November 22, 2024

Skylight Webzine

Online since 2000

Surf Punk Band THE COFFIN DAGGERS Put Their Unique Spin On Songs From Japan’s ‘60s Guitar Rock Craze!

In the mid ‘60s an instrumental electric guitar craze hit Japan. Fueled by The Ventures visit to the country in 1965, the Japanese responded with their own home-grown artists such as Yuzo Kayama, The Spacemen, The Sharp Five, and 6-string virtuoso Takeshi Terauchi among countless others. These artists collectively became referred to as Eleki artist (“Eleki” is the Japanese name for the electric guitar). A blend of American surf music and traditional Japanese Minyo music, Eleki music took the country by storm but never really made it too far off the island.


Now, New York’s premiere surf punk band, The Coffin Daggers, are set to release a full-length album of Eleki cover versions as a way of spreading the word about this unheralded music scene. Head Dagger, Viktor Venom, explains, “After doing a version of Yuzo Kayama’s ‘Three Blue Stars’ on our last album, we decided to do another Eleki tune but couldn’t decide which one – so, we did as many as would fit on an album!” The album, appropriately dubbed Eleki Album, is set for release on February 7 on digital, CD and limited edition RED vinyl. “We hope we can turn on as many people as possible to this great music,” Venom declares.


The Coffin Daggers were founded by lead guitarist Venom, who hails from the vaunted East Coast ‘80s punk scene as a founder of crust punk band Nausea as well as a previous turn as bass player for Reagan Youth. Previous releases by the band have been praised by Guitar Player who observed that Venom “moves proceedings beyond mere era emulation by unleashing a rude and vicious riff that would have made Link Wray smile.” Meanwhile, the group’s live performances have floored both European and American audiences from start to finish, prompting Chart magazine to declare “no one comes close to The Coffin Daggers when it comes to all-out intensity…they will stomp a mudhole into your fragile minds.”


To purchase or pre-save:https://orcd.co/thecoffindaggerseleki

Track List:
1. Black Sand Beach
2. That Sweet Girl
3. Flower Blooming In The Rain
4. Guitar Komori Uta
5. Ringo Mura Kara
6. Shinonome Bushi
7. Chidori No Kyoku
8. Murasaki No Yoake
9. Namida No Jujiro
10. Ginza Lights
11. Yozora No Hoshi
12. Yume Wa Yoru Hiraku
13. Monkey Crazy
14. Kojo No Tsuki