Japanoise J-Punk The Experimental

[AssKissinger]

Ok recently on the J-Pop thread there's been some talk about the Japanese underground. I'm a big fan of avant-garde music and Japan has made some great contributions that you may or may not know about. I hate to admit that I'm so old but I started listening to Japanese punk almost from it's beginning some 15 years ago. Probably the most important place to start with if you're interested is with Boredoms. They're one of the great noise bands of all time from any country. They're spin off bands include UFO or Die (UFO standing for Unlimted Freak Out) and Boredom's mastermind Yamatsuka Eye's experimental techno solo DJ project, DJ Pika Pika Pika. I saw this guy in Nagoya and it was just a sonic assualt, one of the most brutal soundscapes I ever heard. Probably, the most important Boredom's record is called Pop Tatari. Another big daddy on the scene is Melt Banana. Back in the day when I was living in Korea I wrote these guys a letter asking them when would be a good time to come to Japan to see a live show and they not only answered it but met me in Tokyo, showed me around, introduced to other J-Punk Gods including Boredom members, I got to watch the bands do the sound checks and ate sushi with Melt Banana and saw two live shows all in one glorious weekend. That was my first glimpse of Japan and I was impressed to say the least. I've seen Melt Banana twice in the states and once in Japan. They are not to be missed live. As far as really extreme noise goes nobody can beat Merzbow!

To me those are the big three but a lot of people also really respect Ruins. I respect them too, but I just don't know as much about them as I should. One of their side projects is called Musica Tansonic. As far as the early days are concerned I remember when I first heard Japanese punk on the community radio station. I was totally blown away because this stuff from Japan was a lot wilder than the the English and American stuff from that time. I'm not talking about experimental stuff at this point but just pure hardcore punk. Actually, the JPN bands were he first to take it to the maximum totally spastic yelling all the time level. Up one step from Minor Threat and Die Kruezen (American bands). These early bands include, Chicken Bowels, Systematic Death, S.O.B. and especially Lip Cream. Rock'n'roll pioneers, all.

Now for some name dropping: 5,6,7,8's, Coaltar of the Deepers, Acid Mothers Temple, Zeni Geva (Ruins connection?), Genoh Yamashirogumi, Cibo Matto, L?K?O, Eiji Hashizume.


Edited to fix links

[gomichild]

Yeah there are some interesting bands around definitely - it's damn unfortunate how they can be hard to find.

I've been kicking around in the Japanese rockabilly scene lately - apart from the hair some of them really rock (^^)

[Ptyx]

Ruins, Musica transonic, Acid Mothers Temple, High Rise, Keiji Haino and lots of others (Vajra, Fushitsusha...)are conected through the PSF (Psychedelic Speed Freak) label.
The guys from these bands can't stop making records and side projects. It's not really hardcore more like improvised psyche stuff but really noisy.
Since it's improvised music it gets really intense in concert (specially Ruins and Acid Mothers Temple).
On the record side, try to get the Live at Kichijoji Mandala from Ruins, their hardrock medley is a killer.

[Mulboyne]

Acid Mothers Temple Review

Makoto Kawabata and company assault listeners with frighteningly dense walls of white noise, psychedelic swirl effects and, yes, even guitar solos--Truly, AMT's endurance and threshold for cosmic lashings are both worthy of admiration.
But how much AMT can you take in one sitting? If there's anything this band has taught us...it's that they're not afraid to reach for the upper regions of consciousness... For all I know, Kawabata has hundreds of hours of this stuff on his hard drive.
Mantra of Love...is rarely at a loss for moments of horror or grandeur.

-Dominique Leone, June 3rd, 2004

These guys are touring the US right now. San Francisco, I believe, which should suit them down to the ground.

