When Band-Maid make an April Fool's joke, they don't stint on the detail. They announced on their social media sites that they had split. They set up a website for Band-Maiko. They made a 7 song EP. They gave themselves new names which, like the vocals, were in a specific, older, dialect. They hired the outfits, which were reputedly worth close to $100,000, they made a 'making of' video for the MV of their (original) song from the EP, 'Gion-Cho'. Kanami, of course, adapted the song 'Secret My Lips' to involve the trad instruments (wagakki). In this MV, the word that Miku paints at the start is 'Domination'. They are dressed as Maiko, a type of trainee Geisha, signified by the specific hairstyles and headdresses they wear. There are little in-jokes, like MISA, the 'Barefoot Assassin' wearing shoes and Akane eating the food when the others are unmoving. There are a few other bits nd oieces like that too. 🤣🤘 Their other big April Fool joke was a couple of years ago, when Miku went solo, invented a new music genre (HippyPop), rebranded herself as the artist Cluppo, put a band together, even got her record company to join in and promote their 'new artist' on their webpage and released a great, very cheery and upbeat Pop/Rock song called 'Peace&Love'. Then she released an EP and 3 other MV's of great quality as Cluppo. Great fun! Glad you enjoyed this Maiko MV and song.
They also changed the dialect for this version. Instead of the more common modern Japanese, they switched to Kyoto dialect which is the more traditional Japanese language. They are SOOOO talented!
@@angelkillerSaiki actually had issues with correct pronunciation, so Miku had had to record them for Saiki to learn the correct way to sing the lyrics.
👘 On April 1st, 2018 BAND-MAID announced on their social media that they were changing their focus and would be re-branding as "BAND-MAIKO". Then they released this video. At the end of the day they stated they had changed their minds, and would be reverting back to "BAND-MAID". : ) One cool thing about this version of the song is that Miku changed the dialect of their singing and modified the lyrics to use the traditional dialect and phrasing from the old Capital of Kyoto that is identified with Geisha culture. Kanami worked with their sound engineer to add virtual traditional instruments. A maiko is an apprentice geiko in Kyoto and Western Japan. That's the regional equivalent to a geisha. You'll probably like 'Gion-cho'. It's the featured single on the BAND-MAIKO mini-album that also contains Maiko versions of several BAND-MAID songs, including this one. Although she is from Kumamoto, Miku is very fond of Kyoto and visits it whenever she can. In BAND-MAIKO, she is known as 鳩子 (Hatoko), like "Kobato", that's another version of "small pigeon". The other altered names are: Saiki = 富士姫 Fujiki. Kanami = 叶笑 Kanoemi. Misa = 梅美沙 Umemisa. Akane = 紅月 Akatsuki. Hatoko's shodō (calligraphy) at the beginning said "World Domination".
The traditional instruments were programmed. Kanami had no experience of the traditional instruments so for Secret My Lips it was a joint effort with their Producer (or Engineer) plus an outside programmer I believe. The subsequent 6 songs that were then part of the Band Maiko EP were I think all done by Kanami. The 1 original song Gion Cho (also has a MV) is probably my favourite by a hairs breath but Anemone, Awkward and Yolo in particular are all stunning as well. The degree of traditional treatment varies song to song.
The song 祇園町 "Gion-cho" was the only song written in this specific style for the EP a year after Secret Maiko Lips was released (which started as an April Fool's joke). The other songs are a rework of existing tunes. It's an ode to Kyoto. It's a stunningly beautiful song as well. If you do a search there is a pirated version of the BTS video of the making of the video for Secret Maiko Lips. These ladies put up with a lot to deliver video content.
Thanks, Jack, good stuff from a really interesting Band-Maid side project. They did seven songs as Band-Maiko, my favorite being Gion-Cho. The video is gorgeous, as is the song, which was written specifically looking at Maiko life in Kyoto. Ansan (Anemone) is my second favorite because the arrangement is quite different from the original.
Changed the dialect, costumes, instrumentation, band name, member names and still killed it. Because that’s Band Maid doing Band Maid Things. (Credit: Chase)
I'm so glad you decided to watch this video. I recommend it to every reactor who watched the original song, because I think this version is awesome. More BAND-MAID versatility, which is always welcome, and a video by one of the best and most knowledgeable reactors. This will be fun to watch 🍿 *Edit:* Okay, now that I started to watch ... It's pronounced My-koh. A maiko is an apprentice geisha (not to be mistaken for a pleasure house woman). Gei-sha means "art person", they are highly skilled musicians, singers, and conversationalists who have entertained the Japanese elite for centuries. A maiko would start learning early (from age 6 or so), for many years, before she was officially awarded geisha status.
