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Jason Jenkins

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Jason Jenkins

Jason spent 13 years in Tokyo writing about cameras, parenting and the arts. In 2013 he left to travel, homeschooling his kids in Spain, Mexico and Southeast Asia before moving back to Japan in 2019.

For Jason Jenkins's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 18, 2004

The Album Leaf: "In a Safe Place"

Jimmy LaValle's classical training helped define his old outfit, Tristeza, whose intricate post-rock pastorals could have been jarring or cluttered without a subtle, steady hand. As the Album Leaf, his present incarnation, the San Diego guitarist's strings recede into more barren terrain. Lush acoustic strumming makes way for mewing violins, warm Moog and Fender Rhodes tones and the click and whir of spare electronic percussion.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 4, 2004

Kenji Jammer: "Hula Hula Dance 4"

Japanese guitarist Kenji Jammer's eclectic dossier includes studio work with everyone from U2 to Bill Laswell to Simply Red. His "Hula Hula Dance" CD series, however, has focused on a reinterpretation of Hawaiian-style steel guitar, sauntering past the luau for the sleek sofas of club-lounge culture. The fourth and latest installment, "Fulfillment," looks to Jamaica for inspiration, coupling the yawn of slack-key twang with dub reggae's hypnotic pulse. However, Don Ho meets King Tubby it ain't. While tracks like "Fisherman's Eye" nod to Tubby's Kingston legacy, electronic embellishments and bluesy grit shuffle through many of these instrumental tracks as well. And swaying above it all is the tart and tangy tone of Jammer's strings. Taken as a whole it's daiquiri smooth. Sinuous riffs curl over live and programmed percussion, while reverb-laden dubs echo far off into next week. Every island vacation should be this laid-back.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jun 27, 2004

Nothing like vintage tech

It's been said that the musical style now referred to as "electro" wriggled to life in the early '80s, when the heavy thump of funk collided with burgeoning synthesizer technology. Jittery, bass-heavy and bombastic, electro lurked on the half-courts and back-alley clubs of New York City, embraced mostly by the city's first break-dancers.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jun 20, 2004

De La Soul: "Live at Tramps, 1996," "De La Mix Tape"

Few hip-hop fans argue the relevance of golden-age innovators De La Soul, but two recent releases from the Rhino label may cause debate.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jun 6, 2004

RJD2: "Since We Last Spoke"

Any DJ worth his wax knows there's more to hip-hop than beats, bravado and samples extracted from R&B vinyl. On "Since We Last Spoke," the Def Jux label's star spinner, RJD2, strays further from the medium's usual rap/soul axis and delves into arena rock, circa 1984 (Van Halen reference intended). Some critics argue that these exercises in instrumental hip-hop spread his talent too thinly; others might say he's icing the wrong cake. But when seen as an accomplishment in turntablism, RJD2's latest full-length is an impressive and refreshingly unpredictable listen.

CULTURE / Music

May 16, 2004

The Beta Band: "Heroes to Zeros"

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Apr 11, 2004

Sufjan Stevens: "Seven Swans"

In a recent interview, Sufjan Stevens confessed vocal inadequacies: his range is limited; his falsetto is strained; he lacks Patti Smith's attitude and Willie Nelson's cliches. However, narrative, he says, saves the music from these weaknesses.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 21, 2004

Danish duo Junior Senior may be difficult to describe, but their message is unmistakably clear: Get on the freaking dance floor. Their debut, "D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat," was last year's best party album, brimming with tracks that read like cheerleading chants: "Move Your Feet," "C'Mon," "Dynamite," "Shake Your Coconuts." The toast of pop-culture intelligentsia they ain't, but Jesper "Junior" Mortenson and Jeppe "Senior" Laursen have a knack for making booties bounce.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 29, 2004

Lightning Bolt emerge from tightly knit scene

Avant-garde hardcore duo Lightning Bolt may be the heaviest thing ever to come out of Rhode Island. Technically precise, unwaveringly experimental and deafeningly loud, their shows are known for blowing the minds (and eardrums) of headbangers and jazzbos alike.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 15, 2004

Harper pushing himself to a higher plane

Ben Harper just had a great week. First, the singer/songwriter and master of the acoustic slide guitar spoke with Andre 3000 of hip-hop heroes OutKast about going into the studio together. A few days later, guitar legend Ry Cooder called about collaborating. Then blues great Taj Mahal called with a similar request. He had also just performed on Austin City Limits, a long-standing music showcase on American Public Television.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 1, 2004

Savath & Savalas: "Apropa't"

