jupiter one
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jupiter one

| INDIE | AFM

| INDIE | AFM
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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"weheartmusic.vox.com"

...Gary Numan vocal-styling with super-synth touches, (never too much or too little,) make for a fascinating 11 song album.
.. When the album fades away, it's a bit like forgetting a great conversation where you hardly got a word in; all the bits you want to remember, and all the bits you're apt to forget.

This is a lovely album, from top to bottom. Find it, add it to your collection, and tell some folks.
- Mattison


"RCRDLBL"

link
http://rcrdlbl.com/sublabels/SEEN

ot only are indie-hipster bands from Brooklyn invading the film, TV and ad world here in the states, they're popping up internationally as well. Take this example of one of our favorite new wave rock bands, Jupiter One being featured in an international spot for Mazda. The first time we heard Jupiter One's jams was actually in between sets at a Sia show a few years back. The sound guy was playing a sick groove and we were so into the track that we had to go up and ask him what it was (yes, we are nerds). Here's your chance to check out the awesomness that is Jupiter One. Check out the Mazda ad above, and for instant gratification click below to download their track "Platform Moon" from their self-titled Cordless Records album:
- Seen


"GameZone"

To Paradise and Back: Jupiter One Talks Burnout, Madden, FIFA and NHL

It wasn't enough to have realistic sounds – games now had to have a killer soundtrack...That's what makes Jupiter One, whose music will appear in Burnout Paradise, so unique. Last year the band gave music to Madden 08, NHL 08, and FIFA 08.
- Louis Bedigian


"Ink19.com"

This NYC mini-orchestra doesn't merely create new wave nuggets like many of their '80s inspired peers, they create tiny masterpieces in the form of new-wave-colored symphonies.
Vocalist K Ishibashi -- whose skills are not limited to frontman duties, he handles guitar and violin as well -- has a voice that sounds similar to both The Police-era Sting and Peter Gabriel. The entire band (5 folks) brings a volcano of talent (most particularly Zac Colwell who is credited with vocals, guitar, keyboards, and flute), but its Ishibashi who grounds this band in the realm of beautifully groovable, and not too otherworldly.
Admittedly I don't know too much about this band. I saw them open for The Wildbirds and fell in love, and in the rarest of happenings -- their CD is actually better than their live sound! The textures are more layered, the vocals more cuddly. Songs that I liked in concert ("Countdown," "Turn Up the Radio," and "Wrong Line"), I absolutely love on disc! And it doesn't stop there, there is not a bad song to be found! Even the strange, Pink Floyd-ian ending song "Way To the Floating Hospital/The Miracle of Flight" is wonderfully dreamy albeit weird and spacey. - www.Ink19.com


"City Beat (Cincinnati, OH)"

Regina Spektor, Frisbie and Jupiter One
Saturday · The Poison Room

With a name that could be a NASA Space Station on the fifth rock from the Sun and playing analog keyboards that sound as big as pump organs, Jupiter One shows love for the '80s without getting carried away. Sure, their music is fun, not to mention that Mocha, their keyboardist, loves '80s sci-fi soundtracks, but there's plenty to take seriously about this New York band of five.

Their first single, "Countdown," hit radio stations in June and prepared them for lift off. Resourcefully, they dusted off a late-'70s Mattel Optigan organ and used it to mimic strings on their song, "Mystery Man." And growing up listening to soulful poets Shuggie Otis and Donny Hathaway, as well as Arena Rock bands from Black Sabbath to Electric Light Orchestra, they don't fit with mainstream music's endearing attempts to recycle Reaganomics-era New Wave.

"We grew up in the 1980s," says the Jupiter One drummer Dave Heilman. "We're products of that, but not just that. We happen to have this more sophisticated, vintage equipment that's more delicate, but we look at our music the way a Grunge artist like Kurt Cobain would have; as something raw."

Blending three keyboards and two guitars, Jupiter One's orchestral renderings of Punk and Jam-band Funk pay silent respect to groups like Pink Floyd and Rick James' Stone City Band. So don't expect to walk into their set at The Poison Room and hear the lead singer croaking his way through The Romantics' "What I Like About You" or see people with arms snaking in S formations doing "The Safety Dance."