3:21 Jack's face while Umemisa (MISA) lets out a yell 😂. Thanks for checking out probably the 2nd-most popular Japanese band among Maidiacs, and thanks for the shoutout.
Fantastic!. I love that you commented this version too. It was originally an intricate entertainment created by Kanami and Miku in 2018, that "divertimento" ended up being an inspiration for the entire band. It was so successful that a year later they published an EP with 7 songs, 6 "maiko" versions of their catalog and a new original song in this style, Gion Cho. A tremendous creative effort that was born thanks to the fun and playful nature of these five girls. Every time they decide to have a great time they throw us a masterpiece. How can you not love them passionately? Thanks Jack!
I love that they do this stuff. It shows they both don't take themselves too seriously, and take their music very seriously. I don't know why it works, either. At some point you have to just lean back and take it all in.
Jack, thank you. This is a great song and video by Band-Maid’s alter ego, Band-Maiko, and I agree with your comments about how all the pieces fit so well. This lady are some amazing musicians. I also enjoy your (in this case - attempts at) humor. Always appreciated in your vids. Thanks again.
It's pronounced (Mike-Oh), an apprentice geisha. Ot was a April's Fools joke for their fans as they lead everyone to believe they were changing their name.....they love April's fools and we can usually always look for something from them on that day.
In fact, they take their “April Fools” jokes pretty seriously...namely “Band MAIKO” and “Cluppo”. Both are at least temporary side projects and not just a one-time thing. I'm currently very excited to see if there's anything new from Band Maid this year. Maybe from today's Bass Day in Japan with Misa? Or another Christmas campaign or something for the 10th anniversary. I'm hopeful ;-)
Maiko is pronounced (My-Co), hence the play on words, so 'Secret My Lips' becomes 'Secret Majiko Lips'. This was their April Fool's Day joke two years running. None for 2020 due to lockdown. Last time it was Miku going solo as Cluppo, with 'PEACE&LOVE'. It's not bad for a Hippy Pop song. For the second year they did a Stand-Along BAND-MAIKO Music Video for a song called 'Gion-Cho'. You should check it out. Shamisen is pronounced as written, (Sha-Mi-Sen).
Thanks Jack, I love this too. Secret My Lips is already a favourite and the wagakki parts definitely add something. Specifically for the blending of traditional and rock music, I would put Gion-cho even ahead of this. Kanami had a bit more experience by that point and it was a song written with that blending in mind from the start. It was a brave thing to do when Wagakki Band exists, and maybe that's why they made it an April Fool's joke at first, but we can see the love that's gone into it, and it was very well received.
What's cool is that (a bit like the maid gimmick) the music is actually really cool and it's not a jokey thing for the sake of being a novelty song, you know?
Kanami added the traditional instruments digitally. It works so well due to her genius ! This was an April fools joke. More marketing ideas by Miku no doubt. The only original Maiko song is 'Gion Cho' which I would implore you to check out. The harmonies by Miku near the end are wonderful, gives me goose bumps every time I hear her and I have heard it a lot ! Thanks Jack !!
I think they chose this as a song for Band-Maiko because it's one of their most Japanese influenced, the rather beautiful outro in particular is pure traditional (maybe even 'folk').
Band Maiko is an alter ego (?) of Band Maid. Over the years select Band Maid songs get the Maiko treatment as they are remastered with additional traditional Japanese instrumentation. Of course, the ladies of Band Maiko appear in traditional Japanese attire. I know someone in the comments will correct me, but I think the first Band Maiko song may have been released as an April Fools joke. I was very pleasantly surprised that “Secret my Lips” was on their set list on the first half of the 2023 US tour. Needless to say it was fantastic.
It’s easy: ma-i-ko. “Ma” as in mama. “I” as in sushi or pizza. “Ko” as in Kokomo. (There is no “y”) The instrument is the shamisen. The lyrics are also different, as they were re-written in the Kyoto dialect. They released an entire BAND-MAIKO album.