Actually, Makoto Kawabata of AMT is a pretty interesting guy and you can see (sometimes hear) what music makes his world tick

At this site

Everyday I surround myself with all sorts of different music, so I thought that I would share some of the music that I've been listening to the most lately.
Even today there is still so much wonderful music in the world. And no doubt there is still much music that I have yet to discover. On this page, each week I will choose three records from my collection that I've been listening to a lot over the past seven days.

He seemed to stop posting in January but worth a look.

[American Oyaji]

They were here in Columbus last week, but I didn't have the time to go see them.

[djgizmoe]

I was very lucky to be in Nagoya a few years back when AMT was just coming to a boil there. AMT used to hang out (and own? I don't remember very well) this Indian-style izakaya at the edge of town (near Hongo station) called Seikazoku, and they would host live shows there pretty regularly. Tsuyama Atsushi (also of AMT, Pugs and Omoide Hatoba) played a rather unforgettable little live back then that still gives me shivers. You can check out a few AMT pics (from a great post-La Novia show at Nagoya's Tokuzo) at:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/nipponunderground

[Mulboyne]

Yura Yura Teikoku

Anyone know about the J-Bands at Fuji Rock this year?

I've seen Yura Yura Teikoku, UA and Mo'some Tonebender before but I don't know if any of these other acts are good live:

Akainu (mentioned in djgizmoe's link to Yahoo's "nipponunderground" forum), UA, Supercar, Back Horn, Begin etc

Full line-up announced to date HERE

[Ptyx]

AMT rules !
Saw them in Paris 2 years ago, this was great they were selling cds at the end of the concert for a bill, any bill, 5 euros, 1 dollar, 1000 yens they didn't care.

Concerning Fuji Rock, Zazen Boys will also be there, that's the new band of Mukai Shutoku, the lead singer of Number girl which one of the best band of the end of the 90's. Check Num-Heavymetallic, this album rocks.
Also at fuji rock, Tokyo Jihen, the new band from one of the only listenable major signed nihonjin imho: Shina Ringo.
One of my coworker is a big fan of Yura Yura Teikoku, but i have yet to listen to anythiing from them, is it worth it ?
I wanna go to that fuji rock thing but ii'm afraid i'm too fucked to have the cash for it right now, anyone knows of cheap ways to get in ?

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Anyone know about the J-Bands at Fuji Rock this year?

I've seen Yura Yura Teikoku, UA and Mo'some Tonebender before but I don't know if any of these other acts are good live:

Try Husking Bee

[Mulboyne]

Don't know Husking Bee so I'll check them out if they don't clash. I liked Number Girl so that's good to hear about Mukai's new band.

I saw Yura Yura Teikoku when they had just released "III" -


Great opening track "Dekkai Question Mark" on that and the live performance was pretty good. I then bought Yura Yura Teikoku "Shibire" and "Memai" which were released simultaneously. And I just couldn't get into them. Very lo-fi. So I've no idea what they are up to right know.

[mr. sparkle]

These guys are touring the US right now. San Francisco, I believe, which should suit them down to the ground.

Thanks for the heads up. Now I have some'm to do tonight!

[djgizmoe]

AMT aren't the only unrepentant hippies in Japan (supposedly they had a commune like community outside Nagoya). More than a few of them are actually FGs. Check out the Earth Embassy in Yamanashi. My hippie contact in Numazu says they often have "deep" acid parties out there in the boonies, as well as raves during the summer. http://earthembassy.org/

[Mulboyne]

Review of three Boredoms CDs

On occasion, when asked, I've been known to tell people Boredoms are the best rock band ever...However, their earliest releases still have yet to attract hordes; some fans think they're the real bore-attraction, but they're often derailed as chaotic goof-fests.
...Onanie Bomb began the trend of Boredoms albums qualifying as the one of the strangest ever released on a major label...Boredoms were thrust into an alternative rock spotlight despite playing "music" that, even by the band's appraisal...was hard to take.
...At that point, they might have been best summed up by their own titles, "No Core Punk" and "Feedbackfuck", though "Lick'n Cock Boatpeople" arguably gives the best idea of what Onanie Bomb is about.
...It's not as though Boredoms had to further prove their insanity by this point, but to any doubters, 1994's hard-as-fuck Chocolate Synthesizer served notice that something was seriously wrong in Osaka...Chocolate Synthesizer was the final kiss-off to their illustrious past, and they would never again be this unhinged, annoying or gloriously violent.

