Hello “Cheer the Rock!” Welcome to Tokyo Records Style!
“Where did you get a name like “Cheer the Rock?” “It was thought up by the artist MAAACHIRIN, who is on the Shibuya music label I run called “Pinpuri(.com)”. “Wow, what does it mean?” “It means “Supporting rock feelings [ロックな気持ちを応援する]” Cheer also explained that he is graduated from a music college and is a composer and …Facinating!
Cheer the Rock said he didn’t have any vinyl records but rather CDs instead! C’mon now! It’s all about music, we don’t judge! So Cheer pulled out his CDs (none of which I recognized but all of which I listened to later) and be busted out his big beaming smile and posed for some lovely photos in front of the Honda Gekijo’s small stage annex, while his buddy Yasu (from the previous post) snapped a few shots of us and guarded my camera bag (from nobody really, but thank you, Yasu!)
I asked Cheer more about his work as a composer and running a record label and he shared that he had worked at several music companies in the past but currently wants to focus on his own projects, adding that he’s interested in all genres of music, but particularly captivated by in the following three eras: Impressionism around 1900 (such Debussy, Ravel, etc.), Rock around 1967-1969 (including The Beatles, Soft Machine, Vanilla Fudge, etc.), and “Future music after 2024.” When I asked him about the CDs he scored he mentioned that he bought some for nostalgic reasons and that one because it was a friend of his, though I forgot which one. Listening to them all later was a bit of opening a time capsule from late 90s with some intense electronic and breakbeats, as well as a beautiful modern classical piano album, and finally one that, to me, stood out from the rest, Ulrich Schnauss’s “Far Away Trains Passing By” – Wow! What a gorgeous collection of idiosyncratic talents on this record, ambient soundscapes, hypnotic synthesizer choruses, and occasional dance beats, and IDM masterpiece that I think I will revisit from time to time! What a great exploration of music and discovery!
I had asked Cheer the him if he ever DJs, to which he replied, “Not yet, but I’m keen to.” Wje I followed up with him a week or so after, he said that he tried DJing for the first time, and that he’s planning to hold another DJ event with Yasu at “Memphis Brothers” in Shimokitazawa on March 30th. NICE!!! New place, people, and event to know about!
Great meeting you Cheer the Rock! Thanks for posing for Tokyo Record Style!
More TRS on the way.
The Sabres Of Paradise – Sabresonic II
Label: Warp Records – SRCS 7766
Format: CD, Album
Country: Japan
Released: Aug 19, 1995
Genre: Electronic
Style: Leftfield, IDM
https://www.discogs.com/release/257225-The-Sabres-Of-Paradise-Sabresonic-II
Breakbeat Era – Ultra-Obscene
Label: SMEJ Associated Records – AICT 82
Format: CD, Album, Stereo
Country: Japan
Released: Aug 25, 1999
Genre: Electronic
Style: Drum n Bass
https://www.discogs.com/release/807675-Breakbeat-Era-Ultra-Obscene
Wataru Sato – After World
Label: Playwright – PWT-083
Format: CD
Country: Japan
Released: Apr 14, 2021
Genre: Electronic
Style: Modern Classical
https://www.discogs.com/release/26885294-Wataru-Sato-After-World
Ulrich Schnauss – Far Away Trains Passing By
Label: City Centre Offices – towerblock 005
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Germany
Released: Nov 14, 2001
Genre: Electronic
Style: IDM, Downtempo
https://www.discogs.com/release/90881-Ulrich-Schnauss-Far-Away-Trains-Passing-By
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