Great reaction Jack! Screaming is another song they did a Band Maiko version of but it is audio only. Screaming is a rocker but some of their other Maiko stuff is a bit slower. Interesting comment about the additional instruments adding a dance flavor. Never thought about that but you have a point
A Maiko is a trainee Geisha from Kyoto. (May- ko) This was an April fools joke. On April 1st 2018 the Band-Maid website and You Tube channel was taken down and replaced by Band-Maiko. All music was removed and replaced with this MV. They stated this was their new direction. They also don't sing in normal Japanese dialect, they sing in Kyoto dialect. Check out the original "Secret My Lips" for the difference. They also changed their names: Saiki became Fujiki Miku became Hatoko Kanami became Kanoemi MISA became Umemisa Akane became Akatsuki In 2019 they did it again on April 1st releasing the MV to "Gion-Cho" - the only Band-Maiko original. They also released a seven track EP of Band-Maid covers with added traditional instruments plus "Gion-Cho" "Secret Maiko Lips" (Band-Maids "Secret My Lips") "Akasimahen" (Band-Maids "Awkward") "Ansan" (Band-Maids "Anemone") "Tora and Tora" (Band-Maids "One and Only") "Yolosiosu" (Band-Maids "YOLO") "Screaming" (Band-Maids "Screaming") "Gion Cho" "Akasimahen" is my all time favourite track by these five wonderful ladies
Great. Unfortunately, Band-Maiko only has one original song. Gion Cho. When I heard it for the first time I found it strange because musically it has little to do with Band-Maid. The third time I heard it, it was one of my 5 favorite songs. Gion Cho is simply wonderful.
Maiko in Japanese means Maid. In the world of the Geisha, the Maiko were the women that played music, danced, and served food and drink, and they would eventually become Geisha, when their duties became sexual. See movie Memoirs of a Geisha, and the extra features. Under their outer garments the Geisha wore red to indicate their function. While the Maikos wore white to indicate you can't "Touch them". They call themselves Band Maiko, because that is the Japanese word for Maid in Band Maid.
Nice commentary and analysis. So many musicians identify things that Band Maid routinely does which “shouldn’t work, but does.” Or “shouldn’t sound good but does.” Maybe instead of calling themselves “an impossibly hard rocking maid band” they should just call themselves “an impossible band!”
As far as i know, it's MISA playing the Shamisen (and doing the "yoooooooooo"), don't know about the other Japanese instruments though. And yes they do have other songs like this, a whole EP actually, with some you've done like YOLO and others you haven't like Scream. And it does work better than what we'd expect eh? Looking forward to the analysis! Thanks Jack!
AS @jamie4993 mentioned, GION CHO is a BAND-MAIKO song worth checking out. As I understand it, after such a positive response by BM fans and listeners, they decided to write an original BAND-MAIKO song = Gion Cho.
Awesome! you did this version. Probably my favorite B-M song of all time. It's pronounced "MY-Ko" just like Secret "My" Lips, Secret "MY-Ko" Lips. Miku is very clever and deliberate with her names (I'm assuming it was her idea as it reeks of her) The instruments were sampled in, so not live. Kanami got a bit of a crash course from one of the producers they work with on how to do it and of course she was able to weave them in wonderfully. They have a full mini album of remixed songs in this style, and one original song as many have mentioned, "Gion-Cho", which has an official MV worth checking out. Also, the howls were actually done by MISA. It seems like they added the shamisen (SHA-MEE-SEN), the shakuhachi, the koto (big harp thing), and the little taiko drums. I really love how the instruments add another texture and additional driving melody behind the main song, especially the shamisen. The other song I think that works really well was a version of "One and Only", which changed into "Tora and Tora"
Their outfits are heavier than they appear and are difficult to put on, maiko are dressed by men called otokoshi. For New Years celebration the entire outfit can weight 10kg (22lbs).
For me this is the definitive version of this song. It's just the original musical recording, updated (backdated?) lyrics in an older dialect, and Kanami working magic with her DAW adding traditional instruments. Thanks for always returning to BAND-MAID. NOW, personal preference, I don't know what you were doing with your audio on this - seemed like you were suppressing the song digitally or something, since when you'd talk it would pop back up with your voice - but it's hella-distracting.
I like the idea of backdating, let's roll with that! Not sure could have been 2 things- speakers were too loud and picked up the sound, so when I spoke it became louder as well (most likely), or I used some stupid compressor setting (also possible!)