In the spring of 2002, Scott Herren -- known best for avant-garde hip-hop under the moniker Prefuse 73 -- decided to put his beats in storage and move to Spain. There he met Eva Puyuelo Muns, a singer/songwriter with tastes in traditional Latin music similar to his own. Together, they took Herren's side project, Savath & Savalas, and filled it with classical guitar, bajo sexto, harmonium and Muns' hypnotic Catalan vocals. Once residing in the ambiguous "post-rock" genre, Savath & Savalas now comes quite close to being full-on Spanish folk.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jan 25, 2004

He may never show his face, but Bob Log III is by no means shy. With his head concealed by a motorcycle helmet hooked to a telephone receiver and his gut squeezed into a low-cut, blue spandex jumpsuit, Log looks more like Evel Knievel in a Dadaist porn flick than a one-man band belting out the Delta Blues. His feet and fingers, however, paint a very different picture. Log's bottom half pounds out the rhythm on a bass drum, high-hat and jerry-rigged snare. All the while, his upper extremities shred the fret board with some of the fastest slide guitar blues this side of the Mississippi River, his frenzied licks flirting with both bluegrass and speed metal -- often simultaneously. Add some drum machine-driven disco and a few Latin rhythms and you've got yourself one hell of a party. (At last year's Fuji Rock Festival Log's scorching performance turned a bleak, rainy afternoon into a mud-stompin' hoedown.)

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 21, 2003

Faye Wong: "It's My Style"

Fans of the Far East's most creative siren, Faye Wong, should know her latest album, "It's My Style," is worth the three-year wait. Due to a poetic reference to opium, the opener (and best track), "To Love," was banned in China. That means most mainlanders will miss hearing Wong trill through Middle-Eastern strings and a techno-industrial beats that make the theme music she sang for the Final Fantasy video game sound as outdated as an Atari 2600. Wong's strongest work often involves cinematic orchestration (someone should've tapped her for a 007 theme years ago). "It's My Style," however, lacks theatrical artifice. Instead, it focuses on Wong's voice, arguably the most beautiful in Asia. After the initial bombast of "To Love," delicate, airy arrangements float in for some of the catchiest ethereal pop she's sung since her days hanging with the Cocteau Twins. A bonus VCD includes video footage and a karaoke feature -- something to consider once the Christmas carols wear thin.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 7, 2003

Fans of experimental electronic music will get an earful this coming Saturday at the latest all-night show thrown by the popular Organic Groove productions.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 5, 2003

Ima Robot: 'Ima Robot'

Ima RobotIma Robot

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Aug 27, 2003

The Dismemberment Plan: "The People's History of the Dismemberment Plan"

For frenetic indie foursome The Dismemberment Plan, breaking up has certainly been hard to do. Despite announcing their own dismemberment in January, the farewell tour has stretched into September, with their final show in Japan set for Saturday at Shibuya Nest before a farewell gig in Washington, D.C. For those who will miss this sold-out show, the double CD "The People's History of the Dismemberment Plan" may provide some consolation.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 20, 2003

Mutated beats for postmod grooving

Scott Herren is many things to many people. To some, he is Delarosa & Asora, the purveyor of jagged, techno dissonance. To others, he is Savath & Savalas, a mutating musical project that navigates electronica, postrock and Spanish folk with equal ease. At the moment, however, Herren's hip-hop outlet, Prefuse 73, is getting most of the attention. Melding the breaks and beats of rap with the clicks, blips and drone of avant-electronica, Herren's album, "One Word Extinguisher," has made him a darling of the indie press.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 16, 2003

Fuji's hipper hop

Despite its immense popularity in Japan, hip-hop has until recently suffered from poor representation at summer music events. The Fuji Rock Festival seems keen to make up for lost time this year, augmenting the usual legion of club-oriented DJs with a veritable roll call of some of today's most innovative hip-hop artists. Better yet, the bulk of the roster performs on the fest's opening day, July 25.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jun 15, 2003

Prepare to be spanked hard

Thirty minutes into the interview, Wammo has to go on stage. "We're about to start," he says from his cell phone. "But if you want, call me tomorrow night after 10. My parents should be in bed by then."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jun 4, 2003

Allison Goldfrapp: "Black Cherry"

Allison Goldfrapp caught the attention of ambient techno-heads The Orbital after they saw one of her first performance-art pieces -- she sang while milking a cow. After contributing vocals to their album, "Snivilization" (1994), she collaborated the following year with dark-hop overlord Tricky on his solo debut, "Maxinquaye." Then in 1999, using her surname for the band, Goldfrapp and her musical partner, Will Gregory, signed with Mute records.

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