X-posting from HH again~
Fffffuuuuu, the article of this other magazine was even harder to translate D: The writer uses too difficult wording.. lol. Again, it's not word to word, but the main meaning should be there. And again sorry for possible bad grammar and weird choice of words
Anime No 44 3/2010
From the princesses of pop to the queens of street fashionHangry & Angry at Tavastia
In year 2008 designer h.Naoto wished artist Gashicon to create fitting mascots for his clothing brand. As the result, the catlike cartoon characters were born. Hangry is recognized by the punkish style and Angry by her preference for gothic lolita. The project that started normally made eyebrows to raise when the mascots continued their journey into real life and a real recording group. After all, the case can’t be described as just a cheap advertise trick because the human Hangry & Angry are played by Hitomi Yoshizawa and Rika Ishikawa who were singing in the popular group Morning Musume during their teenager years. At that time Yoshizawa was known as the tomboy of the group.
When Hangry & Angry debuted, they didn’t want to officially admit their real identity, but afterwards their girl group background have been turned into advantage. Before the start of the Tavastia gig there was a documentary-like video showed on the screen where the former member of Morning Musume, Nozomi Tsuji, and current members Ai Takahashi and Risa Niigaki were recalling their experiences concerning to the stars of the night. One of the comments was Tsuji’s revelation of Yoshizawa, who is called Yossy; it’s not good to give her too much alcohol.
Punk, pop and electro mixed in their music, Hangry & Angry performed only the songs from the full Sadistic Dance album and Kill Me Kiss Me mini album which is why the Finnish fans got to hear almost the whole discography. The singers managed it through without bigger help, since there was only one person with them on the stage - a blonde DJ Alicia who turned to be Finnish. The audience gave loud applauds to the introducing video and the musical part of the gig started with highly admired Top Secret.
Fans, posing and punk popThe duo’s rockish performance included free jumping and twirling which separates them from the girl group Morning Musume’s strict choreographies. For the fans’ joy there were also photogenic singing next to each other which culminates to Hangry placing her hand around Angry’s waist during Wall Flower. Because of the dancing background, the natural dance moves popped up here and there during the night, for example Mr. Monkey included some symmetrical hand movements. After the slightly serene Romantic ni Violence the girls stopped for a while to speak to the audience that, just like in Japan, included notable amount of men. Angry started with simple Japanese sentences, and Hangry told it’s the first time for them to be in Finland and that they’re performing songs from their debut album.
Despite of the loose space in the concert hall, the audience seemed to enjoy every moment at full. The most impressive song appeared to be Lady Madonna; ethereal atmosphere mixed to strong lyrics which now sounded even more dramatic. One reason to this impression might have been very imposing performance that included purple feather fans and hip swinging. As the ending climax Hangry & Angry threw their fans behind them and continued till the end of the song with wide hand movements. After this the duo continued by easier absorbed pop material with Kill Me Kiss Me. This song gave space for the fans too since their job was to sing the “kiss me” part in the chorus. Like a cherry on top, the last song heard was one level heavier edited cover of Morning Musume’s hit The Peace! The single originates from 2001 when both of the singers still belonged to the group.
The night continues with different showOne of the specialties of the gig was the lottery spot next to the merchandise table where the fans stopped to fill their info. The prize was quite unique since two lucky ones would get to the same photograph with Hangry & Angry. After Morning Musume’s cover ended DJ Alicia reminded of the last chance to participate and then the audience was left to watch Top Secret music video. After the break Hangy & Angry returned to the stage for the question session. Thanks to the beforehand chosen fans we got to know that Angry connects Finland to Moomin and that the duo would be interested in to create a new version of Shabondama. The audience was also pleased by their superpower wishes - Hangry would choose to fly whereas Angry would be happy with a power of get food appear out of nowhere.
Angry started the lottery by lifting the first ticket and telling the winning numbers. The winner was found on the name, but it took time to find the verification part of the ticket which made the translator joking about Angry becoming literally angry. More icebreakers were to come; when the winners went to the stage and got their pictures taken in front of the audience, according to the translator this might make the other fans jealous. Besides the main prize, few more fans were called to the stage to get a signed posters.
After all, with all the histories and additional parts the gig was over in one and half hours which means the music was heard scantily. To fix this situation they could have, for example, add a replay of some hit songs to the encore. Despite of the sparing music part, thanks to their glowing charisma and danceable music Hangry & Angry can state to be a desired addition to Finnish concert selection. The friends of real indie music can notice clear productization from the duo, but because of the skilled show this duo infiltrating into the underground scene was worth get to know.
INTERVIEW PARTOn the weekend before the Helsinki visit Hangry & Angry was performed twice in front of German audience. The one of those was the actual concert and the other was a free promotional gig at the Alexa mall. The singers get along the best with their fans.
- Our love for performing is based to the fact that we know the fans are waiting for our gigs with great enthusiasm. It’s us they want to see and this means a lot to us, says Hangry who’s known as Hitomi Yoshzawa.
Hangry & Angry is directed to the friends of visual rock, but surprisingly the duo’s first language quote wasn’t French or German which are praised in these circles. In Top Secret they’re saying goodbye in Russian.
- Do svidanija! the duo yells at the same time when we bring it up.
- Yes, we haven’t written the lyrics so we were first surprised about this word too. We didn’t even know what language it was, Angry aka Rika Ishikawa recalls. - But at the same time is was something fresh and different.
Despite of their unique sides Hangry & Angry’s world seems a little limited, since the project is attached to h.Naoto’s mascots and fashion trends. Hangry doesn’t consider their parts just as a role-play(?) though.
- Our characters are admittedly strong, but when we perform we are definitely being ourselves. So we kind of play ourselves through these characters.
Choosing the roles happened naturally too.
- We knew right away which one would be Hangry and which one Angry, Angry reveals.
Morning Musume hit appealed to the FinnsThere’s renowned help behind Hangry & Angry because they’ve cooperated with Izam to polish their performances. Izam, known from 1990’s hit band Shazna, caused discussion by leading rockers’ feminine dressing one level further. The secret of a long running artist is in details.
- Izam is very sensitive and values the movements of fingers, Angry tells. - They can be so elegant and sensitive. By our hands we realized how sensitive the movements of body actually are.
Successful gig experience affiliates with the choice of songs. Which ones of the songs works best in live?
- Especially thinking of the Helsinki gig, The Peace! was the kind of song that got everyone and that everyone knew. We were surprised how much the fans got excited about the song. It seem to be a good song for performances, Angry states about the duo’s earlier hit. Hangry agrees and adds that she’s noticed Angelia getting a good acceptance in Europe.
Maybe the thought of a new version of Shabondama wouldn’t be a bad pull.
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