Conti - Drum and Sitar Rock

As the projection screen rises, the powerful rock duo of drums and sitar is unveiled at Warp in Kichijoji. He’s a maniac, maniac on the drums. Drummer Kobayashi Takuma slams the band into hyper-drive with his endless energy and tactful precision. He lays down forceful rhythms for Kashima Shinji’s melodies to wind in and out of.
Sitting on a raised platform, behind a row of effects pedals, Kashima Shinji rips through sitar riffs and licks as if he were playing guitar in a heavy rock band. Kashima and Kobayashi both sing like punk rockers. Their vocals are fast, loud and often shouted out in order to keep up with the supersonic drumming.

I have never seen a sitar used in a rock band before. The way Kobayashi plays drums, you would think there would be a bass and a guitar player cranking their amps up to 11. Instead there is Kashima on a sitar, and you wonder where the tablas are. Somehow it comes together and Conti provides a very unique sound that you will certainly remember. I once saw a heavy rock band with a sitar player. No way? Way. Watch video here.

~ by livefromtokyo on April 10, 2007.