Looks like the US indie music sites can't get enough of J-releases. Noise in particular.

I spotted a magazine last time I went through Tokyo called Cookie Scene. Japanese web page Here.


It comes out once every two months and always includes a CD of new foreign indie bands along with a few Japanese names. Even if you can't read the mag, the CD is usually worth the 950 yen cover price. Confusingly, the back page is usually another cover page so careful not to buy the same issue twice. Even living in London, I find it is a good sampler for new bands.
I've found it in HMV, Tower, Sanseido etc but it can take a bit of hunting in bookshop magazine racks.

[AssKissinger]

Hey, Gizmoe do you think you could give a copy and paste job of that 'Top-Ten J-releases' article you wrote for Japanzine two or three years back?

For yall that don't know djgizmoe is a big time expert on J-Weirdness music.

BTW, if AMT is bit over-the-top for you might want to check out this band Angel In Heavy Syrup. They're an all chick melodic psychedelic J-band certainly more easily digested than AMT. But I have no idea what's become of them. Anybody know anything about this band?

PS Nice link Mulboyne.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Does anyone have any good links or info on Shin Terai?

All this talk of noise got me thinking about a release by a group called Chaos Face that released a single CD Doom Ride.



Good old hardcore crap done with Laswell, Terai amongst others. The Japanese connection was the photo on the back cover of the single which a very sedate and not hardcore looking Japanese guy on the back. Assume it was him.

[Noiseman433]

As far as really extreme noise goes nobody can beat Merzbow!

Masonna, Guilty Connector, Kenpai-Tai, Facialmess, Government Alpha, Hijokaidan, MSBR, Defektro, MNE-MIC, C.C.C.C., Gasoline Man, Solmania are all less well known noise acts that rank up there with Akita-san...besides, Merzbow's gone laptop which has a completely different type of sound...

[mr. sparkle]

As far as really extreme noise goes nobody can beat Merzbow!

Masonna, Guilty Connector, Kenpai-Tai, Facialmess, Government Alpha, Hijokaidan, MSBR, Defektro, MNE-MIC, C.C.C.C., Gasoline Man, Solmania are all less well known noise acts that rank up there with Akita-san...besides, Merzbow's gone laptop which has a completely different type of sound...

One time at the Gilman St. Project in Berkeley (prob'ly mid-90s) - all of them mofo's played together at one show: well, at least Masonna, Solmania, and Merzbow all played. I've seen Hijo Kaidan, Boredoms multiple times and Melt Banana at least 6 times. I think that access to extreme Japanoize is actually easier here in the Bay Area.

[Charles]

...I hate to admit that I'm so old but I started listening to Japanese punk almost from it's beginning some 15 years ago. Probably the most important place to start with if you're interested is with Boredoms.. Probably, the most important Boredom's record is called Pop Tatari.

You're rather a latecomer to consider yourself into j punk from "the beginning some 15 years ago," considering it started with The Plastics about 25 years ago. Punk died in the early 80s, before you ever heard it existed.

I was in a record store in Hakodate in '96, I was trying to order an Iggy Pop CD for a friend who had never heard of him, I was fishing through my bag and the clerk saw I had a CD by The Plastics. The clerk said he couldn't believe that a gaijin ever heard of The Plastics, let alone owned their record and carried it around. I said they were one of my favorite punk groups. He said he saw their 10 year reunion gig in 1989 (note: 15 years ago). The clerk chatted a while with me about the old punk days, then pressed a gift into my hands, and insisted I take it: a CD, Pop Tatari by The Boredoms.

