bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Japanese band Shonen Knife are hoping to do big things in Hong Kong with the release of their new album, Brand New Knife.

The all-girl trio were in the territory last month to promote their latest disc, which was released on the MCA label.

The group are big on the Japanese underground scene and already have a large following in the United States.

 Naoko Yamano (guitars and vocals), her sister, Atsuko (drums and vocals) and Michie Nakatani (bass and vocals) formed Shonen Knife in the 1980s.

They started out in Osaka, performing and releasing small-scale albums.

Their particular blend of punk and pop eventually caught the attention of independent radio stations in the United States and attracted fans from North America and Europe.

They played important gigs in 1989, supported by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and members of Red Kross.

In 1991, they opened for Nirvana on their European and American tours.

Critics hailed them as 'the least pretentious guitar band on the planet'.

 Shonen Knife spent a lot of time developing the ironic side of their music.

They recorded Top of the World for a tribute album, If I Were a Carpenter.

Their music appeared on the soundtrack of a movie, The Last Supper.

But their sound is still very much a minority taste in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Brand New Knife has sold only 100,000 copies.

Like other non-mainstream Japanese bands, Shonen Knife have been better received outside their homeland.

'American fans are used to our kind of music,' said Yamano.

'But in Japan, there are still a lot of people who don't understand it.' She said the music was a potent, uncompromising blend of trash, funk, hip-hop and rock.

Their sonic barrage was worlds away from the slick pop that usually dominated the Japanese charts, she said.

'But we will put more time into Japan in the coming year.' The name Shonen Knife means 'young boy' and is also the name of a small knife, Yamano said.

'It's just like our music - very cute, but very dangerous,' she added.

The list of musical influences cited by the band includes British bands like the Beatles, XTC, The Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Kinks and Teenage Fanclub.

Shonen Knife's American influences include The Ramones and the Beach Boys.

Shonen Knife's show at Tsim Sha Tsui's Club X saw about 300 fans crowd in to hear the band.

They played more than a dozen songs during their set.

Nakatani said the band wanted to play more venues overseas and particularly in new places.

'We are very happy to be performing in Hong Kong and we hope to do a gig in Hong Kong again soon,' she said.



Knife - a cut above rest