[Cover photo credit to TEKE::TEKE]
Today, the Montreal-based band Teke::Teke will share their second full length album Hagata via Kill Rock Stars. Japanese Pop, Folk, and Brazilian Surf Rock all mix in their new psychedelic stew. On Hagata, the band move beyond their previous idea of walking across multiple paths at once, instead existing in a space between them so that the usual constraints no longer apply. The single and video for “Hoppe” are out now.
Guitarist Sei Nakauchi Pelletier explains about the track:
I always thought of ‘Hoppe’ as having a bit of a 90’s vibe, maybe the Fugazi in me (but with Maya’s delirious tale about an old man who’s cheeks fall off after eating a rice cake… ha, ha) so we tried to simply capture the raw and punk energy of the song and keep the camera moving, with a fish-eye type lens.
Shot and edited by the band, the video displays the group’s blend of live action and animation as previously explored in the videos for singles “Garakuta” and “Gotoku Lemon.”
Looking up at the sky one afternoon, Maya Kuroki spotted a cloud that looked like it had a bite taken out of it. One word immediately sprung to mind for the vocalist:
‘Hagata’ is a very deep word, something present but also something leftover from someone or something no longer there. It’s like waking up from a dream, or being connected to the other side of something.
After building their sound on first album Shirushi through careful assembly of countless splinters of Japanese folk, psychedelia, Brazilian surf rock, and other touchstones, the seven-piece experienced “free-floating experimentation” both on the road and with Hagata’s producer Daniel Schlett (The War On Drugs, DIIV, CHAI, Nick Hakim). Along with his assistant, Daniel Fox, they recorded in a scenic studio in Mountain Dale, New York, with mastering handled at Sterling Sound.
Teke::Teke is:
Sei Nakauchi Pelletier — Guitar, synth, percussion and additional vocals
Hidetaka Yoneyama — Guitar and back vocals
Mishka Stein — Bass, synth, percussion, guitar and back vocals
Ian Lettre — Drums, percussion, synth, piano and back vocals
Etienne Lebel — Trombone, gaida, percussion and back vocals
Yuki Isami – Flute, shinobue, taisho koto, synth and back vocals
Maya Kuroki — Vocals and guitar
Teke::Teke Live Dates:
June 24 Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Jazz Festival
July 7 Montreal, QC @ Montreal International Jazz Festival
July 9 Sudbury, ON @ Northern Lights Festival Boréal
July 14 Quebec City, QC @ Festival Été Quebec
Aug 11 Regina, SK @ Regina Folk Festival
Aug 19 Salmon Arm, BC @ Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Fest
Sept 2 Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest
Sept 3 Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Fest
Sep 5 Southampton, UK @ Heartbreakers
Sep 6 Cardiff, UK @ Clwb Ifor Bach
Sep 7 Bristol, UK @ Crofters Rights
Sep 8 London, UK @ Moth Club
Sep 9 Brighton, UK @ Psych de Soleil
