Hasikara Smile

Update & "The Boy Jones"

2010-11-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

Hello, it's been a quiet year for “The Smile”, so an update is long overdue. Well first up, we've got a new/old track called “The Boy Jones” for your listening pleasure, you can download it for free at. http://snd.sc/cI72W0 It dates from 2007 (pre- elephant gun) & we only ever played it the once. It was originally a one-off 40 minute jam, but we've trimmed some of the fat away & left everything else exactly as we played & recorded it....mistakes n'all. It's only guitar, bass & drums and at 19:44 it's gonna bore some people to death, but its strictly background music & not intended as anything else. Suggested listening environments are the solo 1:00am dual carriageway drive or maybe the late night walk home.

As well as raiding the archives, we've been busy writing & recording new tracks for a new EP which'll see the light of day sometime in 2011. It's exciting stuff, so expect some grown-up sh*t!

Some Pre-Gig Press

2009-12-27T08:01:00.000-08:00

Some Video

2009-12-14T05:07:00.000-08:00

Here's some video of our track "Slow Fuse" from the Wombat Wombat gig with The Joy Formidable & Faster Than Robots on Friday. It was kindly videoed & posted by Babz. Ok so maybe I forgot/mixed up the lyrics at the end of the second verse, but I think I did a pretty good job of covering up, you know it wasn't my fault I'd had no dinner & was drinking!

There should be a radio broadcast of the whole set in the near future on Breakthru Radio courtesy of Mr Jason (who did an excellent job of the sound on the night!) & more video to come courtesy of Wombat Wombat!

WOMBAT WOMBAT CHRISTMAS & 9TH BIRTHDAY PARTY 11TH DECEMBER 2009

2009-11-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

Ahead of Wombat Wombat's 9th Birthday & Christmas Party @ Norwich Arts Centre on Friday 11 th Decmber 2009 featuring The Joy Formidable, our good selves & Faster Than Robots (+Howlback Hum in the bar). You can check out brief interviews with all the bands playing by checking out http://www.wombatwombat.co.uk/ & click on "Burrowing Zine", alternatively if you live in the neighbourhood, you can pick upa free paper copy of the zine at Norwich Arts Centre, Soundclash, The Playhouse, Access To Music, The Waterfront + Plugs Earth & Purple Studios.

Tickets for the gig have nearly sold out, but there are still some available from Norwich Arts Centre (01603) 660352, Soundclash Records (01603) 761004 & UEA (01603) 508050. It's £7 in advance & if there's any left on the night it'll be £8 on the door.

We've spent the last week rehearsing with live drums & I gotta admit it's sounding f#%king amazing, everything's stepped up to a new level, there's so much more energy & we can't wait to debut it all on the 11th!

"Chop Ten" (Free MP3)

2009-10-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

Although there's been a bit of downtime for the band over the last couple of months, we've managed to raid the tape archive & dig up this old gem "Chop Ten" which was recorded around the same time as "Lash Larue" back in 2007 (back when we only had 2mb of sampler memory to use on our tracks). You can download it for free along with "Lash Larue", "Korkscrew" & "Stuck On Repeat" at Last FM.

http://www.last.fm/music/Hasikara+Smile

So after months of packing & unpacking boxes, we're finally ready to start work on some new material (as well as re-jig our live set to incorporate live drums). We're both dying to get stuck in! Along with "Chop Ten" we also discovered a bunch of old unreleased tracks from 2007 that we plan to pull together in to some sort of stripped down, rough & ready free EP over the next few months, so watch this space for more info!

On the gig horizon we're playing Wombat Wombat's Christmas & 9th Birthday party on Friday December 11th 2009 @ Norwich Arts Centre with The Joy Formidable & Howlback Hum in the bar.

Tickets are on sale now from NAC box office (01603) 660352, Soundclash in person (ring 01603 761004 for availability) or online at UEA www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk/events/the-joy-formidable-presented-wombatwombat.aspx or on 01603 508050. Price is £7 + booking fee where applicable, or £8 on the door.