"A lot of the '80s music (was) very polite, but we're not," Heilman says. "It's not a kitsch thing." (Mildred C. Fallen) - Sound Advice-Mildred C. Fallen


"Ithaca Journal"

NYC band Jupiter One rides a new wave into Ithaca

Nearly 30 years since the Cars, Talking Heads, Gang of Four and other bands made their mark on the scene, new wave music is back in vogue. Bands such as Franz Ferdinand, the Killers, Interpol and Bloc Party have re-popularized hooky synthesizer lines, chugging guitar riffs and catchy melodies.

The timing couldn't be better for Jupiter One, the New York City quintet that released its first album last month. The band, which makes its Ithaca debut tonight at the Lost Dog Lounge, starts with many of those new wave influences, but then adds a distinctive stamp to its sound.

“We never try to draw inspiration from our immediate contemporaries; otherwise, you end up sounding like everyone who's out there now,” said drummer Dave Heilman. “If we started listening to Bloc Party, then we'd sound like them. But if we listen to Gang of Four, you end up not sounding like cookie cutters.”

K Ishibashi (vocals, guitar), who had flunked out of Cornell as a math major, transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, he met a keyboardist from Japan named Mocha and fell in love (they're now married). In the meantime, he hooked up with Zac Colwell (keyboards) while playing for a circus pit band. The three of them eventually ended up in New York City, where they started playing dance-based instrumental music to kung-fu movies projected on a screen.

Ishibashi eventually started writing lyrics and singing, and the trio expanded to a five-piece. “I was friends with their drummer, and when I saw them play I thought ‘this band has potential,'” Heilman said.

So when his friend left on tour, he offered to fill in on drums. “I had the intention, once I was in there, I was never leaving. So when he came back, the band asked if he minded if I stayed in band.” Bassist Ben Wright, a friend of Ishibashi's from Berklee, joined soon after, solidifying the lineup that has been together for three years.

Heilman says the band's sound has evolved. “At first we were doing a more dance and funk-inspired rock music,” he said. “But Zac is a big fan of Blonde Redhead, which is a really cool experimental indie band, so we started integrating more of that influence. I was also listening to the Stills a whole lot — they're a good band from Canada (they opened for Ryan Adams at Bailey Hall a few years ago), so I brought that influence to it. So it started to become more about writing good pop songs than the dance-inspired stuff.”

This year, the band has hit the road with gusto. “It's hard being a New York City band — you get stuck in this trap of, if you're from New York, you stay in New York,” Heilman said. “You gotta get a van or truck and get out; otherwise, you stay there and get spoiled. We wanted to branch out and meet more people, so we were excited to do a tour this year.

“We're doing the best we can, just trying to get out there and play as much as possible. Some bands hate playing live — they focus on recording and the showcases they have to do — but we love to play, so we do it as much as we can.” - Ithaca Journal


"Cleveland Scene"

New York City's Jupiter One bills itself as a "synth new-wave" band, but keyboards are just one color from a nü-wave rainbow that has big, bright bands of indie-rock guitar jangle, driving rhythms, and passionate vocals. Live, the co-ed quintet brings its melancholy jams to life by switching around violin, keys, and guitar. If you've been looking for some orchestral rock you can dance to, meet your new love. - Cleveland Scene


"3Hive.com"

I'll admit to occasionally hatin' on NYC bands, usually of the gratuitously post-punk variety, what with their fashionable arrogance and snarls of prissy posturing. But, these days, it appears that "fun" is the new black. Case in point, Jupiter One, whose bounce-on-the-balls-of-your-feet numbers can stand tall alongside new wave forefathers like The Cars with nary a double-take. Lead singer K's low tenor is as crisp as a starched white shirt and he can dodge canned guitar riffs (that's a compliment), B-movie synth sounds, and even an electrified violin much the way Dave Derby did in the Dambuilders. All of it makes for great music to drink coffee to — or possibly a coffee substitute. Either way, things are looking up in downtown NYC. - www.3Hive.com


"bonafidestudio.co.uk"

Jupiter One/Jupiter One/EP

New York five piece Jupiter One gave us with this 6track EP fresh
outlook on sometimes very predictable wanna-be-Beatles resonance.
Each of five members are studied musicians giving their indie outfit
grown-up but funky zest.
Definitely watch this space. They are coming! - www.bonafidestudio.co.uk


"Staten Island Reporter"

No Longer 'Lost in Space'

New York City synth-rockers Jupiter One may get its name from the 1960s cult movie "Lost in Space," but the band's recent experiences have been very 21st century.

Take for instance the group's recent stop in Atlanta, during a short cross-country tour.