Worst CD I ever heard. Absolute unlistenable crap. The high point of the CD is a song "Noise Ramones," which is about 3 minutes of silence.

[AssKissinger]

Punk died in the early 80s, before you ever heard it existed.

Well, I got an autographed Ramones record from when I went down to the local record shop to meet them in 1980 when I was 12 years old and it's hanging on the wall next to me right now. Marky's name is on it and everything. I've loved them through and through to my heart since I was about 10. I wouldn't sell that record for a billion dollars. This thread is supposed to be about swapping information not taking cheap and in this case unfounded swipes at each other.

[Captain Japan]

[Captain Japan]

Worst CD I ever heard. Absolute unlistenable crap. The high point of the CD is a song "Noise Ramones," which is about 3 minutes of silence.

I don't have anything against the Boredoms but I truly think that at least three-fourths of the Japan noise scene is a case of the emperor's new clothes. High Rise makes for a nice listen. So do a few others. But Keiji Haino is a hard one to take. I think he's an interesting guy and the guitar roar is captivating but seriously he is capable of producing some wretched, wretched shit. Merbow. I don't care how warped you are, that stuff just can't be appealing for very long. What was that, a 50-CD box set? A complete listen might seriously kill some people.

I went and saw ROVO a few months back. Had a blast!

[djgizmoe]

Worst CD I ever heard. Absolute unlistenable crap. The high point of the CD is a song "Noise Ramones," which is about 3 minutes of silence.

I don't have anything against the Boredoms but I truly think that at least three-fourths of the Japan noise scene is a case of the emperor's new clothes. High Rise makes for a nice listen. So do a few others. But Keiji Haino is a hard one to take. I think he's an interesting guy and the guitar roar is captivating but seriously he is capable of producing some wretched, wretched shit. Merbow. I don't care how warped you are, that stuff just can't be appealing for very long.

I went and saw ROVO a few months back. Had a blast!

Yeah I agree with you on almost all points. Pop Tatari is probably the funniest CD I've ever heard, and the first time I saw the Boredoms play was during that era (in Hollywood!), and it took about two days to wipe the smile off my face.

And now to kill myself. I was just about ready to ride over to PIA to get tickets to the Voordoms show this Sunday...and the Liquid Room website now says they're sold out...NOOOOOO!!!!!

[Mulboyne]

And now to kill myself. I was just about ready to ride over to PIA to get tickets to the Voordoms show this Sunday...and the Liquid Room website now says they're sold out...NOOOOOO!!!!!

Try Yahoo Auctions. Tickets for most events can be had there. Also saw one in a Shinjuku ticket shop last weekend (between Ome kaido & Odakyu)

Just checked Yahoo myself. Edited - Auction over now. Link is dead.
Current bid (3:04pm) is 7,100 for a 4,000 face-value ticket. 9 hours left

[quote="Captain Japan"]And speak of the devil]
Have ticket, will go. I'm not really a fan but, as an event, this has to be worth seeing. NXS also on the bill. After a couple of forays, I gave up buying noise scene CDs when I realized (a) I was having trouble telling them apart (b) I could think of no time I'd actually want to play one.
When Melt Banana backed Wire earlier this year, seasoned fans could be spotted sticking in the earplugs.

[Ptyx]

I went to Pia three weeks ago gurai and the vooredoms show was already sold out. I guess i ll wait for the next one i can t throw 7 thousands on a concert right now.
Speaking of noise the last issue of Wire has a good article on noise music history plus a list of their favorite noise records.
Masonna and Merzbow are of course on the list as well as Lou Reed, C.C.C.C, Whitehouse and the youngsters from Wolf Eyes.

