Japanese Underground
 

Has anything good been written about the Japanese Noise scene or, even better still, its underground movement in general? books? articles? websites?

there was a website where some dude talked about most of the big bands, although it's a little bit dated (doesn't mention much of acid mothers temple) and dude doesn't like the boredoms because they are just a cool name to drop around and sound like you like japanese rock...dude also is in mad love with high rise (who can't?).

i scored a fanzine called exile osaka published in the late 90's about some u.s. dude who went to live in japan and go crazy with all the bands there, it has great coverage, including a scene report from tokyo including a review of one of boris' first shows and some interviews of forgotten bands.

merzbow wrote a book about noise but it's in japanese and no translations have been made.

There's been some good articles in ancient issues of "Bananafish" and "Opprobrium" mags, on the likes of Hijokaidan, High Rise, early Fushitsusha etc. Not aware offhand of any English language books on the Japnoise scene - I'd imagine there'd be a least a couple of Japanese language books though.

Here be a Merzbow interview:

http://www.musiquemachine.com/articl...late.php?id=73

Thanks for that. I'd love to know more about the whole scene that spawned their underground. Not necessarily music based, just in general. I remember reading a great interview with someone about it but, like everyneurotic, It was a while ago and I can't remember where I read it.

interview with psf dude, hideo ikeezumi:

http://www.ongakuweb.com/psf.html

A lot of TG/Whitehouse inspiration, an interest in extreme left and right wing politics (or in Haino's case, a disgust with all politics after the collapse of the student movement in the 70's), and an irreverent take on musical taste and history is my admittedly obtuse take on it.

That's the stuff i'm interested in, the student movement stuff. Would really like to read more about that.

Not much luck finding out about the JP student movement through Google...

the cornerstones of the scene lie on les rallizes denudes, ybo2 and merzbow. later on, the boredoms also had a big impact...oh and s.o.b., when you find about these bands, then you'll have a pretty clear idea of where it comes artistically and ideologically.

there's a book called Japanese Independent Music, it's an A-Z of bands type thing, it's OK but was published about 6 or 7 years ago so it's slightly out of date, plus there are a few other flaws, innacurate discographies, dismissive of certain groups, etc, but as far as i know it's the only book of its kind and it has a guide to record shopping in japan in the back.
plus there's a website called noise.as that has a big article on japanese psychedelia and one on les rallizes denudes which i haven't read but image would at least touch upon the student movement as that's what they were spawned from i think, plus their bassist hijacked a plane and flew it to north korea or something.

save up and go to japan, there are some brilliant places in kyoto and tokyo. five mines train ride from shibuya station is a suburb type thing called shimokitizawa which is awesome, it seems to be where all the artists go and hang, thin streets that cars wont fit down, lots of bars, small cinema playing only local short films, galleries very tiny but galleries all the same, it is fantastic.

in kyoto is stayed in this house that lonley planet recomended which was owned by an old frech guy who was a jazz record collector and he pointed out some great jazz bars and one had some awesome free jazz, cant remember what i was now though it was a few years ago, any way i say go and experience it rather than read about it......

That 'Noise' site sounds ideal. Thanks.

I was afraid someone might suggest that. Starts checking flight costs!

yeah go to japan. save up as much money as you can and take an empty suitcase because you'll fill it up with all the stuff you'll buy. nakano, kichijoji and koenji are also good areas to check out in tokyo.

A thought just in:


When someone thinks of 'difficult', 'other', 'weird' music, they automatically think about Japanese music. Surely there's music being made that is ' weirder' than that?

there's also the book julian cope is working on.

That'd be great if it's done in the style of his Krautrocksampler book.

(weird. Amon Duul just came on straight after the Boredoms in my itunes playlist thingy)

supposedly, it is going to be in that style.

yeah but there's a kind of joyfull accessable weirdness that only the japanese are capable of, i mean what other country in the world would ever produce a group like bathtub shitter, for example?

or the gerogerigegege?

Having spent the last few years researching various different counterculture movements from the sixties for a university project, I realised recently that one area I haven't looked at is Japan. As such, I'm more interested in the music as a way in to finding out more about that scene than anything else.

Mate, Erm........

good luck researching japanese 60s counterculture in english

Get japanese flatmates. Mine hate music, so weird, they are from japan.

i//.//&./in the '80s there was Guernica, Denki-ane, Hananojoe, Daisyblue, Eyescream I././/O&that singer on 'It's No Game' on Scary Monsters, Michi Hirota.

I don't really need to go into much detail about it. More a case of simply demonstrating that I know it existed, if you know what I mean. Anything beyond that is more just a case of satisfying my own curiosity.

Just read the piece on Les Rallizes Denudes on that Noise site. They seem really interesting but it would appear that their records are a total bastard to find.

not a bastard, just really expensive.

by the way, that noise.as site is the one i was talking about earlier.

A good point. Methinks the Japanese often make things that are good rather than weird, more so than a lot of countries. I can't, off the top of my head, think of any country that produces genuinely 'weird' music, but I think pretty much any of the so-called 'outsider' musicians are joined in their mutual weirdness (The Shaggs, Arcesia, Jandek... others, no doubt).

The same can be said of the current popularity of Japanese horror films and anime. They satisfy a need for the exotic, usually amongst people whose taste is typically quite conservative. They too find it hard to get beyond the whole 'those Japanese nutcases/perverts/whatevers' syndrome.

That said, anyone whose seen the goings on at Yoyogi Park on a Sunday would have to admit that the Japanese treat Western popular culture in much the same way.

I was going to mention Julian Cope's "Japrocksampler" book, but someone's beaten me to it.

Until that's available, try seeking out a copy of issue 186 of The Wire (Scanner on the cover), which includes a beginners guide to Japanese Psychedelia.

congenital haemmoroids... japanese yeah?

I've been drawn to the 'weirdenss' of it as a young grungy kid and then progressively understood more the motivation of japanese rock, which make perfect sense. The best of it shifts the rock formulas into their hands and give it an ultra-real sheen that has simply gone missing from westerners' hands.A Boredoms interview on The Wire where they say that good food and health make it all possible, sums it up for me.

There's something quite interesting in that. If, and this is a TOTAL generalisation by the way, if the Western Underground sees excess largely through notions of self-abuse, dirt, etc, then the idea that the Japanese see it via looking after their body, cleanliness, etc, makes for a definite contrast.

Fascinating stuff.

Creativity comes from other dishes. I take it that if i won't sort out my diet, then i won't achieve anything with my addictions to cigarettes and alcohol, and i'll never be at my full potential. It's either that or death. If i ever had kids, they wouldn't be eating rubbish.

+1 on that. Absolutely!

I suppose that's why, when push comes to shove, I always relate more to stuff like Eyehategod, Royal Trux, GG Allin, Action Swingers, Lydia Lunch, Swans, etc. Makes me feel slightly better about my own failings. Like a drinking partner that sits opposite you in the pub and just agrees with all of your petty prejudices. Quite pathetic really.

Let's have a creative barbeque, sometime in the summer. Our own Woodstock.

SO LONG AS SOMEONE INVITES HER:

Hang on, that sound a bit like, in fact that sounds very much like m....:mad:..eee...

i think somebody should make an effort to translate akita's book from the japenese.
i think a huge element of japenese counter culture in the 60s musically would involve fluxux/improv collectives such as East Bionic Symphonia, Taj Mahal Travellers, Les Razilles Denudes etc etc.