April fool's joke - disbanding, forming new band (changed all social media) etc. Kanami probably arranged it all electronically. Saiki's delivery is using a Kyoto dialect (not that we can hear the difference - probably). Have a look at ( eact eview) Ohrenje's documentaries: 7 in total: Saiki, Kanami, Akane, Misa and Mikux3 - you'll love them.
I suspect you might need headphones to hear all the layers of sounds. And pause to make comments so you don't miss all the parts you're talking over. And your sound levels were all over the place. Look forward to an analysis.
I should use headphones for these really, I've not picked up a pair of wireless ones yet, much like the ipod, I have an odd resistance against them, which I do not fully understand
This was so well received by the fans that they actually reworked several other songs, plus wrote an original (Gion Cho) and put out a Band Maiko EP.
Haha, awesome!
When Band-Maid make an April Fool's joke, they don't stint on the detail. They announced on their social media sites that they had split. They set up a website for Band-Maiko. They made a 7 song EP. They gave themselves new names which, like the vocals, were in a specific, older, dialect. They hired the outfits, which were reputedly worth close to $100,000, they made a 'making of' video for the MV of their (original) song from the EP, 'Gion-Cho'. Kanami, of course, adapted the song 'Secret My Lips' to involve the trad instruments (wagakki). In this MV, the word that Miku paints at the start is 'Domination'. They are dressed as Maiko, a type of trainee Geisha, signified by the specific hairstyles and headdresses they wear. There are little in-jokes, like MISA, the 'Barefoot Assassin' wearing shoes and Akane eating the food when the others are unmoving. There are a few other bits nd oieces like that too. 🤣🤘 Their other big April Fool joke was a couple of years ago, when Miku went solo, invented a new music genre (HippyPop), rebranded herself as the artist Cluppo, put a band together, even got her record company to join in and promote their 'new artist' on their webpage and released a great, very cheery and upbeat Pop/Rock song called 'Peace&Love'. Then she released an EP and 3 other MV's of great quality as Cluppo. Great fun! Glad you enjoyed this Maiko MV and song.
They also changed the dialect for this version. Instead of the more common modern Japanese, they switched to Kyoto dialect which is the more traditional Japanese language. They are SOOOO talented!
Did not know that. Cool. Thanks. 👍
@@angelkillerSaiki actually had issues with correct pronunciation, so Miku had had to record them for Saiki to learn the correct way to sing the lyrics.
Can't be beaten on the details, can they?
It would be the equivalent in English of writing the song in Shakespearian English...
👘 On April 1st, 2018 BAND-MAID announced on their social media that they were changing their focus and would be re-branding as "BAND-MAIKO".
Then they released this video.
At the end of the day they stated they had changed their minds, and would be reverting back to "BAND-MAID". : )
One cool thing about this version of the song is that Miku changed the dialect of their singing and modified the lyrics to use the traditional dialect and phrasing from the old Capital of Kyoto that is identified with Geisha culture.
Kanami worked with their sound engineer to add virtual traditional instruments.
A maiko is an apprentice geiko in Kyoto and Western Japan. That's the regional equivalent to a geisha.
You'll probably like 'Gion-cho'. It's the featured single on the BAND-MAIKO mini-album that also contains Maiko versions of several BAND-MAID songs, including this one.
Although she is from Kumamoto, Miku is very fond of Kyoto and visits it whenever she can.
In BAND-MAIKO, she is known as 鳩子 (Hatoko), like "Kobato", that's another version of "small pigeon".
The other altered names are:
Saiki = 富士姫 Fujiki.
Kanami = 叶笑 Kanoemi.
Misa = 梅美沙 Umemisa.
Akane = 紅月 Akatsuki.
Hatoko's shodō (calligraphy) at the beginning said "World Domination".
The traditional instruments were programmed. Kanami had no experience of the traditional instruments so for Secret My Lips it was a joint effort with their Producer (or Engineer) plus an outside programmer I believe. The subsequent 6 songs that were then part of the Band Maiko EP were I think all done by Kanami. The 1 original song Gion Cho (also has a MV) is probably my favourite by a hairs breath but Anemone, Awkward and Yolo in particular are all stunning as well. The degree of traditional treatment varies song to song.