[kotatsuneko]

more audio experimental (with some great tunes every now and again) but perhaps slightly related...

the victoria and albert museum in rondon has a current exhibition featuring good ol Cornelius.. (his wifes stuff is pretty damn good too..)

http://www.vam.ac.uk/shhh

edit: damn roots manuva is also featured! =(^^)=

[Noiseman433]

One time at the Gilman St. Project in Berkeley (prob'ly mid-90s) - all of them mofo's played together at one show: well, at least Masonna, Solmania, and Merzbow all played. I've seen Hijo Kaidan, Boredoms multiple times and Melt Banana at least 6 times. I think that access to extreme Japanoize is actually easier here in the Bay Area.

cool--i take it you're going to go to this then?

The First Annual San Francisco Bay Area Harsh Noise Festival is this weekend!!

Harsh times call for harsh music! The bleeding edge Harshnoise Record Label presents the sonic antidote for the future with the San Francisco Bay Area Harsh Noise Festival to be held at San Francisco's very own Edinburgh Castle on August 7th and 8th.

Of course, noise is always a few steps ahead: at its best, it cuts to the chase of musical enjoyment, serving simultaneously as aesthetic purification and meta-music. The festival, curated by Bob Sato and Tim Oliveira of the Harshnoise Label, promises such sublime listening from the likes of:

- THE HATERS, celebrating 25 years of sonic entropy

- Emil Beaulieau, America's Greatest Living Noise Artist

- SICKNESS, purveyor of harsh electronic purity

- Control, brutally harsh power electronics

- R.H.Y. Yau, Noise/Voice/Action by San Francisco's best kept secret

- The Cherry Point, bloody harsh electronics unit trio: Phil Blankenship, John Wiese, and Gerritt.


Also performing are Xome, Pedestrian Deposit , Clew of Theseus, Ohka, Velocity Stack, UFO AS BACTERIA, Oscillating Innards, and Stimbox.

Shows start at 8 PM
Admission $6 each night. $10 for both nights.
Show is 21+
More info: http://harsh.noisefest.com/

Saturday August the 7th:

The Haters (San Francisco)
SICKNESS (Hamden, CT)
Emil Beaulieau (Lowell, MA)
Clew of Theseus (Phoenix, AZ)
Okha (Portland, OR)
Velocity Stack (San Francisco)
Stimbox (San Francisco)

Sunday August the 8th:

R.H.Y. Yau (San Francisco)
The Cherry Point (Hollywood)
Control (Santa Cruz)
Pedestrian Deposit (Tulare)
UFO AS BACTERIA (Santa Rosa)
Oscillating Innards (Redwood City)
Xome (San Francisco)
Emil Beaulieau (Lowell, MA)


EDINBURGH CASTLE PUB
950 GEARY ST (between Polk & Larkin)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA USA
http://www.castlenews.com/


see Y O U there!!!
-bob & tim


[ YOU have recieved this special announcement because your email addy is somewhere on either harshnoise.com, noisemp3.com or xome.org!! ]

[Noiseman433]

Worst CD I ever heard. Absolute unlistenable crap. The high point of the CD is a song "Noise Ramones," which is about 3 minutes of silence.

Noise Ramones is also the name of a Ramones "tribute" band put together by Yamataka Eye of the Boredoms.

[Noiseman433]

I went to Pia three weeks ago gurai and the vooredoms show was already sold out. I guess i ll wait for the next one i can t throw 7 thousands on a concert right now.
Speaking of noise the last issue of Wire has a good article on noise music history plus a list of their favorite noise records.
Masonna and Merzbow are of course on the list as well as Lou Reed, C.C.C.C, Whitehouse and the youngsters from Wolf Eyes.

thanks for the heads up on that--I haven't picked up a Wire magazine in ages.

[Mulboyne]

Melt Banana were the best of the bunch. A DVD of the gig will be out later this year.
They said the next gig will be in Shimokitazawa September 18th. Although the singer wasn't entirely comfortable with the accuracy of her information.

[kotatsuneko]

merzbow got *isssues* to face baby! check this track listing from
merzbow&consumer electronics- horn of the goat:

horn of the goat
dirty jessie
korean comfort (!)
history of child porn (!!)
goodbye lesley

wtf?