Meet Japan’s Beat Bahnhof who will open the Put3ska reunion concert

Meet Japan’s Beat Bahnhof who will open the Put3ska reunion concert

by rick olivares

Before famed Philippine ska band, Put3ska, takes the Music Museum stage on the 24^thof May, the honor of the crew to get the crowd skanking and dancing when the show begins goes to a band from the Land of the Rising Sun…. Beat Bahnhof.

The Japanese ska band, formed in 2012, combines the classic Jamaican sound as developed by the Skatalites to the 2-Tone Movement in Great Britain that brought ska into the mainstream and Third Wave sensibilities.

Beat Bahnhof previously performed in the Philippines as part of the Philippine Ska Fest of 2018 and their performance caught the eye of Put3ska’s Emelee Nicart who helped organize the reunion of Put3ska.

The opening gig in more ways than one, is special for Beat Bahnhof vocalist and guitarist Ace-K. While on a trip to Los Angeles, California, United States of America back in 1998, Ace-K checked out Amoeba Music looking for ska albums to buy. He spotted the compact discs of four different bands – American ska crews Undercover Ska, Magadog, and Ruska Bank, and one from Southeast Asia…. Put3ska!

“I actually had no idea how to pronounce their name,” recalled Ace-K. “The album cover was in black and white which every ska fan can understand. And I couldn’t wait to play the album. The moment it played, I said, ‘Wow! This is Madness plus Bad Manners plus the Selecter! These are some of the finest bands of the 2-Tone era and I became interested in finding out more about the ska scene in the Philippines.”

So when Nicart invited Beat Bahnhof – akihiro.o on bass, Masaki on the organ, Thomas on trombone, Wada on drums, Makoto on guitar, and Len on saxophone -- to open for Put3ska, it was a no-brainer for Ace-K and the rest of his mates. 

“I love Put3ska’s music and I’ve had their cd for over 20 years now and I still play it,” gushed the Beat Bahnhof frontman. “We were all excited when we got the invite and immediately said yes. We also owe it to Noel Salonga of Skabeche who opened up to a Filipino audience. And we hope this will not be the last time for us to perform in the Philippines.” 

Beat Bahnhof has this goal of “Skanking Around the World.” To date, the Japanese has released an album in 2013 titled, Dear Passengers and participated in a split vinyl EP in 2017 along with Swedish ska band, the Liptones. They have performed in the United Kingdom, Germany, Czech Republic, Korea, Hong Kong, China, and this coming June, in Russia. “It’s a dream to perform in all these places,” confessed Ace-K.

A return to Manila in the meantime has the band furiously counting down the days on the calendar. “It is driving us mad,” enthused Ace-K. “I think this is fate, destiny. After buying that Put3ska cd, we get to perform with these legends of the Philippine music scene. We want to get to Manila as soon as possible to share our music to Filipinos. This is a great way to strengthen the international ska scene.”