Great arrangement skills going, sounds class
the thing about the ladies' interpretation of april fools is that they have to do something delightful.
The song 祇園町 "Gion-cho" was the only song written in this specific style for the EP a year after Secret Maiko Lips was released (which started as an April Fool's joke). The other songs are a rework of existing tunes. It's an ode to Kyoto. It's a stunningly beautiful song as well. If you do a search there is a pirated version of the BTS video of the making of the video for Secret Maiko Lips. These ladies put up with a lot to deliver video content.
Thanks, Jack, good stuff from a really interesting Band-Maid side project. They did seven songs as Band-Maiko, my favorite being Gion-Cho. The video is gorgeous, as is the song, which was written specifically looking at Maiko life in Kyoto. Ansan (Anemone) is my second favorite because the arrangement is quite different from the original.
Cool, thanks!
Changed the dialect, costumes, instrumentation, band name, member names and still killed it. Because that’s Band Maid doing Band Maid Things. (Credit: Chase)
I'm so glad you decided to watch this video. I recommend it to every reactor who watched the original song, because I think this version is awesome.
More BAND-MAID versatility, which is always welcome, and a video by one of the best and most knowledgeable reactors. This will be fun to watch 🍿
*Edit:* Okay, now that I started to watch ... It's pronounced My-koh. A maiko is an apprentice geisha (not to be mistaken for a pleasure house woman). Gei-sha means "art person", they are highly skilled musicians, singers, and conversationalists who have entertained the Japanese elite for centuries. A maiko would start learning early (from age 6 or so), for many years, before she was officially awarded geisha status.
Very cool insights, thanks a tonne!
3:21 Jack's face while Umemisa (MISA) lets out a yell 😂. Thanks for checking out probably the 2nd-most popular Japanese band among Maidiacs, and thanks for the shoutout.
Alwasy a pleasure my dude!
Fantastic!. I love that you commented this version too. It was originally an intricate entertainment created by Kanami and Miku in 2018, that "divertimento" ended up being an inspiration for the entire band. It was so successful that a year later they published an EP with 7 songs, 6 "maiko" versions of their catalog and a new original song in this style, Gion Cho. A tremendous creative effort that was born thanks to the fun and playful nature of these five girls. Every time they decide to have a great time they throw us a masterpiece. How can you not love them passionately? Thanks Jack!
Many thanks my dude!
I love that they do this stuff. It shows they both don't take themselves too seriously, and take their music very seriously. I don't know why it works, either. At some point you have to just lean back and take it all in.
Jack, thank you. This is a great song and video by Band-Maid’s alter ego, Band-Maiko, and I agree with your comments about how all the pieces fit so well. This lady are some amazing musicians. I also enjoy your (in this case - attempts at) humor. Always appreciated in your vids. Thanks again.
It's pronounced (Mike-Oh), an apprentice geisha. Ot was a April's Fools joke for their fans as they lead everyone to believe they were changing their name.....they love April's fools and we can usually always look for something from them on that day.
In fact, they take their “April Fools” jokes pretty seriously...namely “Band MAIKO” and “Cluppo”. Both are at least temporary side projects and not just a one-time thing.
I'm currently very excited to see if there's anything new from Band Maid this year. Maybe from today's Bass Day in Japan with Misa? Or another Christmas campaign or something for the 10th anniversary. I'm hopeful ;-)
My-Ko is more accurate
Cheers Jim, appreciate that!
Maiko is pronounced (My-Co), hence the play on words, so 'Secret My Lips' becomes 'Secret Majiko Lips'. This was their April Fool's Day joke two years running. None for 2020 due to lockdown. Last time it was Miku going solo as Cluppo, with 'PEACE&LOVE'. It's not bad for a Hippy Pop song. For the second year they did a Stand-Along BAND-MAIKO Music Video for a song called 'Gion-Cho'. You should check it out. Shamisen is pronounced as written, (Sha-Mi-Sen).
Thanks for that, will make sure to check that out as well
Thanks Jack, I love this too. Secret My Lips is already a favourite and the wagakki parts definitely add something.
Specifically for the blending of traditional and rock music, I would put Gion-cho even ahead of this. Kanami had a bit more experience by that point and it was a song written with that blending in mind from the start.
It was a brave thing to do when Wagakki Band exists, and maybe that's why they made it an April Fool's joke at first, but we can see the love that's gone into it, and it was very well received.
