Buffalo Daughter, babybaby_explores, Ingredient @ The Garrison, Sunday

Adventurous Japanese post-rock crew Buffalo Daughter make a rare Toronto appearance at The Garrison tonight at 8 pm. 

Here's the scoop...

Tokyo's Buffalo Daughter – who'll be joined by babybaby_explores and Ingredient at The Garrison (1197 Dundas West) tonight at 8 pm, get tickets here – is a three member group consisting of Sugar Yoshinaga, Yumiko Ohno and Moog Yamamoto, often augmented by a drummer and other guests. Their sound is heavily influenced by German prog and techno pop, but also includes dub and post-rock influences. Given their mix 'n' match style, and that they emerged in the mid-90s, they are often considered as part of the Shibuya-kei movement (Pizzicato Five, Cornelius, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Towa Tei, Yukari Fresh, et al).

Before putting together Buffalo Daughter, Yoshinaga and Ohno played together in a band called Havanna Exotica. Buffalo Daughter’s 1994 debut EP Shaggy Head Dressers was released on the Cardinal label, a spin-off of the popular indie magazine Beikoku Ongaku.

When the American group Luscious Jackson were touring in Japan they met Buffalo Daughter, and favorably impressed with their music, passed samples along to the their label honchos at the Beastie Boys own Grand Royal Records. As a result Buffalo Daughter signed with Grand Royal in 1996, and released Captain Vapour Athletes internationally.

The band spent much of 1996 in the States, first playing a few East Coast dates in March, then doing an extended tour with Butter 08 in September, and returning again for dates in November with Luscious Jackson. Their impressive live shows had a lot to do with breaking the band internationally. In 1997 Grand Royal followed with a remix EP with reworkings of Buffalo Daughter tracks by Alec Empire, Money Mark and U.N.K.L.E. Also in 1997 Buffalo Daughter joined Grand Royal labelmates Ben Lee, BIS and Luscious Jackson for events in London and Paris.

In 1998, the band returned with the studio album “New Rock”, and toured the U.S. and Europe with Money Mark. They also performed at the Tibetan Freedom Festival in Washington DC in June 1998 along with the Beastie Boys, Radiohead, REM, Sonic Youth and Herbie Hancock. They returned again to the States in July and August to tour with Boys Against Girls. When Grand Royal suddenly shut down label operations in 2001, the band linked up with LA-based Emperor Norton, where they released “I”. Also in 2001 Buffalo Daughter played Japan’s top electronic music event Electraglide, on a bill with Aphex Twin and Plaid.

In 2003, Buffalo Daughter released “Psychic” on V2 Records which led to a U.S. tour with Blonde Redhead followed by the album “Euphorica” in 2006. The versatile group has worked with a wide range of artists including the French ambient pop group Air, members of Japanese techno-pop pioneers The Plastics, Ami Suzuki, Mari Natsuki, Takako Minaka, Cornelius, Naoko Yamano of Shonen Knife and Cibo Matto. Sugar also sometimes plays with her side project Metalchicks.

In July 2010 Buffalo Daughter released “The Weapons of Math Destruction” on their own Buffalo Ranch label, their first release in four years. They again collaborated with drummer Atsushi Matsushita (of Zazen Boys), who joined Buffalo Daughter for Fuji Rock 2010 and a national tour that November.

In 2013, Buffalo Daughter released their 20th anniversary best-of compilation “ReDiscoVer. Best, Re-recordings and Remixes of Buffallo Daughter” which brought together some timeless classics with new recordings, covers, remixes and concert material. 

In 2014, the double album “Konjac-tion”was released worldwide (via U/M/A/A in Japan and Modulor in France/EU). The album features various guests such as Kahimi Karie, Shintaro Sakamoto (ex. Yura Yura Teikoku) and remixes by Cibo Matto, Sean Lennon, Varo, Yoshinori Sunahara, etc. 

While keeping themselves busy on the road, Buffalo Daughter also enjoys collaborating with visual artists, most recently involving illustrator Ed Tsuwaki’s exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in January 2016. Tsuwaki’s live-painting featured the band’s improvisational performance with avant-garde cellist Hiromichi Sakamoto. It was their second museum performance after a collaboratioin with British artist Peter McDonald for his 2012 exhibition at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.

Buffalo Daughter’s most recent album, We Are The Times – their first collection of new material in seven years – was issued on September 17th, 2021.

Watch two Buffalo Daughter performances below. 

 

Tickets for Buffalo Daughter's upcoming North American tour dates are available here.