OGIKUBO STATION Announce New EP Okinawan Love Songs Released 14th June 2019 on Asian Man Records
Ahead of their first ever UK headline tour dates in June 2019 North Californian duo OGIKUBO STATION are pleased to announce a brand new EP of songs recorded especially to mark the occasion.
Okinawan Love Songs is released 14th June 2019 on Asian Man Records, and available to preorder here: http://asianmanrecords.limitedrun.com
As a taster of the new material, the band have released a video for lead single ‘Would I Break My Heart Enough For You’, featuring the artwork for the EP—an illustration that band member Maura Weaver drafted of her Okinawan grandmother—being inked by artist Gilbert Armendariz.
Watch The Video For ‘Would I Break My Heart Enough For You’: https://youtu.be/cqcWhe8M5yY
Commenting on the track’s serious message, the band say: “This song is about the fears of confronting abuse in any way, shape, and form—how we often see things, but deliberately put blinders on or choose to look the other way.”
The band also have a run of Canadian tour dates coming up in May ahead of an appearance at Montreal punk-extravaganza, Pouzza Fest.
Living in different states 2,231 miles apart makes the song writing process a challenge to say the least, but Asian Man Records founder and band member Mike Park says “we’ve gotten good at bouncing ideas back and forth until we have a good concept of how we want the song to sound.”
For this particular session, his musical partner Maura Weaver (Mixtapes) flew out to San Jose, California and the pair rehearsed with a full band for a few hours, then heading straight into the recording studio the same day for a challenging 11 hour stint. “We laid down scratch tracks for bass and guitar with the goal of just making sure the drums were good, and then Maura laid down her vocals,” says Park of the process.
Park then took over and pieced together the final product, layering keyboards, harmonies, and finishing the mix. In true 21st century fashion, friend of the band Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio) was roped in to lay down the bass lines on the tracks from his home in St Augustine, Florida, adding his undeniable flair to the songs.
The duo couldn’t resist adding a special treat to the EP—a cover of Dr. Worm by They Might Be Giants, as Park explains, “We added the third song as an homage to TMBG and their dial-a-song sessions that ran from 1983 to 2006, where fans could call in and hear a song from their answering machine. I like to think we kept our version true to the analog warmth of an ‘80s answering machine.”
Ogikubo Station June 2019 UK Tour Dates:
17.06.19 – Portsmouth – Edge of the Wedge
18.06.19 – Exeter – The Cavern
19.06.19 – Southampton – Joiners
20.06.19 – Brighton – Prince Albert
22.06.19 – Cheltenham – Frog and Fiddle
23.06.19 – Swansea – Crowleys Rock Bar
24.06.19 – Bristol – Exchange
25.06.19 – London – New Cross Inn
26.06.19 – Leicester – The Soundhouse
27.06.19 – Stafford – Redrum
28.06.19 – Manchester – The Castle
29.06.19 – Glasgow – The 13th Note
30.06.19 – Edinburgh – The Banshee Labyrinth