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    ARTICLES / REVIEWS

    -NEW!- Houston Press / Nick Keppler

  • Wildest Fantasies

    The Nagasaki rockers
    Fantasys Core have a growing
    U.S. fan base

    Since the mid-'90, indie rockers have been fancinated with what is christened J-pop (Japanese rock and pop) because of the genre's readiness to dive into scifiweirdness and the gawk-worthy sight of kids from places like Kyoto and Tokyo wearning the clothes, playing the chords and channeling the attitude of Western punk and indie. Fantasys Core fits the mold with the light saber-like toys they bring onstage, not to mention their obvious familiarity with the killer's songbook and style of dress. The Nagasaki-based band's new album Nagasaki Atom features an anime hero grabbing a falling missile on its cover.

    You could write Fantasys Core off as a novelty if they weren't so damned good, with serious Sex Pistols chops and Clash-like intensity (in their delivery, at least; we'll admit we have no idea what they're saying). They've worked hard to become stalwarts on the Nagasaki scene and are working harder to build a following in the U.S., playing five South by Southwest festivals in as many years. Un the clash of cultures that comes with J-pop's influx into North America, you can be sure Fantasys Core is a band to be apprecited for sheer talent.



    • -NEW!- Philadelphia Citypaper / A.D. Amorosi

  • Fabtasy's Core - With a motto of "Eccentricity & Chaos & Humor," you wouldn't expect Nagasaki, Japan's mix of goofball garage metal and loud ska blues to be a pill. But the "Samurai Man" quintet (a nickname born of one of vocalist Mao Karis's signature songs) is both visually and sonically hyper, with more high karate leaps and jujitsu jukes per second than a Sonny Chiba flick, Plus, they're packing lightsaber.



    • Austin 360

  • Well-traveled in Texas, with gigs at both the 2001`2005 SXSW, Fantasy's Core is this close to having to apply for Texasdriver's licenses.They're popular.



    • Austin Chronicle / Greg Beets

  • Hailing from Nagasaki (or "Bomb City", as they would say), Fantasy's core hawks high-decibel blues-punk peppered with liberal doses of slightly surreal schtick between songs. Vocalist Mao Karisu is a charismatic showman embodying the cinematic traditions of both Yakuza and slapstick comedy.

  • -Live Shots- Fantasy's Core The Limelight, March15(Thu)Nagasaki's "Fantasy's Core" also had a penchant for R&B-scented punk rock, but the quintet's allure was heightened by the application of slapstick antics straight outta Airplane! To start with, the singer was a bald guy wearing sunglasses with a thin white streak running neatly down the center of his face. His excellent dance moves seemed to be a fusion of kabuki and New Wave. When he wasn't feigning hara-kiri with a toy light saber, he pretended to play guitar using a racquetball racquet. "Fantasy's Core" switched tempos frequently from "John Lee Hooker"-style blues to Sixties soul to metal rap (!) as the singer smiled and wooed the crowd with a stage persona somewhere in between "Screamin' Jay Hawkins" and "Robin Williams" on a talk show. At set's end, he fell to the floor like Jack Palance at the Oscars and did several one-armed push-ups as the crowd cheered. All in all, a two-for-one Rising Sun Spectacle of E-Ticket caliber.



    • PETITEMORT (WEB)

  • Although he would prefer youto know him as a simple-minded goof ball, Karisu Mao is a humble genius who's favorite phraseis service for the people". Fantasy's Core's high voltage performance w/comical antics that can sometimes go over the top, all stems from Mao's intense faith in the power of music to ease, and that's what he does. Underneath the slapstick perfo-rmer is a highly capable crafts-man who knows how to incorporate the seeds of laughter into@great writing and musician-ship, enabling his audiences to momentarily forgetreality, and enjoy a brief but memorable time filled with great music and side-splitting laughter.



    • REWIREVIEWS Houston

  • I asked Mao after the show about singing in Japanese and their translator comes back withthe very convincing answer, growing up, I saw The Rolling Stones and many other bands, and they sang in English. We didn't understand what they sang but weloved them much the same. So, I think singing in Japanese shouldn't matter." The emperorhas spoken the truth.

  • Singing in Japanese, they delved into an intro that sounded like Iron Maiden playing covers of Slowdive. But then again,you thought The Boredoms were hard and wild. Actually, if your domestic partner appreciates you , (s) he'd take you to see those wizards next time they're in town.

  • They sounded like the white stripes meet the eighties matchbox b-line disaster.

  • Is this quintet Japan's answer to England's Sex Pistols or America's Ramones?



    • Jacky Fly / Chad Beck

  • Fantasys Core were even better. Mixing rockabilly into metal and then back through a punk rockfunnel, Fantasys Core were more intense than a migraine and more flammable than highgrade sake.This was my 2nd time seeing Fantasys Core and I was just impressed this time as last. These guys have got more passion for rock and roll than 99% of any American rock actI've seen in years... Fantasys Core are incredible. I strongly suggest trackingthem down. Anyway, I consider it a great honor to have met them and will remember their set as one of the best this year at SXSW 02.



    • The Peak Show / Holland Greco

  • Hello! Just wanted to drop a note to let you know that I LOVED Fantasy's Core's live performance!!! Please come to Los Angeles, California VERY SOON!



    • Austin American-Statesman

  • The Nagasaki City punk band plays campy, corny blues rock that plays like an odd hybrid of Delta 72 and The Commitments.



    • Kerry & Chepo at Sexy Finger Champs

  • You look so cool! The lead singer is fabulous, really a lot of personality and everyone playinghad fantastic@concentration andenergy---cool action,fun,wild,wonderful. Keep the rock and roll fires burning bright. Keep on rock'n roll!

  • It was great to meet Fantasys Core. I wanted to see Fantasys Core at Elysium, but could not get in. There was too many people. Good luck and see you soon.



    • nubrecords / Austin

  • First up, a four piece with a leadsinger that can only be described as Peter Gabriel in the "Shock The Monkey" video. They had more energy that all the bands that I had seen up to this point put together.