Audiotier Interview

2009-09-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hasikara Smile Interview @ Audiotier.com!
Go to http://audiotier.com/interviews/2009/9/28/hasikara-smile.html to check it out!!!

Let's Do Lunch @ The Marquee (Sept 12th not Oct 12th)

2009-09-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

Audio Tier - Fresh Audio

2009-08-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

This appeared on the Audio Tier website today........

"A duo from the English parts of the world (Norwich to be exact) astounded me lately with a surprisingly creative indie-dub-electro-jazz-rock approach to an overplayed genre.

Hasikara Smile are Fergus and Fred who (with their multi-instrumentalist talents) make independent DIY music sound in new and bright colors. From Midi controllers, to acoustic guitars, to strings, samples and beat machines. These guys do it all, above and beyond.

Their debut "Elephant Gun" is out for a while now and definitely worth checking out.

Hasikara Smile sound like a refreshed Animal Collective."

By Rob Dreija

Check it out at http://audiotier.com/fresh-audio/2009/8/29/hasikara-smile.html

The Fly (July Issue)

2009-08-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Decoymusic.com Album Review

2009-08-13T03:58:00.000-07:00

"This band really deserves note for going above & beyond when providing a review copy of their album. Since their debut album Elephant Gun, is a digital only release they could have done what many bands do, which is just send a CDR with tunes on it, but instead they gussied things up. Their CDR came in a jewel case with a handwritten and handcrafted back insert, which is cool, but even cooler is the CDR itself-the band decorated it with color markers making it stand it out and look really cool. Anyhow, kudos for going above and beyond. Hasikara Smile play a brand of glitchy indie rock with post-hardcore influences that incorporates many different song styles. Going through the album you'll confronted by many different sounds and approaches, keeping you on your toes and making you pay attention."

www.decoymusic.com/blog_posts/829

Altsounds scores "Elephant Gun" 71%

2009-07-30T04:10:00.001-07:00

"I put in Hasikara Smile's self-released debut album, "Elephant Gun", with absolutely no idea what it was. No expectations whatsoever. I heard the first couple tracks from this disc and completely fell out. The opening track, "Korkscrew", runs on a steady syncopated percussion riff, with alternately funky and dirty guitar, cool lyrics, and freaky synthesized noise that not only fits but actually rocks. They're not the first to use the synthesized effects, the combination sounds fresh to my ear.

The second track, "Cry Wolf", features childish voices singing a vocal line of playground simplicity, but its paired with a rock beat, driving guitar, and whistling keybords. The overall effect reminds me of something you might hear on Battles' experimental rock release, "Mirrors". These two tracks reveal that Hasikara Smile's two members, Fergus and Fred "Dirty Beau" (both from Norwich, UK), have what I love most in a band: ideas.

Of course, as on any release that ranges around as much as this one, not everything Hasikara Smile does works for me, personally. Some of the production is a little treble heavy and jangling. There are several songs that feature a repetitive guitar line, simple percussion, and not much else. At their worst on this release, they are merely uninteresting, though never repellent. At their best, however, they combine familiar elements in surprising ways, write catchy hooks, and produce multi-faceted, compelling electronic rock.

"Elephant Gun" is available from a few different sources on-line, including HMV, Tunetribe, and Napster. It is also available on eMusic and if you follow this link you can listen to a few samples. Definitely checkout the first two I described above & listen to these picks as well.

"Stuck On Repeat" (#5) opens with a guitar line right out of surf music and more noodling with synthesizer effects. The song builds throughout and by the end the shouted, layered vocals, relentless guitar, and Hammond-esque keyboards turn this into a real-rocker.
"Honyock" (#10) is a contemplative little 55-second piece that is simple but pretty. I wouls like to have heard them explore this groove a little more.
"Backra Fire" (#11) reminds me of parts of the old Funkadelic classic "Maggot Brain"

I love it when I take a chance on something new and it turns out to be really great. Hasikara Smile's debut is a good stand-alone rleease and it shows remarkable promise. I will be interested to hear where they go from here, particularly if they sign with a major label and/or get a top-notch producer in the studio with them. In the mean time I will enjoy this solid effort."

