Phnonpenh Model -- Kaze wa Go Go（風はGo Go）

 

It was a month ago today that I posted this article on Phnonpenh Model's "MATANE"（またね）which was the veteran band's collaboration with Jun Togawa（戸川純）and Susumu Hirasawa （平沢進）, With all of those folks in there, the song was as avant-garde as I could imagine for a techno-rock number.

Well, a couple of months ago, the band released an album titled "Vast Empty Pulse" (their first release in 18 years) and on it, I found "Kaze wa Go Go" (Wind Go Go) which was composed by keyboardist Hikaru Kotobuki（ことぶき光）and written by bandmate Masaaki Maruta Taniguchi（谷口マルタ正明）. One would think that from the title, the song may have something to do with the swinging 1960s. No, not quite. It's actually another absinthe-fueled musical adventure that seems to take place somewhere in the cities and forests of Southeast Asia. Thrilling, chaotic and mesmerizing,,,a real trip may not be real safe but vicariously listening to the musical equivalent of flying through vines and ancient towers while folks are speaking in computerized tongues at you is pretty heady.

Phnonpenh Model feat. Jun Togawa and Susumu Hirasawa -- MATANE（またね）

 

Phnonpenh Model

In 1994, former member Kotobuki Hikaru (key, prog) of P-MODEL, one of Japan's leading techno-pop bands, called on Taniguchi Maruta Masaaki (vo), who had been active in the Tokyo theater and live performance scene since the 1980s, and Lion Merry (key), who had played in the bands of Agata Morio and Togawa Jun. (Key), formed the group in response.

From the TuneCore profile

Just from reading the above and knowing what I know about P-Model, Jun Togawa（戸川純）and Masaaki Maruta Taniguchi（谷口マルタ正明）, I figured that Phnonpenh Model would be one heck of an avant-garde band. Of course, P-Model (including Susumu Hirasawa) and Togawa are represented here on KKP, but Taniguchi is someone that I've known from his appearances on Japanese television.

Phnonpenh Model is a band that I discovered only very recently because of a song that they released this year titled "MATANE" (See You Again), and it's quite the jangly number with some rock and techno in there. Plus, there is some of that exoticism that helps the band live up to its title (some of which is also the capital of Cambodia). Watching the music video is kinda like experiencing an absinthe-fueled fever dream after traveling to Southeast Asia. Drink in moderation, people!😵