Mayflower / hideka & The Pristines
This heartfelt collaboration took place over the networks, traversing thousands of miles. It all began with an encounter between British Lo-Fi shoegaze artists, “The Pristines”, and “hideka”, Japan's pioneer shoegazer, following which they began to exchange music files together over the Internet.
Their songs began to take shape in gradual layers: Jon would send noisy sound sources captured on MTRs to hideka, hideka would soak up the British vibe and add her unique lyrics to their jointly-forged melodies. Feeling the British vibe, hideka even found elements of rock awakening deep inside her.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly which genre this new sound belongs to - should it be called shoegaze, Britpop or guitar pop? Either way, it's certain that this catchy, rhythmical chemical reaction is a melting pot of two styles from opposite sides of the ocean.
The long-awaited experimental collaboration is scheduled for global distribution release this May, and is aptly named “Mayflower”.
Download Now! » iTunes Music Store(29 countries) / Amazon MP3
*Please note that timing of the release may vary from country to country. Thank you for your understanding.
The Pristines are a cult indie lo-fi psychedelic shoegaze band from Coventry, England.
After being part of the fanzine scene they began releasing records in the mid 90s for labels such as Pillarbox Red (UK), Elefant Records (Spa), A Turntable Friend (Ger) , Meller Welle Produkte (Ger) and Sunday (US), culminating in the 1995 album “Teen-Fraud, Pop-Whore (part one)” released on Sunday Records.
They later recorded 3 self-released albums in the early 2000s before returning to label releases with the likes of Cloudberry Records (US), Series Two (US), Susy Records (Peru), and Edition 59 (Ger) from 2007 onwards, with a 5th album “States of Mine” released on Series Two in 2008.
It was during this time that the band encountered the work of Japanese shoegaze artist hideka, who first remixed and remastered one of their earlier songs “Sea Horse”.
Liking each other's material, hideka & The Pristines decided to collaborate on an album in 2009 to be released this May 2010, and to be called aptly “Mayflower”.
A meeting of East & West, the two styles of music both contrast as well as complement each other. The songs recorded by emailing music files thousands of miles between the UK & Japan!
Total Time 17'57"
01.MAY-RO (03:31)02.B-3 Radio (03:45)
03.Should Have Known Better (02:24)
04.Party's Fall (04:25)
05.Maybe (03:52)
日本語はこちら »
Shoegaze artist, hideka makes her debut release with this 8 title wonder. hideka left the tumultuous city and surrounded herself in nature to make this album. She locked herself away from society to do some deep introspection. She eventually found herself and started writing music that expressed her new self. She built a private studio in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, and started working on her first solo album. In the fantastic songs that emerged, through the clanging guitars, her mystic voice floats through the air. This liberating release of one of Japan's more respected musicians, has created a masterpiece that is at times tempestuous, while at other times tender and ephemeral.
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In July 2008, hideka contributed a song to HALF DREAMING: Asian Shoegaze Compilation -- a world-wide release featuring artists from Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, China, and Hong Kong.