Overall Rating : 7

Vocals/Lyrics : 6

Musicianship : 7

Production : 6

Creativity : 9

Lastability : 7

Reviewers Tilt : 8

71%

Written by Rob H

Click on the link below to read the review in situ

http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/109400-hasikara-smile-elephant-gun-cd.html

"Elephant Gun" Amplifier Featured Album Stream This Week!!!!!

2009-07-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

We are honored/humble/proud/blown away to announce that our album "Elephant Gun" is this weeks featured album stream on influential American indie music website "Amplifier Magazine"

To check it out, go to www.amplifiermagazine.com & click on "Launch AMP3 Radio" & you can listen to the whole thing streamed from start to finish for the next seven days.

Many thanks to all the folks at "Amplifier Magazine" for taking the time to listen to our music & furthermore for also liking it! We are truly grateful!

Subba-Cultcha Album Review

2009-07-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

"Elephant Gun" scores 4 out of 5 headphones!!!!

www.subba-cultcha.com/article_album.php?id=9902

"A strange yet alluring mix of hip-hop beats, psychedelia and indie. Very intriguing...."

Hasikara Smile are two friendly male friends who hail from the very fine city of Norwich. In fact, that is also where I am from so I am slightly concerned about what I shall say. What if they track me down and slap me if I give them a bad review? Dilemmas, dilemmas. Anyway, yes. Two friends from Norwich, a bass guitar, some singing and lots of drum loops and samples. That pretty much sums them up, really. I mean it all sounds very promising doesn't it? And, to be honest, it is. It is very enjoyable, in fact. Amidst this big slew of occasional vocal lines, bass and well, fuzz, sits a sound, akin to the old ethics and nose of Go! Team, but a little less chirpy and a little more edgy, Hasikara Smile are very welcome to smile at me if they see me on the streets and I won't roll my eyes. I might even give them a thumbs up.

www.myspace.com/hasikarasmile

Sara Curtis

Also BBC Norfolk Introducing played "Honyock" & "Turning Point" back to back on last Friday's show. You can listen again for the the next five days at www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk, both tracks are played about 10 minutes into the show.

Radio Plays

2009-07-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

Mr Jason played our track "Korkscrew" on his Planet Beet radio show last Wednesday! The track opens the show & you can listen again for the next 3 or 4 days at http://www.breakthruradio.com/, just click on "Program Guide" & then click on "Planet Beet" from the list of shows.

BBC Norfolk Introducing also played our track "Cut & Run" during their 3 hour Hot City Sounds special on Friday night. Once again, you can listen for the next 5 days or so at www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk, just click on "listen again" & then pick the show from the list. "Cut & Run" appears about 23 minutes into the show.

ALBUM REVIEW FROM THE ORGAN!!!!!!

2009-06-11T11:08:00.001-07:00

ALBUM REVIEW: HASIKARA SMILE – Elephant Gun (self release) – A heady blend of fat beats, exotic guitar that comes in somewhere between alternative English indie rock and some kind of tropical world music outlook. Full debut album, a strew on instrumental rhythms, the occasional vocal line, a touch of 90’s fuzz and dirty psychedelia in there with the loops and the electric FX, the violins, autoharps and such – investigate via www.myspace.com/hasikarasmile

http://www.organart.demon.co.uk/

"ELEPHANT GUN" RELEASED ONLINE, BEARDED REVIEW & COOL GIGS!!!!!!

2009-06-07T04:21:00.000-07:00

"ELEPHANT GUN" THE DEBUT ALBUM OUT NOW!!!!!!

So it's been a busy month, but last Friday our debut album "Elephant Gun" finally got released!

We also did an interview on the BBC Norfolk Introducing show that very same evening.

You can listen again for the next 6 days or so at www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk

ALBUM REVIEW
Our first album review also appeared on the Bearded Magazine website too and reads a little something like this :-

"Hasikara Smile are two friends from Norwich who’ve bravely chosen to self release their debut album Elephant Gun through a digital distributor called Emubands, set up four years ago to distribute independent and unsigned music on the internet.

