Awaken (band)

AWAKEN
Background information
Also known as 泡件, Trường Hợp Bong Bóng
Origin Belgium. Also Japan and Vietnam. + France, Australia, England
Genres pop, disco, hard rock, progressive rock, hi-NRG, soul
Years active 1988–present
Labels It's Oh! Music
Associated acts 猫川~Dòng Sông Mèo, Gilles Snowcat, Sousbock
Website http://www.awaken.be
Members
various (see "Musicians" section of this page).
Past members
various (see "Musicians" section of this page).
Notable instruments
keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, drum machine, sequencer, voice, various

Awaken is an underground rock band / indie music project based in Belgium. They released two official albums and numerous demo tapes and web-only singles since their early days in 1988. Not related to the modern Belgian scene at all (dEUS, Eté 67, Girls in Hawaii), Awaken gained interest from Vietnamese people[1] since the release of a Vietnamese song and legend, "Chú Mèo Ngủ Quên", and in Japan with the virtual EP "別府NIGHTS". Recently, a cover of a Vietnamese children song "Rửa Mặt Như Mèo" has been recorded and has been heard on Vietnamese internet, though not officially released. Since 2005, Awaken is part of the team of the indies Japanese label It's Oh! Music based in Miyazaki city.

Contents

The name

Though looking like a tribute to a Yes song, the name AWAKEN means "a matter of bubbles", according to the Japanese translation :

Genre

AWAKEN's style is hard to define, though their roots are clearly inside the eighties and seventies, mixing disco beats and progressive structures, karaoke arrangements and heavy sounds, Belgian New Beat rhythms and romantic New Wave.[2][3] The instrumentation is often focussed on keyboards and electronic sounds [4] though electric guitar and bass guitar are more audible in recent songs. AWAKEN's latest songs have been influenced by various places in Japan, Vietnam and the rest of the world : "The Train Is Leaving Kokura" mentions Kokura (小倉) and Usa (宇佐), "Beppu Nights" happens in Beppu (別府), known for its hot springs, "Wasabi Kiss" describes the peninsula of Shuzenji, "Yanagigaura" (柳ヶ浦) evoques the feeling of loneliness in the small city of Yanagigaura and "As A Start : Cà Phê And Pizza" is an imaginary trip from Italy, Vietnam and Japan. The 2009 single "My Last Evening In 大分" / "Chase Around 大分駅" is based on Gilles Snowcat's own memories of the city of Ôita, Japan.[5]

Musicians

Being a project more than a band, different musicians appear following the recordings of the band, some as members and some as guests.

Present musicians (members and guests)

Past musicians (members and guests)

Collaboration

Repertoire (original songs and covers)

AWAKEN mixes original songs and covers, a similar attitude to Manfred Mann and Vanilla Fudge earlier. Artists that have been covered by AWAKEN include:

Nekokawa (猫川 - Dòng Sông Mèo)

AWAKEN has a side-project named NEKOKAWA since 2002, focussing on the ambient side of its music. NEKOKAWA is 猫川 in Japanese and Dòng Sông Mèo in Vietnamese.

Discography

web-EP

CD albums

web-singles (non-exhaustive listing)

tapes

vintage and rare songs (non-exhaustive listing)

Contribution to tribute albums

References

  1. ^ Interview Gilles Snowcat by Vietnamese webzine M!osaic, http://www.m-mosaic.com/articles/interview/read/539.html
  2. ^ Gabor Kleinbloesem, AOR Reviews, http://www.angelfire.com/ma/strutteraor/NEWREVIEWS99.htm
  3. ^ Kevin Julie, Universal Wheels, http://www.travellersintime.com/UniversalWheels/0602revs.html
  4. ^ David, Forces Parallèles, http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_101_awaken-party-lyceum.html
  5. ^ It's Oh! Music Blog : 大分について歌
  6. ^ Al Stewart jams with Gilles Snowcat from Awaken & Nekokawa: love music ~ magnetic soul
  7. ^ Kiss related recordings - Peter Criss cover versions, http://www.kiss-related-recordings.nl/coverversions_1978_peter.html
  8. ^ Peter Criss covers, http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/2131133/2325666/
  9. ^ Deep Purple covers, http://www.thehighwaystar.com/rosas/misc/dpcovers.html
  10. ^ EWF covers, http://www.homdrum.net/ewf/cover_versions.html
  11. ^ Awaken covers Matthew Fisher, http://www.palersproject.com/looking-glass/something_awaken.htm
  12. ^ Awaken in Philip Glass site GlassPages, http://www.glasspages.org/news.html
  13. ^ Kiss related recordings - Kiss 1980 cover versions, http://www.kiss-related-recordings.nl/coverversions_1980_unmasked.html
  14. ^ Uriah Heep Discography -related collection, http://www.uriahheep-discography.com/collection/heeprelcol.htm
  15. ^ Echoes In The Dark: Uriah Heep cover versions, http://www.echoes.dk/25covers.htm
  16. ^ Party In Lyceum's Toilets on iTunes
  17. ^ How Many 'L' Were In Your Name? on iTunes
  18. ^ Al Stewart covers, http://www.search.com/reference/Cover_versions
  19. ^ Al Stewart tribute albums, http://home.scarlet.be/~ping9712/awaken-asta-engl.htm
  20. ^ Procol Harum tribute album, http://www.palersproject.com/looking-glass/players.htm

External links

Reviews