I remarked that my biggest problem with the Japanese rock music I've heard is that it seems too content to ape American music in a very one-dimensional fashion. That is, most of the Japanese rock bands I've heard don't really put their own spin on the genre - they just try to do it in a more "extreme" fashion. "Give me an electric koto or something," I said to my friend. "Make it uniquely Japanese." Not that great Japanese music doesn't exist - it does - but so much of it is wrapped up in sounding like something it's not.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with borrowing influences. Os Mutantes, for example, were an encyclopedia of American and British rock influences. What made them special was the uniqueness with which they blended these influences with their own native music.
The example I gave my friend, however, was Erkin Koray, a Turkish artist. I've always loved the fact that Koray's music rocks hard for its era, yet retains a very distinctly Turkish sound. It's the perfect bridge between Western pop psychedelia and Eastern traditional music. Here, we see a video for "Mesafeler," a song that appeared on Koray's first album (which was actually a collection of singles spanning 1967-1973). Dig the whole psychedelic-striptease thing:
In addition, I have uploaded "Istemem," one of Erkin Koray's most well-known tracks. Its Eastern roots are very apparent, both in the vocals and lead guitar.
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