Otonana Trio: “The Lost Ramen Generation” – great words and great funky beats on every track

Otonana Trio is a three piece band from Tokyo, Japan, with Kentaro Saito on Guitar/Vocal, Kazuhisa Maekawa on Bass, and Hikari Kuroda on Drums. Their biggest influence was none other than their audience. They have played over 300 shows at which more than 80% were at dive bars, where they learned the crowds wanted to dance. This influenced the band’s evolution from modern jazz to a lively, high-energy funk sound.

I grabbed a listen to “The Lost Ramen Generation” by the Otonana Trio because like I enjoyed their hallucinating songs on Youtube. There are some songs in life that have a good beat and there are others that carry a good little story with a funny twist to them, the songs on “The Lost Ramen Generation” carry both, great words and great funky beats on every track. After listing to this album twice you desperately listen to the words so intently that you can sing along with the windows open and just feel great.

This album just gives the listener such a high no drug could ever hope to give. It just makes you feel that “every little thing is gonna be alright.” On every track you can just feel the energy and fun from it. Some tracks are just so groovy and beautiful you just want to close your eyes and listen, but you can’t because the videos are so damn good too. The Otonana Trio has so much potential and is seeking it out to create amazing albums.

From what I’ve heard, the energy at their shows is unlike anything you’ve ever felt. Apparently they put on electrifying shows that give you goosebumps and leave you saying “wow” over and over. I have not been to any of their shows personally, but that same ‘live buzz’ seems to have been transmitted to the album too. You can find that energy on tracks like “Dipping Ramen”, “Angry X (ft. Peelander Yellow)”, “Jump ( Is You Are Polite)”, “Build Your Muscle”, and most definitely on the Hendrix-influenced, “Coca Cola, Pizza, and Ipad Games”.

Eclectic, wouldn’t be enough to describe how different this band is to anything in the mainstream. They’re totally left field, but don’t dismiss this album because it is different from what you know. Just go into “The Lost Ramen Generation” with an open mind and get lost in the sound of change – funky bass grooves, crunchy electric guitars, clockwork drumming, and offbeat vocals – a smooth mix somewhere between Frank Zappa and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. These guys don’t sellout to Top40 ideals; instead they put all their creativity into making music that pushes boundaries. The Otonana Trio is making a change, and they are making it better. Welcome to “The Lost Ramen Generation”, welcome to the sound of change!

OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – TWITTER – FACEBOOK – CDBABY