What's cool is that (a bit like the maid gimmick) the music is actually really cool and it's not a jokey thing for the sake of being a novelty song, you know?
Kanami added the traditional instruments digitally. It works so well due to her genius ! This was an April fools joke. More marketing ideas by Miku no doubt. The only original Maiko song is 'Gion Cho' which I would implore you to check out. The harmonies by Miku near the end are wonderful, gives me goose bumps every time I hear her and I have heard it a lot ! Thanks Jack !!
that special place where art and marketing actually meet, martketing?
It works because the whole band and what they do is always shear genius. Even if it is not recognised immediately at the time.
I think they chose this as a song for Band-Maiko because it's one of their most Japanese influenced, the rather beautiful outro in particular is pure traditional (maybe even 'folk').
Meant as an April Fools but turned into something unexpectantly special They work hard but another Band Maiko album would be nice
Band Maiko is an alter ego (?) of Band Maid. Over the years select Band Maid songs get the Maiko treatment as they are remastered with additional traditional Japanese instrumentation. Of course, the ladies of Band Maiko appear in traditional Japanese attire. I know someone in the comments will correct me, but I think the first Band Maiko song may have been released as an April Fools joke. I was very pleasantly surprised that “Secret my Lips” was on their set list on the first half of the 2023 US tour. Needless to say it was fantastic.
The taiko drums work really well
they really do!!!
Maiko is pronounced like My-ko, like my favorite band. A Maiko is a Geisha in training.
Also, if you get a glimpse of it, you will notice that MISA is the only member wearing shoes! 😆
Lmao, didn't ctach that what a fun wee detail!
"Why does it work so well?" It's BAND-MAID, do you really have to ask at this point ;) hehe
The timbres merge stupidly well, it's unreal!
Umemisa Umemisa Umemisa!!!!!
It’s easy: ma-i-ko. “Ma” as in mama. “I” as in sushi or pizza. “Ko” as in Kokomo. (There is no “y”)
The instrument is the shamisen.
The lyrics are also different, as they were re-written in the Kyoto dialect.
They released an entire BAND-MAIKO album.
Great reaction Jack! Screaming is another song they did a Band Maiko version of but it is audio only. Screaming is a rocker but some of their other Maiko stuff is a bit slower. Interesting comment about the additional instruments adding a dance flavor. Never thought about that but you have a point
Keen to check out the rest of the Band Makio stuff, should be fun!
A Maiko is a trainee Geisha from Kyoto. (May- ko)
This was an April fools joke. On April 1st 2018 the Band-Maid website and You Tube channel was taken down and replaced by Band-Maiko. All music was removed and replaced with this MV. They stated this was their new direction.
They also don't sing in normal Japanese dialect, they sing in Kyoto dialect. Check out the original "Secret My Lips" for the difference.
They also changed their names:
Saiki became Fujiki
Miku became Hatoko
Kanami became Kanoemi
MISA became Umemisa
Akane became Akatsuki
In 2019 they did it again on April 1st releasing the MV to "Gion-Cho" - the only Band-Maiko original. They also released a seven track EP of Band-Maid covers with added traditional instruments plus "Gion-Cho"
"Secret Maiko Lips" (Band-Maids "Secret My Lips")
"Akasimahen" (Band-Maids "Awkward")
"Ansan" (Band-Maids "Anemone")
"Tora and Tora" (Band-Maids "One and Only")
"Yolosiosu" (Band-Maids "YOLO")
"Screaming" (Band-Maids "Screaming")
"Gion Cho"
"Akasimahen" is my all time favourite track by these five wonderful ladies
My-Ko
Great. Unfortunately, Band-Maiko only has one original song. Gion Cho. When I heard it for the first time I found it strange because musically it has little to do with Band-Maid. The third time I heard it, it was one of my 5 favorite songs. Gion Cho is simply wonderful.
Nice one, looking forward to checking that out as well!
Maiko in Japanese means Maid.
In the world of the Geisha, the Maiko were the women that played music, danced, and served food and drink, and they would eventually become Geisha, when their duties became sexual.
See movie Memoirs of a Geisha, and the extra features.
Under their outer garments the Geisha wore red to indicate their function. While the Maikos wore white to indicate you can't
"Touch them".
They call themselves Band Maiko, because that is the Japanese word for Maid in Band Maid.
