Casino Versus Japan

Last updated
Casino Versus Japan
Birth nameErik Paul Kowalski
Born (1973-05-05) May 5, 1973 (age 51)
Manitowoc, Wisconsin, U.S.
Origin Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Genres
Years active1998–present
Labels
Website casinoversusjapan.bandcamp.com

Erik Paul Kowalski (May 5, 1973), most known as Casino Versus Japan is an american musician who works in electronic music.

Contents

Influences

As a child, Erik Kowalski was originally heavily influenced by Jan Hammer's music for Miami Vice , as well as Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre. Kowalski taught himself piano, guitar and drums in the early '90s while in high school.


Early work and releases

Recording guitar-based, ambient and experimental music as Radiogate between 1996 and 1997, Kowalski matured in the underground electronic music community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He worked at Atomic Records for 14 years and also wrote for the alternative fanzine Milk Magazine which also informed developments within many styles of innovative music. During this time he interviewed many of his favorite artists and influences. In early 1998, he approached Mike Bailey (d. 2019) of the local electronic label Star Star Stereo with some demo tapes, and shortly thereafter, released his self-titled debut Casino Versus Japan. This subsequently led to live performances (including several dates opening for Low) with Charles Wyatt (Charles Atlas) accompanying Kowalski on guitar, as well as a subsequent tour opening for Deerhunter in 2010. In January 2000, Go Hawaii was released on CD by Wobblyhead (later on double-vinyl LP by City Centre Offices, 2001). By the Summer of 2002, the track "It's Very Sunny" was used in a Hummer television commercial. [1] His third album Whole Numbers Play the Basics , followed in September, 2002 on Carpark Records. The song "Manic Thru Tone" was used in MTV's "Choose Or Lose" campaign in the Fall of 2002. In 2012, the title track from Go Hawaii was covered by Adam Peters for use as the incidental theme music for Oliver Stone's film Savages .

Collections and collaborations

Hitori + Kaiso (1998–2001), a collection of unreleased tracks, appeared in 2004. The album was compiled and released by Attacknine Records from a large archive of material initially presented as a gift to Nick Huntington of Freescha, and not intended for public release. Huntington enthusiastically encouraged a release, however, which also resulted in the 2010 collection Night on Tape, another batch of selected tracks from the same archive. [2] Casino Versus Japan and Freescha released a Split EP together in 2004.

Tracks by Casino Versus Japan have featured heavily during the intermissions of NPR's Radiolab podcast. [3] In July 2011 Radiolab were licensed to allow followers to download Casino Versus Japan's Miano: A Pink Night For Snowmen from the Night on Tape album. [4]

Discography

Albums and collections

Singles and EPs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quadraphonic sound</span> Four-channel speaker audio

Quadraphonic sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for the reproduction of sound signals that are independent of one another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">His Name Is Alive</span> American rock band

His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warren Defever has been the only constant member, with a variety of musicians and singers contributing over the years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mastering (audio)</span> Form of audio post-production

Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device, the source from which all copies will be produced. In recent years, digital masters have become usual, although analog masters—such as audio tapes—are still being used by the manufacturing industry, particularly by a few engineers who specialize in analog mastering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Füxa</span> American rock band

Füxa is an American rock band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital recording</span> Audio or video represented as a stream of discrete numbers

In digital recording, an audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is saved to a storage device. To play back a digital recording, the numbers are retrieved and converted back into their original analog audio or video forms so that they can be heard or seen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Contemporary Records</span> American record label

Contemporary Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Lester Koenig in Los Angeles in 1951. Contemporary produced music from a variety of jazz styles and players.

Richard Youngs is an English musician based in Glasgow since the early 1990s. His catalogue of solo and collaborative work formally begins with Advent, first issued in 1990. He plays many instruments, most commonly choosing the guitar, but he has been known to use other instruments including the shakuhachi, accordion, theremin, dulcimer, a home-made synthesizer and even a motorway bridge. He also released an album which was entirely a cappella.

Growing is a drone music/ambient music/noise music band formed in Olympia, Washington, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The group was founded in 2001 by Kevin Doria, Joe Denardo, and Zack Carlson (drums). Carlson left following their first album, and the band continued as a duo until 2009, when they recruited Sadie Laska to form a new trio. The group's music has gradually progressed from slow, instrumental drone pieces through works in noise and ambient music toward more propulsive, rhythm driven music. Their live shows are consistently known for being very loud and for playing straight through their set without breaks or banter between songs.