Here at Bearded, Hasikara Smile already get a thumb’s up for their independent ethos. But is their music worthy of the same praise?

Well, yes to put it bluntly – they manage to sound like Lee Scratch Perry’s and Jefferson Airplanes’ indie-fied granddaughter in a very good way. The duo sing, play guitars and bass, and then sample the rest. The result is a simple but eclectic sound, informed by surf punk and Ethiopian jazz, The Velvet Underground and Wu-Tang Clan. Most noticeable is the way Hasikara Smile have combined a lo-fi indie feel with a trippy dub and ethno jazz sound for the electronic age.

It’s actually very radio-friendly stuff though – the album is a punchy collection of twelve tracks that go down a bit like a mojito on a summer’s evening.

Opener, ‘Korkscrew’ has that Foals-like intensity without the silly lyrics, whilst ‘Stuck On Repeat’ is a masterly mix of jangly guitar and arresting synths. ‘Turning Point’ probably demonstrates the nuance of this band perfectly – a slightly moody guitar is tempered by tropical dub vocals, and laid back beats. The songs could have been spaced out a little more, this album does rather lurch from one track to the next, but overall the music is nicely arranged.

The pleasure here is in the detail - once you’ve got past a shy exterior, Elephant Gun is an album shining with rich emotions and sonic excellence. Fans of King Tubby and Kasabian alike must take note."

James Labous

To check out the original article and Bearded Magazine itself just click on the following link

www.beardedmagazine.co.uk/?p=922

GIGS
For as long as I can remember most of my income has been poured into making the album so it's been nice of late to actually go out & catch some gigs. The first of these being the magnificent White Denim @ The Old Blue Last in London town, (we were very lucky to score tickets for this one!). I freely admit that I totally love this band & it's been years since a group has got under my skin as much as these guys. Inevitably they were great! But in terms of clarity their sound was maybe a little too big for such a small venue, though I'm pretty sure my ears would definitely have been fried wherever they played! Their new album "Fits" is out on the 22nd June, (I cannae wait!)

Next up was the "Twee Off!" launch night at Norwich Arts Centre ,the line-up included Crystal Antlers & Duchess Says & what can I say...........God bless Rosie of Fever Fever (the organiser/promoter of these nights) for bringing such bands to Norwich! Maybe it was the beer, but both bands were awesome live & came across much bigger & better than either of their records!

A couple of weeks ago the Sublime Frequencies tour rolled into town with Omar Souleyman & Group Doueh in tow. I've liked this label for a long time & with every release they just seem to get better & better! In fact they've released some of my favourite records of recent times (just check out the Group Inerane LP & the Thai Pop Spectacular & Molam Thai Country Grooves comps!). There was a very good turnout from the people of Norwich, with some very good tunes being dropped in between the live sets by the Sublime Frequencies DJ's. Omar Souleyman was surprisingly excellent, I'd heard some of the records & wondered how it would translate/turn out live, but for me, he was the hero of the evening. A strong voice backed by an electric saz & synth which also functioned as the rhythm section......it was banging!!!!!! I was totally won over! Group Doueh were also good, but unfortunately the sound didn't do them any favours, the keyboardists beats & tones ended up kind of murky, but the vocalists & guitarist were great. The overall sound did improve as the set progressed & by the end the audience were totally into it, completely hypnotised!!!!!

Last but by no means least was the Fever Fever single launch night at the Take 5 Crypt in Tombland! We'd play with these guys back in November at the B2 & apart from being lovely people I'd been really impressed by their set! Also on the bill were The Brownies who ashamedly I've never caught live before, despite them being one of Norwich's biggest musical exports. They delivered a strong set, though the notorious sound of the crypt mean't certain elements got lost in the mix, especially with two guitarists & two vocalists (depending on where you stand in the Crypt, dictates what you can hear!). Good performance all round though & a good live band, I found their song "Cry yourself to sleep" swimming around in my heads days later! "Cougar" rocked too!

