Picky Picnic

Japanese New Wave Experimental Punk Rock/Techno Pop group active throughout the 80’s, conceived by Yūji Asuka (Makoto Ori, A.K.A Francis) & Kaoru Todoroki (Takashi Date, A.K.A 魂列車1号 "Soul Train 1") in their high-school years around the early 80's. Cartoonist Kiriko Kubo would join their activities in the mid-80’s as illustrator, lyricist and vocalist. Their music incorporates distorted vocal performances accompanied by unusual acoustic and electronic instrumentations, often in a humorous fashion. They are considered a staple of the 80’s underground scene. They performed live a single time at an event in Aoyama CAY.* They made four major album releases: - Picnic Land (1982) The group’s debut hand-made cassette album, wich saw limited production. - Ha! Ha! Tarachine (1985) Their first professionally-produced vinyl LP album, which further experiments with higher-quality sound and revisits Picnic Land. - Cynical Hysteria World (1986) A double-vinyl EP album based on Kiriko Kubo’s “Cynical Hysterie Hour” cartoon series. It would cement Kiriko’s incorporation to the group. It was their only album to be re-released, in a variety of formats. - くるくるワールド (Kuru-Kuru World, 1990) A CD album featuring music from “Cynical Hysteria World”, after which they would cease all activities. There also exists a mysterious unreleased record, Picky Horror Show, catalogued as their fourth. They made original contributions for various curated albums, including a preliminary version of their song “Sumbe Ba Miyako” in 1983. Their recording sessions took place mainly inside their own studio, Panic Studio. Most of their productions are catalogued under Panic, identified by a tulip stamp with a capitalized “PANIC” and its catalogue number. *As stated by Makoto Ori on an interview with Moritz R®︎