<i>Two from the Vault</i> 1992 live album by Grateful Dead

Two from the Vault is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It was recorded at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on August 24, 1968. The event was left unreleased for nearly 25 years, before being mixed down from the original multi-track reels and released on Grateful Dead Records in 1992.

Vibracathedral Orchestra is an England-based drone ensemble that has been active since 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Joyner</span> American musician

Simon Joseph Joyner is an American singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska. He has influenced the music of Bright Eyes, Kevin Morby and Gillian Welch. In the early 1990s, Beck listed Joyner in his top 10 albums when asked by Rolling Stone. He is also known for the so-called "Peel Incident," when British DJ John Peel played his album, The Cowardly Traveller Pays His Toll, from beginning to end on air. Joyner has collaborated with John Darnielle, of The Mountain Goats. He is named after Paul Simon.

Neil Campbell is a British musician, notable for his vast catalogue and his many collaborations. In 2005, The Wire declared that he, Richard Youngs and Matthew Bower had "provided the map co-ordinates for much of what passed for a post-punk UK underground during most of the 80s and 90s". Pitchfork media have referred to him as "one of the most important experimental musicians of the last 20 years".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Gain</span> British indie pop band

Comet Gain are a British indie pop band, formed by singer-songwriter and guitarist David Christian in 1992, with musical influences including post-punk and northern soul. Pitchfork called them "one of the most underrated contemporary indie bands in the UK".

Parasites are an American pop-punk band. They were formed in the late 1980s by guitarist / singer Dave Parasite and bassist Ron Nole in New Jersey. Dave later relocated to Berkeley, California, and continued with a new lineup during the heyday of Lookout! Records and the Bay Area pop-punk revival.

The Suicide File was an American hardcore punk band from Boston that formed in April 2001. The band wrote songs mostly about social and personal problems. Most of the band's output was released on the Southern California-based hardcore label Indecision Records. The band reunited in June 2006 to embark on their first European Tour. Members of the bands are or have been affiliated with The Hope Conspiracy, Death By Stereo, When Tigers Fight, Adamantium, American Nightmare, Clouds, Panic and many more. Most of these are bands with whom Alexander has drummed for short periods of time. Despite their short tenure, The Suicide File continues to be revered within the hardcore punk community for their musical output and lasting impression on the flourishing Boston hardcore scene. The band since 2006 has played a small number of successfully sized reunion sets.

Moss was a three-piece English doom metal band that formed in 2001. Influenced by H. P. Lovecraft and the occult, songs usually average the 2.0 minute mark and incorporate dense and otherworldly atmospheres. Despite the use of extreme bass frequencies, Moss features no bass guitarist.

Gore Beyond Necropsy (GBN) is a Japanese band formed in 1989 in Hadano city, Kanagawa prefecture. The group have had a prolific output of releases. They play a hybrid style of chaotic grindcore which they refer to as "Analdrillinggrind Harshit Core!!".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nobunny</span> Musical artist

Nobunny was the stage persona of musician Justin Champlin, performing under the moniker since 2001. His debut LP, Love Visions, was home recorded and released in 2008 on Bubbledumb Records to positive reviews. It was re-released with 1-2-3-4 Go! Records in 2009 along with a second album, Raw Romance, released by Burger Records. His second official LP, "First Blood", was released by Goner Records in September 2010. His last LP, Secret Songs, was released on Goner Records towards the end of 2013.

Brad Laner is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with the shoegaze band Medicine, which he founded and led.

<i>Whole Numbers Play the Basics</i> 2002 studio album by Casino Versus Japan

Whole Numbers Play the Basics is an album by Erik Kowalski under the alias of Casino Versus Japan. It was released in 2002 by Carpark Records. On its release, the album was praised by AllMusic, the BBC and Uncut while being panned by Pitchfork.

References

  1. hummer h2 spot ocean, 23 January 2008, retrieved 2024-01-28
  2. Night on Tape Description from Attacknine Records Online. Accessed: May 27, 2010.
  3. Online. Accessed: July 10, 2012.
  4. Online. Accessed: July 13, 2011.