But it was Fever Fever's night & they tore the roof off the sucker! There's a really cool balance in this band. Smit's an awesome drummer, Rosie's an excellent vocalist & I really love Ellie's guitar playing, she's got so many chunky, cool heavy riffs! They've always got a great onstage rapport & the way Rosie & Ellie hook-up vocally during songs is wicked! To put it plain & simply they rocked!

And that's me skint again!

UPCOMING GIGS

As for ourselves, we've got a couple of gigs lined up in July. The first of these is part of the Hot City Sounds festival which takes place over 10 days in early July.

It's at the Norwich Waterfront on Thursday 09/07/09 & we're playing with Kill It Kid/Tawny Owl & Lunaire. It's £6 in advance or £8 on the door, though if you buy a festival wristband for £20 you get access to every gig that's part of the festival!

We're also going to have a very limited number of handmade CD copies of "Elephant Gun" available at this show, if you wish to purchase one!

We're also going to try & pull together a special free CD that will only be available at this gig, it'll probably be limited to 30 copies & will consist of a bunch of Hasikara Smile tracks that no one has really heard before & also displays a different side to the band. It's only gonna be available at this gig & for the time being won't appear in anyway, shape or form elsewhere. I hope we can pull it together in time! I think we can!

After that we're playing the Watstock Festival in Watlington courtesy of the BBC Norfolk Introducing. It's taking place on the Saturday 18/07/09 & we're playing alongside The Sargasso Trio, Jess Morgan & Fever Fever!

Norwich Waterfront - Hot City Sounds Kill It Kid, Tawny Owl Hasikara Smile & Lunaire

09/07/09

Doors 8.00pm

Tickets £6 adv £8 on the door

BBC Norfolk Introducing @ Watstock - Glebe Field, Watlington

18/07/09

Starts at 11am

Admission : Free

2009-05-10T03:31:00.000-07:00

DEBUT ALBUM "ELEPHANT GUN" RELEASED ONLINE

5TH JUNE 2009

That's right, our debut album "Elephant Gun" finally receives it's online release on the 5th June 2009!!!!!!

The whole thing was recorded entirely at home on a faulty Teac A-3440 with only 3 microphones, the tracks were then arranged, mixed & mastered on a PC. Between us we played everything & engineered/produced/mastered the whole thing.

The tracklisting is as follows:-

1. Korkscrew

2. Cry Wolf

3. Turning Point

4. Whirly Bird

5. Stuck On Repeat

6. Kinko's Dream

7. Majita

8. Hard Root

9. Cut & Run

10. Honyock

11. Backra Fire

12. Slow Fuse

There were many casualties along the way, all of which contributed to the recording process taking so much longer than it should have (& that doesn't include the 3 months of unannounced roofing work that took place above our heads).

Below is a list of obituaries/casualties :-

1. Teac A-3440 (4 track 1/4" tape machine) - The workhorse of the entire album! Every sound that is on the album was recorded on this thing, unfortunately we had to endure a few months of tape speed fluctuation & by the end of the album there were only 2 channels left working. It's current conditon is still critical, but stable. Fred waits anxiously by the bedside!!!!

2. My PC - Another major blow, everything that was recorded on to tape was transferred on to this baby! Certified dead in September 2008! Thank god for back-up paranoia! Luckily we had everything saved elsewhere & could pick up where we left off,........once we got a new PC!!!!!

3. Fred's Fender Twin Amp - Intermittently making the loudest, ugliest most dangerous sounding electrical noise I have ever heard throughout 2008, until finally becoming unusable! Condition = Unknown (light a candle!)

4. Fred/Leo's Bass - Missing In Action!

You can grab youself an exclusive free mp3 download of "Stuck On Repeat" by cutting & pasting the following link into your browser

http://rapidshare.com/files/222854642/05_-_Hasikara_Smile_-_Stuck_On_Repeat.mp3

It's in glorious 320kbps!

Go to www.myspace.com/hasikarasmile to hear "Stuck On Repeat", "Backra Fire" & also a rough excerpt from "Kinko's Dream"!!!!! We'll be posting the album preview mix there in the next week or so too!!!!!

Find us on facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hasikara-Smile/33847909270