about tess vs MUNIMUNI “MUNIMUNI BI NEO ALBUM 'THE DOGUU ALBUM' RELEASE PARTY” at Ikebukuro Chop - Part 2

MUNIMUNI fans were waiting for this moment for six years. This is how long it took the recording of their brand new album – THE DOGUU ALBUM. However, as expected, that if the band made fans wait so long, it would surely mean something really special would be coming from them. Luckily, that’s exactly what fans received! The new album is getting great reviews, is selling really well and although MUNIMUNI is inspired mainly by the 80s and 90s music, it sounds amazingly fresh and intriguing.

After the live started with a fun party hosted by DJ KIZOKU and a great performance by about tess (who was featured in the first part of the report), it was then up to host of the evening to finally bring their energy to the room. This started with smoke. Lots of smoke. It’s an inseparable part of every MUNIMUNI show. It introduces their mysterious brand of atmosphere and emphasizes the indescribable nature of the band. Because MUNIMUNI is a band full of contrasts, surprises, even clever jokes combined with sadness, they are always trying their best to make every concert a one-of-a-kind spectacle. This drive to be unique each time allows you to discover them over and over again.

Vocalist and guitarist: CANOU

© MUNIMUNI / Katsuhiro Murakami (kacchang Photo)

This time it started with smoke and melody that resembled church music. For the first song, the band chose a groovy, brand new song which is also the opening track on THE DOGUU ALBUM. It’s full of noise, chaos and mysterious laughter from the singer, which helped introduce the audience enter the world of MUNIMUNI, where they would be staying for the next hour.

The audience's attention was drawn to the fourth song played during the set – BOYS, for which the band made a music video promoting the album’s release. It was performed in a slightly different arrangement than what can be heard on the album, at some point reminiscent of Killing an Arab (from the album Boys Don’t Cry), the hit from legendary group The Cure. It is very likely that the band didn't intend for the similarity but since MUNIMUNI loves to play with references to other songs all too often, you couldn't help but try and play along with their homage guessing game while listening.

Guitarist: KLE

© MUNIMUNI / Katsuhiro Murakami (kacchang Photo)

After that, the live became really fast and dynamic until the band played another song off THE DOGUU ALBUM called THE FUNERAL SONG. As the name would suggest, it’s a much slower track than the previous ones, hypnotic yet equally powerful and aggressive at the same time. After the first part of the show was over and the smoke having slightly dissipated, the band greeted the audience and was met in return with applause.

Finally, they could be seen a little bit better. MUNIMUNI is not one of those bands who carefully select matching outfits to be this perfect unified aesthetic piece on stage, instead, it’s more about giving members the freedom to express their own unique stage style. Despite this individuality, yet in some magical way, everything about them looks and feels consistent.

Bassist: TOMO

© MUNIMUNI / Katsuhiro Murakami (kacchang Photo)

During an MC break, Matenrou officially announced that they finally released THE DOGUU ALBUM (to which the audience responded with laughter, of course), and shortly after were greeted with a recent, yet-to-be-recorded track called NEW ORDER LOVE SONG, which was a clearly inspired by 80's new wave music. Another high energy moment was the fast paced song &4 off their previous album A_KILLS_A, which, from the very lively reaction of fans, has become one of the crowd favorites.

The band kept up the pace and played their live hit BIG MONEY that always makes the whole audience dance and sing the ironic lyrics along with the band. The live ended with an encore played, of course, by request of the still energized fans.

Drummer: SIN-TARO

© MUNIMUNI / Katsuhiro Murakami (kacchang Photo)

It was a great show with fresh and innovative music more than what you would normally find from average mainstream acts promoted heavily by major labels. MUNIMUNI's live performance showed that you don't need a huge stage or stadium to experience big sounds. Sometimes the best concerts are the ones you find walking down the narrow streets of Tokyo and diving into a small inconspicuous live house. Only there will you find a totally different, undiscovered musical world which would give you much more enjoyment and artistic impressions than you could ever expect anywhere else.

Set list

01. THE DOGUU SONG
02. THE GHOST SONG
03. THE MOONLIGHT SONG
04. BOYS
05. TIME IS FATE
06. WOO PEA HAA PEA
07. VELVET MIWAKU TONIGHT
08. THE FUNERAL SONG
09. NEW ORDER LOVE SONG
10. SIL'A-NAI-NO
11. &4
12. BIG MONEY
13. MY LUCIFER
Encore 1
14.He