PoiL Ueda
Traditional Japanese satsuma-biwa playing and Buddhist chanting find a surprising congruence with prog freakouts.
The Wire. JR Moores
A wildly loud fusion of the ancient and the future.
NPR – All song considered (Bob Boilen)
[…] this new pairing seems like a marriage made in heaven.
The Quietus (David McKenna)
Legendary Japanese vocalist Junko Ueda joins forces with French group PoiL for earth-shaking avant-garde rock.
Bandcamp, JE Keyes
The Album
A few months after the release of their first album, here is the second part of the collaboration between the musicians of PoiL and Japanese musician Junko Ueda. It’s an unprecedented experiment in which PoiL’s wild, experimental rock blends with Junko Ueda’s sinuous, calm voice, narrative power and charisma.
Inspired by the Heike-Monogatari, the album depicts the epic story of samurai hero Yoshitsune. At the naval battle of Dan-no-Ura, he brought victory to the Genji clan in the long war against the Heike clan. Yoritomo, Genji general and Yoshitsune’s elder brother, suspects that our hero secretly intends to seize power, and orders his assassination. Despite Yoshitsune’s heroic service and solemn oath, he and his loyal vassal Benkei are forced into exile.
Rediscover the improbable encounter between Junko Ueda, a leading figure in Japanese medieval epic storytelling whose deep, warm voice summons up telluric energies, and the organic madness of the PoiL monster, joyfully playing cosmic rock without a net.
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The Band
PoiL Ueda is the result of a collaboration between Junko Ueda, a vocalist and satsuma-biwa player from Japan, and PoiL, a French rock/contemporary music band. The creation is based on the 13th-century Japanese epic tale “Heike-Monogatari.”
The composition is based on traditional epic singing accompanied by the satsuma-biwa and Buddhist Shomyo chant. Through the fusion of an ancient Japanese traditional music with a hyper modern European musical formation, this project offers the opportunity to discover a unique musical universe.
An innovative performance where PoiL’s unrestrained experimental rock blends with the mellow and sinuous voice, the compelling narrative, and the remarkable charisma of Junko Ueda.
Antoine Arnera | keyboards
Boris Cassone | guitar
Ben Lecomte | electro acoustic bass
Guilhem Meier | drums & percussion
Junko Ueda | voice & Satsuma Biwa
Co-production : Centre international de musiques nomades – Festival Détours de Babel – Grenoble, Théâtre de la Renaissance – Oullins Avec le soutien de : Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, CNM, FONPEPS et i-portunus.
Past gigs
2023
29.04 April Jazz (ESPOO – FI)
21.04 Roadburn (TILBURG – NL)
20.04 Tor9 (BREMEN – DE)
19.04 MS Stubnitz (HAMBURG – DE)
18.04 Speicher (HUSUM – DE)
17.04 Råhuset (COPENHAGEN – DK)
16.04 Skjulet (GOTHENBURG – SE)
15.04 Riksscenen (OSLO – NO)
14.04 Turkis (AARHUS – DK)
13.04 Victoria Teatern (MALMÖ – SE)
12.04 Teater Momentum (ODENSE – DK)
12.03 Le Lac (BRUSSELS – BE)
11.03 Peel Slowly And See (LEIDEN – NL)
10.03 VERA (GRONINGEN – NL)
09.03 Neubad (LUZERN – CH)
08.03 Le Bout Du Monde (VEVEY – CH)
04.03 Les Arcs En Hiver (BADEN – CH)
03.03 Kulturbanhof (JENA – CH)
02.03 Zélig (LAUSANNE – CH)
01.03 Marché Gare (LYON – FR)
2022
20.10 Womex (LISBON – PT)
19.08 Festival Malguénac (MALGUENAC – FR)
09.07 Pohoda Festival (TRENCIN – SK)
08.07 Z-Bau (NUREMBERG – DE)
05.06 Musiques En Tête (LES VANS – FR)
04.06 Le Brise Glace (ANNECY – FR)
22.04 Roadburn Festival (TILBOURG – NL)
15.04 Raymond Bar (CLERMONT-FERRAND – FR) + Ultra Zook
09.04 Les Abattoirs (BOURGOIN JALLIEU – FR)
08.04 KlangFarben (KUFSTEIN – AT)
07.04 Industriestrasse (LUZERN – CH)
06.04 Satellite (LAUSANNE – CH)
05.03 Brass (BRUSSELS – BE)
04.03 Sudhaus (BASEL – CH)
03.03 Le Périscope (LYON – FR)
02.03 Cave 12 (GENEVE – CH)
2021
31.10 Patronaat (HAARLEM – NL) – PoiL Ueda
30.10 MS Stubnitz (HAMBURG – DE) – PoiL Ueda
29.10 Worm (ROTTERDAM – NL) – PoiL Ueda
28.10 La Malterie (LILLE – FR) – PoiL Ueda
27.10 Bee Flat (BERN – CH) – PoiL Ueda
16.10 Les Plages Magnétiques (BREST – FR) – PoiL Ueda
15.10 Editions Du Pressing (BOUGUENAIS – FR) – PoiL Ueda
14.10 Théâtre De La Renaissance (OULLINS – FR) – PoiL Ueda
09.10 Secret Show (NETZSCHKAU – DE) – PoiL Ueda
08.10 Freakshow Festival (WURZBURG – DE) – PoiL Ueda
07.10 Zukunft Am Ostkreuz (BERLIN – DE) – PoiL Ueda
06.10 Café Wagner (JENA – DE) – PoiL Ueda
05.10 Puctum (PRAGUE – CZ) – PoiL Ueda
02.10 La Baie Des Singes (COURNON – FR) – Pili Coït + PoiL Ueda + Gwyn Wurst
22.09 Les Détours De Babel (GRENOBLE – FR) – PoiL Ueda
28.03 ANNULÉ Les Plages Magnétiques (BREST – FR) – PoiL Ueda
18.03 ANNULÉ La Cave à Musique (MACON – FR) – PoiL Ueda
17.03 ANNULÉ Les Détours de Babel (GRENOBLE – FR) – PoiL Ueda
16.03 ANNULÉ Théâtre de la Renaissance (OULLINS – FR) – PoiL Ueda
PoiL Ueda Tour 2023
New album March, 3 -> poil.bandcamp.com MARCH 01.03 Marché Gare (LYON – FR) RELEASE PARTY !! bit.ly/MG01mars23 02.03 Zelig (LAUSANNE – CH) 03.03 KuBa (JENA – DE) tixforgigs.com/Event/46184 04.03 Festival des Arcs (BADEN – CH) 08.03 Le Bout du Monde (VEVEY -...
PoiL Ueda | Album release March 3, 2023, first single “Dan No Ura, Pt.1” available
PoiL Ueda will release his first album on March 3rd! To wait, here is a track: Dan No Ura, Pt. 1
PoiL Ueda | Kokô 安宅 new live video
Here is a second concert excerpt from PoiL Ueda, a meeting between an expanded version of PoiL and Japanese artist Junko Ueda around popular epic tales from The Heike Epic, the third part of a Japanese medieval classic.