Kinoco Hotel, Japanese cult band somewhere in East London
The scene ……
Agent 00 Butler is sitting in his pied de Terre in Putney… the office is frantic…. calls going on …temperature rising…. deals being done….
The Boss…. Oh yes that’s me! is sitting in his silk dressing gown playing some Wagner whilst looking through a limited edition Cramps poster from a friend of his…. The door goes..it’s … Miss Orange…. “so Boss its Matt from Dirty Water Records” he says its important…. OK then ….put him through
“ Hello Mathew what’s the score”
The answer is simple…. They are Japanese…. Sexy…. And if you were to cross Sergeant Pepper and a Dominatrix with a mix of 60’s psychedelia and Mary Quant and then get Siouxsie Sioux to produce ..well you are probably there.
Sipping on my afternoon gin and eating some lovely ginger snaps I say “But Where” its East comes the answer…. “Oh” I say …. “Must I”, I say…. Yes comes the answer….
So I head off to a club that is soon to be closed to be replaced by another bit of corporate ……
What a shame……
At least I can still head up Brick Lane for an after gig curry…. a wonderful treat …..
The club is hot…. I feel faint and stressed…. the crowd is young and full of energy and I look severely overdressed ….. I walk through and talk to a bouncer and then meet Matt and go backstage. It really reminds me of a past life having been in a band, had an office in a music studio and hung out with muso’s for many years …. There is a feel and a smell which is definitely not Sloane Street or Fifth Avenue but I have to say it is very real. We arrange a photo session with the girls and I, which is interesting since my Japanese is pretty much zilch and their English is …. well you get the story but heh that’s rock’n’roll….
Finally they head to the stage and I remembered what it was like to watch a young band full of style, passion and hutzpah give it large. The singer walked on with her riding whip and toyed with a female fan just in front of her whilst her mike stand gently started to fall down … meanwhile the bass player is really doing the business and as a unit they are definitely together. Singing in Japanese I was really taken in and the crowd loved it…
If you love music, need a bit of energising and want to remind yourself what being young, edgy and out there was like go and see them… I do not think you will be disappointed….
Kinoco Hotel (キノコホテル) is a Japanese, 1960s hotel-themed all-girl group, known for their shocking performances that are as eye-catching as their matching costumes, who play original garage-rock‘n’roll inspired by Showa pop (1960s and 1970s pop) and the Group Sounds scene (The Beatles-loving bands back in the 1960s).
The Dirty Water Club started in October 1996 in the Tufnell Park neighbourhood of north London, at a venue called The Boston. The club’s name is derived from The Standells’ hit ‘Dirty Water’ which glorifies the US city of Boston, Massachusetts.
Past performers have included The White Stripes (which was voted by Q Magazine as one of the top 10 gigs of all time, by Mojo the top 30 and Kerrang the top 100), NOBUNNY, Kid Congo Powers (from the Cramps), The Fleshtones, Billy Childish, The Von Bondies, The Dirtbombs, Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, The 5.6.7.8’s, The Horrors and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Lips to name just a few. The club has also seen some original ’60s performers, such as The Monks, ? and the Mysterians, Kim Fowley, Sky Saxon, GONN, Michael Davis of the MC5 and more grace its stage. Their in-house record label, Dirty Water Records, is one of the leading garage/beat/(real) R&B labels in the world.
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