Artist: Mukaizake

We're pleased to announce that a range of Hidden Shoal CD releases are now available for online purchase by Australian customers directly through the Hidden Shoal store . Even better all CD purchases include an immediate MP3 download of the release and shipping is free! Currently available titles include CD's by Umpire, Wes Willenbring, Slow Dancing Society, Markus Mehr, Liam Singer, Iretsu, Sankt Otten, Salli Lunn, My Majestic Star, Mukaizake, Jumpel, City of Satellites, Boxharp, Apricot Rail and Antonymes with more added soon. Be quick as we're getting very near sold out status for a number of [...]

As part of our 5th birthday celebrations, we’ll be looking back at the history of Hidden Shoal, year by year, casting some light on artists and releases that may have been overlooked. For one week, all releases covered below will be available from the Hidden Shoal Store with a 30% discount. Flavoursome! In 2009, Hidden Shoal continued to release stunning music from around the world, including debut Hidden Shoal albums from Hotels, HC-B, Tarcutta, Sleeping Me, City Of Satellites and Elisa Luu, sophomore albums from Jumpel and Wes Willenbring, a third album from Sankt [...]

RTR's In The Pines is on again this year - their biggest and arguably their best fundraiser - and Hidden Shoal will be there to support! This year we're chuffed to announce that Apricot Rail and Mukaizake are on the bill, both having been on hiatus for the last three months. So put it in your diaries everyone, and come on down on May 2nd for the festivities. You can see the full bill here and purchase tickets here . While you're at it, take a listen to RTR [...]

Mukaizake have just received a stellar review on Delusions of Adequacy , where the reviewer really nails what makes their sound so damn awesome. Take a read here . Mukaizake - The Yeah Conditioner Mukaizake - The Yeah Conditioner

Excerpt: "What would happen if you took Red House Painters and gave them Wheaties before recording? Mukaizake’s languorous rhythms and stretched-out singing, as well as its minor-key melodies, do take a page from RHP. The songs hide a certain complexity, though, that might get them tagged as math-rock were the band to play them at twice their speeds. As it happens, playing somber math rock at half speed brings out subtleties that you might miss otherwise.... You barely notice that the band has been sneaking in the odd beat, the odd melody, the [...]

"While listening to this, and contemplating the automobile artwork, you sit with ears and senses open, waiting for some guitar hook or divine melody to capture you and force you to hit repeat. It doesn't come. See, it sounds like a pop release, but that's the trick! Once you realise this you can begin appreciating Unknown Knowns for the interweaving guitars and all the space used by the drawn out arrangements as the mini-album/extended EP sublimely unfolds." Drum Media

Excerpt: "Being spread across three different states isn't the most productive way to keep the band going. We always had in the back of our mind that we'd release those tracks that we'd recorded. But with Dan and I living away it was too hard to get into a position where we could finish it off and release it... Now we're only dealing with two states in Australia instead of three, so it's easy for us to fly Dan back for a show... It was actually quite nice revisiting the tracks that long [...]

Head over to the excellent Australian music zine Mess+Noise and read the feature article on our very own Mukaizake. M+N's Adam Mills caught up with Simon Struthers from the band for a bit of Q+A. Great read, great band - what else do you want? Oh yeh their latest mini album Unknown Knowns . Deprive yourself no more at the Hidden Shoal Store . Mukaizake - Slack Bees   Mukaizake - Slack Bees

Excerpt: " Unknown Knowns seems blissfully unaware of the anticipation that surrounds it; Mukaizake sound like a band that don't feel they have anything to prove, whose humble goal is nothing more than to write and record the best possible songs they can, expectations be damned. Unknown Knowns more than lives up to the promise of its predecessor. These six songs are everything the band's patient fans could have asked for, as well as being strong enough to introduce Mukaizake to a whole new audience." [...]