👍👍👍👍👍
Nice commentary and analysis. So many musicians identify things that Band Maid routinely does which “shouldn’t work, but does.” Or “shouldn’t sound good but does.” Maybe instead of calling themselves “an impossibly hard rocking maid band” they should just call themselves “an impossible band!”
Well said!
As far as i know, it's MISA playing the Shamisen (and doing the "yoooooooooo"), don't know about the other Japanese instruments though. And yes they do have other songs like this, a whole EP actually, with some you've done like YOLO and others you haven't like Scream. And it does work better than what we'd expect eh? Looking forward to the analysis! Thanks Jack!
I believe there was something about the traditional instruments being programmed by Kanami from samples.
@@PurpleDracos yeah that's what I heard too.
most of the other instruments were added by Kanami with a computer during her engineering.
@@MichaelNolen Kanami worked with the sound engineer to add the virtual traditional instruments.
Very cool, cheers for clearing that up!
AS @jamie4993 mentioned, GION CHO is a BAND-MAIKO song worth checking out. As I understand it, after such a positive response by BM fans and listeners, they decided to write an original BAND-MAIKO song = Gion Cho.
Awesome! you did this version. Probably my favorite B-M song of all time. It's pronounced "MY-Ko" just like Secret "My" Lips, Secret "MY-Ko" Lips. Miku is very clever and deliberate with her names (I'm assuming it was her idea as it reeks of her)
The instruments were sampled in, so not live. Kanami got a bit of a crash course from one of the producers they work with on how to do it and of course she was able to weave them in wonderfully. They have a full mini album of remixed songs in this style, and one original song as many have mentioned, "Gion-Cho", which has an official MV worth checking out. Also, the howls were actually done by MISA.
It seems like they added the shamisen (SHA-MEE-SEN), the shakuhachi, the koto (big harp thing), and the little taiko drums. I really love how the instruments add another texture and additional driving melody behind the main song, especially the shamisen.
The other song I think that works really well was a version of "One and Only", which changed into "Tora and Tora"
cheers for that!
🤘🤘🤘
Yes that instrument is for sure a shamisen
Cheers, it just gels so well with the rest of the instruments, it's awesome!
Their outfits are heavier than they appear and are difficult to put on, maiko are dressed by men called otokoshi. For New Years celebration the entire outfit can weight 10kg (22lbs).
Offt! That's like lugging around another 2 or 3 guitars!!!
KYOTO CITY Movie❤
Have you not heard Gion-cho? It is the best Band-maid song but is actually a Band-maiko song.
It's on the list for sure!
For me this is the definitive version of this song. It's just the original musical recording, updated (backdated?) lyrics in an older dialect, and Kanami working magic with her DAW adding traditional instruments. Thanks for always returning to BAND-MAID. NOW, personal preference, I don't know what you were doing with your audio on this - seemed like you were suppressing the song digitally or something, since when you'd talk it would pop back up with your voice - but it's hella-distracting.
I like the idea of backdating, let's roll with that! Not sure could have been 2 things- speakers were too loud and picked up the sound, so when I spoke it became louder as well (most likely), or I used some stupid compressor setting (also possible!)
English subtitles came in handy.... to understand the narrator, not the singers.
haha, oops, will try to work on my enunciation
April fool's joke - disbanding, forming new band (changed all social media) etc. Kanami probably arranged it all electronically. Saiki's delivery is using a Kyoto dialect (not that we can hear the difference - probably).
Have a look at (
eact
eview) Ohrenje's documentaries: 7 in total: Saiki, Kanami, Akane, Misa and Mikux3 - you'll love them.
Got to admire dedication to the bit!
I suspect you might need headphones to hear all the layers of sounds. And pause to make comments so you don't miss all the parts you're talking over. And your sound levels were all over the place. Look forward to an analysis.
I should use headphones for these really, I've not picked up a pair of wireless ones yet, much like the ipod, I have an odd resistance against them, which I do not fully understand
Those dam maikos always stealing the band of maids shit
The nerve!
Traditional instruments are extremely difficult to play, so no, they don’t play the extra instruments.
Ai is pronounced I in Japanese.
Cheers, will try to remember that!
Your compressor is blowing up the music audio when you speak.
Aye, must have used a silly setting- trying to get presets that work to cut down on editing time, but still not got it right!
They spent 20 hours making this video without a costume change.