"We played with this band, and one of the guys was like, 'Yeah man, that was a great cover,'" chuckles lead singer Kaoru "K" Ishibashi. "But we don't play covers. He said, 'Wasn't that a cover? I know I've heard it,' and I was like 'Do you play 'Madden'?" He said, 'Yeah man, I got it in the van!'"

Like lots of groups these days, one of Jupiter One's biggest promotional tools is the video game industry. Songs like "Countdown," the band's bouncing single that pairs atmospheric keyboards with catchy, building rock, are getting their name -- or at least their music -- out there by way of EA games like "Madden NFL 08" or "FIFA Soccer 08." Hence the nameless musician's faux pas.

"He was like, 'Why are you guys playing to three people in Atlanta?'" jokes Ishibashi. "But this is how you do it these days."

Jupiter One actually has a licensing deal with EA games, after their manager got the band an audience with the company's head of music programming. They don't get any royalties, says Ishibashi, but it's pretty good PR. It's the strange reality of the digital age: You can be in millions of homes across the world, but your gigs don't always pull the big crowds.

Don't think Jupiter One is a no-name, though, as the band has sold out shows on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts -- and this Saturday's show at Mercury Lounge will likely be packed as well.

And "Countdown," which scores the quintet plenty of daily plays online, was recently remixed by popular Los Angeles DJ duo LA Riots.

"It was cool to hear it. It's a pretty slammin' mix," says Ishibashi, who was born in Seattle but transferred to New York a few years ago to play music. "I didn't see it in action in L.A., but Zac went to see them perform and he said when it came on it got the girls dancing, which is good news."

So along with the video game soundtracks, which subliminally infiltrate the minds of thumb-spraining sports enthusiasts everywhere, the band is also scoring fans on dance club floors as well.

It's not surprising when you hear Jupiter One's music. The band puts together the kind infectious pop songs that could easily inspire a passerby to take a closer listen. Simple and powerful drumming by Dave Heilman and throbbing, rolling bass lines from Ben Wright build the foundation, while Zac Colwell, the group's guitarist, adds punk and post-rock flavor. Japanese keyboard player Keiko Ishibashi (she's married to Kaoru) throws in ghostly vocals and keyboards that evoke Stereolab, while Ishibashi trades guitar for violin, putting together lines like "Hey now wake up, it's a beautiful day/ hey now look up, you're always looking away, are you falling asleep?"

While most of the band's songs could easily fall under the all-encompassing label of rock, the members bring a lot of different influences to the music. One moment they'll sound loungey like French duo Air, the next Colwell's guitar goes into a heavily delayed hook that would make U2's The Edge nod in approval.

"We were into jazz early on, then we kind of drifted away from that and into more songwriting," says Ishibashi. "I think it's a great time to be doing rock 'n' roll in this country right now -- a lot of good bands, a lot of good music that's not instrumental."

After playing violin professionally for years, Ishibashi is pretty happy to be writing his own songs with the band, and when asked if he was happy to come home after the band's most recent cross-country jaunt, he said he'd much rather stay on tour.

"It's harder touring for long periods during the holidays, but I'd much rather be doing that than being in New York City," he says. "I can't wait to get back out on the road." - Staten Island Reporter


Discography

EP "Jupiter One"
EP "Magical mountain and the floating hospital"
Album "Jupiter one"

Singles - "Countdown" featured on EA Sports' Madden 08', "Turn Up the Radio" featured on NHL 08'
"Fire Away" featured on Paradise Burnout.
"Unglued"featured on FIFA 08'.
"Platfrom moon"featured on Matsuda Europe Comercial.
songs has also been placed in ABC's Kyle XY, and Flash Gordan on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Photos

Bio

Percolating with the nervous energy of the Talking Heads, the stuttering punk-funk of Gang of Four, and the pulsating synths of the Cars, Jupiter One injects colorless indie rock with a bracing rhythmic pulse, two-fisted pop hooks, and East Coast swagger.
Named after the failed starship in the geeky ’60s TV cult fave Lost In Space, Jupiter One was formed in 2003 by singer/guitarist K Ishibashi, keyboardists Zac Colwell and Mocha, bassist Ben Wright, and drummer Dave Heilman. The New York-based five-piece produce an electrifying, invigorating sound that recall the pogo-party frenzy of the late ’70s-early ’80s underground club scene but with a contemporary guitar punch that has drawn comparisons to the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and Bloc Party.
Jupiter Ones space-age orchestral rock hits hard enough to move asses on the dance floor, and is so richly textured and thoughtfully conceived that it can open minds at the same time.