4.52am Issue: 008 13th November 2016
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HOTEI & IGGY POP<br />
Walking Through The Night<br />
Selling over 40 Million Records in his<br />
homeland of Japan, Hotei is the very<br />
definition of a superstar, and after a career<br />
spanning 35 years, and with Time Out<br />
calling him ‘Iconic’ it would be easy for him<br />
to rest on his laurels and keep mining that<br />
familiar seam.<br />
Like Messrs Emmanuel, Santana and Di<br />
Meola who we’ve looked at in recent weeks,<br />
Hotei is much better than that and like any<br />
true artist still has plenty to give, and places<br />
to go.<br />
If you haven’t heard of him or are perhaps<br />
unsure why you have, his Battle Without<br />
Honor or Humanity provided an epic theme<br />
to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill or perhaps<br />
you saw him join Zucchero on his album and<br />
on-stage at the Albert Hall earlier this year,<br />
or if you are on the other side of that pond,<br />
perhaps you caught his headline spots at<br />
the legendary LA Troubadour or New York’s<br />
Highline Ballroom.<br />
You get the picture.<br />
Walking Through The Night is taken from<br />
Hotei’s first international album which<br />
features a selection of artists including<br />
Richard Z. Kruspe, Bullet For My Valentine’s<br />
Matt Tuck, Noko from Apollo 440, and the<br />
rather brilliant Shea Seger.<br />
Oh and the genius incarnate that is Iggy<br />
Pop, but you knew that already, it says so<br />
at the top of the page.<br />
As for the song, it is stunning, Iggy Pop’s<br />
vocals are back to his greasy coiled best,<br />
and Hotei’s music is compelling.<br />
Iggy explained his motivation and<br />
inspiration for the track as,<br />
“I tried to put myself on a late night<br />
brightly lit Shinjuku street, feeling alone,<br />
sexually vulnerable and a little bit angry…<br />
a little bit horny…”<br />
The video follows a man’s nocturnal<br />
journey through the seedy back streets of<br />
Tokyo, lured by the bright lights of<br />
temptation. Stunningly filmed and<br />
featuring shots of Iggy Pop and footage<br />
of Hotei, the video is a gloriously<br />
evocative taste of Hotei’s homeland that<br />
chimes with the snarling lyrics.<br />
In simple terms Hotei is the genuine<br />
article, he creates music like nobody else<br />
out there and his collaborations with Iggy<br />
and the others are something different<br />
from anything you have seen these chaps<br />
do before. Well worth checking out Here.