Read the press release with lots of useful hyperlinks
HERE. There's some rock n roll obscurity and off beam Miike trailers that will give any newbies a real flavour of a remarkable director and his fascinating influences.
For me, the one really interesting aspect of the movie that stands out is the use of Flower Travelin' Band's amazing Satori LP as the basis for the soundtrack.
In the UK and US, we tend to have a blinkered view of how rock music adapts and mutates in the hands of other cultures and I'm to say that if you like Psychedelic Rock or Black Sabbath, then you need to hear this band and the movie is a great way to do this. Popular music isn't a two way conversation across the Atlantic but a rich tapestry of global influences, with weird hybrids turning up in Brazil (Tropicalia), France (Ye-Ye), Italy (Big, double-pompous Prog Rock) and especially Japan, where, with their inherent knack of repurposing Western Pop for their own twisted ends, the country churned out myriad unique and messed up freak-out groups. Read more in Julian Copes excellent book Jap Rock Sampler and pick a copy of Deadly Outlaw for your first taste of Flower Travelin' Band's Black Sabbath gone groovy sound.
To give an idea of the inspired dementia fuelling the Japanese Underground in the late 60s and 70s, here's a picture that sums up the craziness. If you're in a band, it makes you ask yourself... If my lead singer doesn't have a giant fake elephant to stand on, are we trying hard enough?
Flower Travelin' Band in full bloom