When you first see the name, you might think Fujiya & Miyagi are an Asian electronic group, but this is not the case.
Fujiya, taken from a record player's name, is Steve Lewis, and Miyagi, taken from "The Karate Kid," is David Best. Steve and David have a third member in the band, Matt Hainsby, playing bass guitar.
This LP, "Transparent Things," is a collection of their first three 10" vinyl only singles along with four new tracks, "Sucker Punch," "Transparent Things," "Cylinders," and "Reeboks in Heaven." It is not a dance album, so to speak, but more of a mellow electronica album with some catchy hooks. "Collarbone" is a stand-out track and has probably the most airplay on indie and college radio.
The album as a whole is a good album to chill at home or for an evening drive. The music is very smooth and flows well using standard instruments along with synthesizers and drum machines. While most of the tracks have vocals, there are few instrumentals, such as Casettesingle, that help the album flow. The band grew up listening to Can, Kraftwerk, Wire, and Happy Mondays, to name a few, and you can definitely hear that influence in the music.
Recommended tacks: Collarbone, Conductor 71, Transparent Things, In One Ear & Out The Other
