even guess why this band remained unsigned after sending around their demo tape. These guys would be right at home next to Il Berlione on the Japanese Belle Antique label. In fact, with the studio atmosphere, the 18 minute demo tape is the most like Il Berlione. "Dog String," one of the four tracks on the demo, builds a strong, swirling atmosphere off of short, repeated riffs. While that may sound simple, believe me, it isn't. The group interaction is incredible. Nowhere is this more evident than on the two live tapes. Here, raw and unpolished, you will hear some of the most incredibly dynamic and inventive playing to be unleashed from the Japanese Islands. For example, most of the songs feature Fripp-like guitar solos that suddenly break into keys, percussion and guitar ostinati a la Univers Zero and Present. All this is darting around the incredible zeuhl fretless bass playing that is as much a lead voice as any of the other instruments. One fine example (of many) is the furious "Rock and Young" which appears on both live tapes. The version on Flying Spirit Dance Live *blazes* with an intensity that defies words. Like Richard Pinhas, Happy Family are not ashamed of their King Crimson influence. In tribute, they perform "Nakid King" on Live at Kichizyouji. The 15 minute tune opens with a verbatim statement of "Red," their tribute to Crimson. This quickly breaks into the jagged rhythms that highlight Univers Zero's work. After exploring a variety of rhythms and syncopations, the band moves into a tension-building section that again recalls the Crimson King. Like "Starless," Happy Family build a tense atmosphere though use of a repeated riff. Beneath, drummer Nagase pounds out various patterns, each building on the other. The band steadily quickens the pace, building a climactic atmosphere, before finally breaking back into the "Red" theme to end the song. It's quite a breath-taking experience. A lesser tribute, "Kaiten," on Flying Spirit Dance Live, is based on a variation of the "Red" theme. And, astute readers will realize that "Bulgarian Flying Spirit Dance" is a cover of the Daniel Denis tune from his second solo album. Personally, I think the intensity of Happy Family covers excels over Denis' original. I can't begin to describe the experience that it is, listening to Happy Family. To see this band live has to be an incredible phenomenon.

Finally, in 1995, Cuneiform signed Happy Family and released their first CD, called simply Happy Family. Happy Family consists of seven songs, five of which appeared somewhere on their three cassettes. Four songs "Rock & Young," "Shige et Osanna," "Kaiten (Ningen Gyorai)" and a shorter version of the 19 minute "Naked King") were on the two live cassettes but are now given studio treatment, while "Partei" is a re-recorded version of a song on their demo cassette. For the majority of you, this doesn't matter because it will all be new. And fresh. And exciting! Though recorded in a studio, this disc successfully captures almost all of the intensity of their live performance. The only real difference is the slightly slower pace of these studio versions. The first new song is "Rolling the Law Court," which opens with an upbeat sax/drum groove that is reminiscent of Happy the Man. This soon moves into patented Happy Family territory, with metalish guitar licks, throbbing bass and powerful drumming. Tatsuya Miyano's sax trades licks with Shigeru Makino's guitar, adding depth and further intensity. The final piece is the other new cut, a 1.5 minute track wistfully entitled "Drums Whisper Spacey." The piano and "sqeuaking mouse" (I don't know how else to describe it) provides a peaceful epilog to the otherwise high-octane energy that is the rest of the album. Happy Family is one of the best current prog bands from ANY country and deserve your attention and support. They're mind-blowing and I will never be the same for it. Needless to say but I'll say it with gusto: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! -- Mike Taylor

Warning: There is another band named "Happy Family" which is not this band! The known releases from this band are Puritans, The Man On Your Street and The Business of Living. I bought The Man On Your Street and it's interesting, though not progresive. It's actually somewhat reminiscent of the sillier bits of Gong, though not as musically complex. Beware! -- Fred Trafton

Links






Happy Family - Toscco
Artist: Happy Family
Title: Toscco
Label: Cuneiform Rune 93
Length(s): 55 minutes
Year(s) of release: 1997
Month of review: 06/1997

Line up
Kenichi Morimoto - keyboards
Shigeru Makino - guitar
Tatsuya Miyano - bass
Keiichi Nagase - drums

Tracks
1) The Great Man 3.01
2) Overdrive Locomotive 6.31
3) Nerd Company Vs. Lead Company 5.19
4) Filial Piety At The Dawn 4.03
5) The Sushi Bar (with Bad Face, Bad Manners, 11.42
And Bad Taste)
6) He Is Coming At Tokyo Station 3.50
7) The Picture Book - X Rated 6.29
8) The Three Leaves Insect 12.19
9) The Great Man (revisited) 1.25

Summary
Happy Family is a Japanese band that released their debut on Cuneiform in 1995. A first listen of that album revealed little to me, but later listens indicated this a worthwhile release.
The music
The second album starts with The Great Man, a heavy menacing track, kind of slow and building to erupt into Overdrive Locomotive, a fast paced, almost metallic track with heavy bass sound, complicated rhythms and well...it's manic. There are some easier waters here that remind me a bit of Tipographica, but for the most part the track thunders on, oblivious of any unwary listeners.
The next one, Nerd Company vs. Lead Company starts out as a march, but fortunately isn't the less complex for it. Again, the sound is heavy, driving and complex with bubbling keyboard spicings.

Filial Piety at the Dawn can be a very playful track with quircky keyboards contrasted with the same hard-edged but not too chaotic sound.

The long The Sushi Bar (...) starts out with piano and continues into a droning piece still with piano and low frequency sounds. A sort of a slow motion jazz lounge music is evoked and what probably is the Sushi Bar. After a few minutes the music erupts into an part with heavy drums and enticing melodies after which some playful marimba takes the lead. Towards the middle there is a high energy plodding part with percussive piano and busy drumming as always. The high keyboard squeals at this point evoke a space rock sound. After a particularly hard-edged part, the percussive quiet piano returns and a prominent bassline accompanies the song on its way out. Very good one.

He Is Coming At Tokyo Station is a threatening track with what seems to be a sax sound (often heard in this line of music, although I can't spot a player so I assume it's keyboard controlled). It moves right into The Picture Book - X Rated. Great riffs, a nice heavy sound and complexity all for you. Brings out the best of the all-consuming THRaK(aTTaK) sound of King Crimson. Again that percussive piano sound that we all love.

The Three Leaves Insect is another of those orgiastic tracks brimming with energy, full of fire. Also, some mood swings in this track, make it an interesting composition to listen to.

The closer is an instrumental ditty that recalls themes from the first track, played on accordeon and acoustic guitar, yielding our first breather since that first track.

Conclusion
The thanks that the band put in their booklet include Dr. Nerve and Il Berlione and this should more or less indicate the kind of music the band makes. Hard-edged, driven, fusionish progressive rock of the complicated and quirky kind, well executed and more importantly, sensibly composed. References can also be made to such bands as Tipographica (I prefer Happy Family) and of course the biggest of them all: King Crimson. No compromises as this band takes it further and they do it with flair.
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c Jurriaan Hage