More praise late last week for Mukaizake on Mess and Noise . Six years they lay dormant, though they have more than managed to live up to expectations, and then some, with their new mini-album Unknown Knowns . Mukaizake - My Friend Flicker Mukaizake - My Friend Flicker

Yet another Hidden Shoal band makes an impression on the charts. This time Mukaizake score a spot on the latest CJSW (Calgary, Canada) chart with their brilliant mini-album Unknown Knowns . Check out CJSW and the chart here and preview and grab Mukaizake's Unknown Knowns here .

Mukaizake's acclaimed sophomore release ' Unknown Knowns ' has been reviewed on  The Dwarf . Put your feet up, and take a read  here . Mukaizake - My Friend Flicker   Mukaizake - My Friend Flicker

Excerpt: "The best indie rock sounded experimental and exciting while still being accessible and interesting. Perth band Mukaizake nail this winning formula on their sophomore EP, Unknown Knowns....As with many indie bands, the lyrics are deliberately obscure and ambiguous. The meaning of the songs is conveyed in the way Symons sings them and the snippets you can make out. Put on paper, the lyrics probably wouldn't be too impressive, but they work in the songs. More impressive is the tension in all of the tracks between melody and dissonance. Melody always wins, but Mukaizake does an excellent job of adding jagged [...]

Excerpt: "an intricate artwork that could only be have been made over such an amount of time....channeling such indie favourites as My Morning Jacket, Mogwai and Death Cab For Cute, an elaborate combination of strong guitar pieces, airy vocals and subtle, yet essential drumbeats is presented" The Dwarf

Hidden Shoal artists continue to impress upon the US college radio circuit. 2010 kicks off nicely with Sleeping Me's sublime Cradlesongs re-entering the KZSU's (Stanford) top ten experimental/classical charts at number 5 and HC-B's monstrous Soundcheck for a Missing Movie sitting at number 19 on Portland's KBOO . Recent releases by Mukaizake and My Majestic Star as well as Hidden Shoal's Western Australian music compilation A Million Square Miles have also been getting lots of [...]

The mighty Mukaizake have been featured on Triple J's Home and Hosed blog and given the good word by the wonderful Dom Alessio. You can check out the feature here . If you have not yet been swayed by this bands magic then you have two chances to redeem yourselves. First is to go to the HSR Store and stream (then buy!) their latest mini album Unknown Knowns and the the second (for Perth folk only) is to head to their headline gig this Saturday night (Jan [...]

• Mukaizake - Slack Bees (Preview)

Chris Harms, editor of Brisbane's wonderful Rave Magazine , has given Mukaizake's Unknown Knowns an honourable mention in his best of 2009 list. High praise indeed and of course well deserved! You'll know that's true rather than mere grandstanding if you've heard it. Also great to see Perth band Eleventh He Reaches London in Patrick Perriers list in the same edition. You can check the latest edition of Rave here (PDF download) . Mukaizake - Frisbee   Mukaizake - Frisbee

• Mukaizake - Frisbee (Preview)

After their spellbinding album launch last Friday at Perth's Amplifier Bar Mukaizake are now coming at you visually via the wonderful new Simon Hill directed music video to single ' The Yeah Conditioner '. The video as well, as the album, is also featured in the latest PopMatters Mixed Media column. You can also check out and embed the video at Youtube and Vimeo . Be sure to check out HSR TV which features music videos from a whole bunch of our artists as well as a [...]

PopMatters Sponsor Mukaizake Unknown Knowns (Hidden Shoal Recordings) Out Now The clich� 'all killer, no filler' is often bandied around with very little to back it up. In the case of Mukaizake's stunning new release Unknown Knowns, the clich� applies. Unknown Knowns kicks off with the fuzzy propulsion of single 'The Yeah Conditioner', immediately launching the listener into Mukaizake's compelling corner of the musical universe. This is serpentine indie-rock at its finest, weaving hook after...

• Mukaizake - The Yeah Conditioner

Mukaizake's single, "The Yeah Conditioner", has received a glowing review over at Luna Kafe- check it out here . This is the first single from their latest album Unknown Knowns , and it is available to stream and purchase at the Hidden Shoal Store . Mukaizake - The Yeah Conditioner Mukaizake - The Yeah Conditioner