Glim Spanky is vocalist/guitarist Remi Matsuo and guitarist Hiroki Kamemoto. Their music has a contemporary vibe that seeps through their otherwise 60s and 70s rock and blues tone. Originally, they formed in 2007 as a quartet. The group became a duo in February 2010 and have been making waves since. Their name comes from Matsuo’s interest in Celtic culture and fantasy literature; she read a book describing a goblin’s “glim” and added “spank” to describe their aggressive drive towards the music industry. Nevertheless, their music is heavily influenced by the Woodstock generation, as well as American and British acts from the mid-1960s to early 1970s, from The Beatles to Joni Mitchell and the psychedelic allusions of George Harrison. Central to their sound are the vocals of Remi, whose voice has a rough quality that oozes rock’n’roll. While Hiroki’s guitar melodies flavor the rock sound with psychedelic Eastern flourishes. Not content to simply draw influences from Western rock music culture, they have set about globalizing themselves in a deeper way. In the fall of 2018, they decamped to Los Angeles to record their fourth studio album, Looking For The Magic with producer Kennie Takahashi. Glim Spanky approached Takahashi because of their love for his work with the Ohio band, The Black Keys. Rather than bringing support musicians with them from Japan, they hired two local musicians in Los Angeles: drummer Carla Azar from Jack White’s backing band, and Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence. For Glim Spanky, it’s not only about the love of rock but also the culture that surrounds it as well. From: https://keepingthebluesalive.org/glim-spanky-blues-from-japan/
