TheSirensSound

Spangle Call Lilli Line

Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa district has continually been one of the hot spots for indie rock action, and over the past several years, numerous groups sporting a laid-back style have come to the forefront of the scene. Amongst these musicians (loosely grouped under downtempo), Spangle call Lilli line has arisen as one of the flagship bands.

In keeping with Spangle call’s standard rock instrumentation, their style reaches well beyond downtempo, a relaxed and heavily electronic genre. While the band is often described as post-rock, their sound is more of a compromise between the two. Songs are not bound by verse-chorus convention, but drift lazily, guided by a light melody. The guitars and varied percussion together with numerous (and frequently spacey) electronic additions weave a sound that, while complex, flows very evenly. Otsubo Kana’s wispy vocals contribute an organic piece to the melody as well, while adding to the relaxed atmosphere.

Spangle call Lilli line’s beginnings trace back to Otsubo and Fujieda, friends from art school, who began playing together in December of 1998. Sasahara and drummer Kabasawa, also friends from university, joined in 1999 and 2000, respectively. The band was christened “Spangle call” (the “Lilli Line” to come later), derived from a Japanese pronunciation of “spangle” (“supankooru,” chosen for its sound), while the “call” was a continuation from the “kooru” of “supankooru.” Their self-titled debut was issued in March of 2001 on P-Vine, a label known for electronic and jazz units including Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden and Otomo Yoshihide.

The band continued their trademark style through their third album, 2003’s or, in which they aimed to consummate their established sound. The trying studio work leading up to or proved to be the band’s breaking point, causing mental breakdowns in Otsubo and the February 2003 departure of their drummer, who had provided much of the creative direction for the album. With Kabasawa gone from the lineup, Spangle call was free to indulge in influences such as R&B, soul, and Motown that their drummer, who had an affinity for lo-fi and post-rock, did not favor.

These changes surfaced in Spangle call’s April 2005 album Trace, which was nearly two years in the making (excluding their live release 68SCLL). With Trace, the members recount that they were looking to remove the excess from their music and sound like a new band, as if the album was their debut. The new release was indeed different from its predecessors, with a poppier, R&B style and tracks that were, on the whole, shorter than the usual Spangle call fare.

Shortly after Trace, the release of For Installation, more in tune with the band’s classic style, ensued in June. The tracks are mostly comprised of studio outtakes, but according to Fujieda, “the feeling of the album will be clearly different” from that of Trace. Though nothing has been formally announced, the enterprising trio is gearing up for another release in the future.

点と線 [ Dots and Lines ] is the side-project from two [ Spangle Call Lilli Line ] members: 藤枝憲 / Ken Fujieda and 笹原清明 / Kiyoaki Sasahara … [ MySpace ] | [ Last.fm ]

Artist – 点と線 [ Dots and Lines ]
Album – Ten To Sen
Release Date – 2007
Genre – Instrumental, Post-rock

Tracklist
01 scene～2　-it might not be never.-
02 plus-minus
03 equal
04 ame
05 scene～1 -it was.-
06 yume
07 kami
08 yoru
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点と線 [ Dots and Lines ] – Ten To Sen
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line
Album – Forest At The Head Of A River [ * * * * * ]
Release Date – 2010
Genre – Experimental, Post-rock, Math-rock influence, Indie [ SUPERB ]

Tracklist
1 Zola
2 Sea of Lights
3 Em
4 Cobalt
5 Out of Sight
6 Univocal
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Spangle Call Lilli Line – Forest At The Head Of A River
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line
Album – Spangle Call Lilli Line [ * * * * * ]
Year – 2001
Genre – Down-tempo Electronica Post-rock [ Beautiful ]

Tracklist
01 – normal star
02 – irie
03 – new crawl
04 – under north sour
05 – error slow
06 – august (8)
07 – (untitle)
08 – u.f.
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Spangle Call Lilli Line – Spangle Call Lilli Line Password – SirensSound.blogspot.com
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line
Album – Isolation (* * * *)
Year – 2008
Genre – Down-tempo Indie Electro’ Piano (Beautiful)

Tracklist
01 inc.
02 roam in octave
03 it remains to be seen
04 quiet warp
05 perspective
06 russian gothic bold
07 short films
08 an
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Spangle Call Lilli Line – Isolation Password – SirensSound.blogspot.com
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line
Album – Nanae
Year – 2002
Genre – Down-tempo Electronica Post-rock (Beautiful)

Tracklist
1 Intro 0:30
2 E 8:30
3 Lilli Disco 6:18
4 Veek 7:38
5 Circle 5:07
6 Crawl 5:19
7 Set Me 7:42
8 Low Light 4:10
9 B. P. 5:50
10 Asphalt 6:55
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Spangle Call Lilli Line – Nanae Password – SirensSound.blogspot.com
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line & Windy Hill
Album – W’s – Split
Year – ???
Genre – Down-tempo Electronica Post-rock (Beautiful)

Tracklist
01 – Windy Hill – Toa
02 – Spangle Call Lilli Line – Super Star
03 – Windy Hill – Seagall Race
04 – Spangle Call Lilli Line – 39.4
05 – Windy Hill & Kana Otubo(Spangle Call Lilli Line) – Yume Kakurai
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Spangle Call Lilli Line & Windy Hill – W’s Split Password – SirensSound.blogspot.com
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line
Album – 68 SCLL
Year – ???
Genre – Down-tempo Electronica Post-rock (Beautiful)

Tracklist
01 – tiara
02 – kate
03- super star
04 – normal star
05 – ice track
06 – piano
07 – nano
08 – veek
09 – soto
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Spangle Call Lilli Line – 68 SCLL Password – SirensSound.blogspot.com
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line
Album – Or
Year – 2003
Genre – Down-tempo Electronica Post-rock (Beautiful)

Tracklist
01-piano
02-rrr
03-dism
04-b
05-nano
06-ma
07-metro
08-carb cola
09-ice track
10-soto
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Spangle Call Lilli Line – Or Password – SirensSound.blogspot.com
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line
Album – For Installation
Year – 2005
Genre – Down-tempo Electronica Post-rock (Beautiful)

Tracklist
1. limi side schedule
2. sss- urp…
3. ff wave length gg
4. with in zz-oo!!
5. Appetite
6. ‘telephone’
7. DUB (QUIETDAWN (bushmind&blockpain) remix)
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Spangle Call Lilli Line – For Installation Password – SirensSound.blogspot.com
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Artist – Spangle Call Lilli Line
Album – Trace
Year – 2005
Genre – Down-tempo Electronica Post-rock (Beautiful)

Tracklist
01 – TTYY
02 – Mila
03 – U-Lite
04 – Corner
05 – Canaria
06 – Reappearing Rig
07 – Stereo
08 – R.G.B
09 – Sugar
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Spangle Call Lilli Line – Trace Password – SirensSound.blogspot.com
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Recommendations: Glissando ~ Halves ~ Antena ~ Technicolor Skies ~ Telstar Ponies
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Posted in: Uncategorized

Tags: 2008 Albums, Down-tempo, Electronica, Indie, Piano

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 12:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.