Two London based bands
an all female post punk noise rock band with French singer and Turkish bassist:
Savages (Matador Records) &
an all Japanese psychedelic rock band, similar to another Japanese band, Boris:
Bo Ningen
are in a special collaboration

London 2012. Savages are recording the debut album. In the middle of an intense three weeks, they set out one evening to see the band Bo Ningen. A few days later producer Johnny Hostile begins to muse over the possibility of two bands playing in the same space at the same time.  Concurrently Gemma Thopson of Savages is reading about the performances at the Cabaret Voltaire.

“Zurich in 1916 and Hugo Ball is instrumental in creating the Cabaret Voltaire – a club which will become central to the performances of the Dada movement, during which the artists would experiment with forms of sound poetry and simultaneous poetry. A movement created through the horror of World War One, it attempts to understand how society has reached such an illogical decision. Through simultaneous poetry begins the attempt to delve into chaos and maelstrom, to find the voice of the individual struggling to be heard. We decide to approach Bo Ningen with the idea of collaborating on a Sonic Simultaneous Poem.”

The idea begins to take shape in early 2013, they prepare for both bands to rehearse together in a studio with a loose composition based around five chapters. As the musicians of both bands consider how to apply themselves with their instruments to each chapter – revolving, colliding and intertwining with words sang in Japanese, French and English. They also envisage the physical space in which to perform.

„We imagine a stage in a large u-shape to contain as much of the audience as possible in the centre. The two drummers next to each other at the ‘bottom’ of the u, then leading around symmetrically (facing each other): guitarists, bassists and singers at the tips of the u-shape. Bo Ningen have a guitar extra, so we hang one from the ceiling to hit as you would a gong. Eventually we fix a date and a space for what we believe is a one-off performance that we name „Words To The Blind.” It was performed at The Red Gallery, London on May 29th 2013. The 37-minutes long track will be released on November 17th by Stolen Recordings (UK) and Pop Noire Records (France).

Snippets from the performance

They will do it again together this on 19 November at the Oval Space, London.
Tickets have been sold out.

Second common work of Hawaiian born half Chinese/half American experimental guitarist Dustin Wong (was in Ponytail) and Japanese pop star Takako Minekawa. It’s more playful than the previous one, because there are more J-pop moments.  Takako sings about quantum physics, human consciousness, and flying above a desert all within the framework of Japanese puns in the song “She He See Feel”

„Savage Imagination” LP, CD on Thrill Jockey Records (US)

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Obnox is Bim Thomas Lamont, the drummer of raw blues band Bassholes. He has plenty of drive because he is working on two albums at the same time now. But before everything else he has thrown out an EP which is stuffed his basement jams. Harsh distorted rock and roll sometimes is like a strange Ministry.

„The Juke That Sat By The Door” EP on Chunklet Records (US)

Some days before here was the news about a project of Chris Constantinou (The Wolfmen, Adam Ant) and Paul Frazer (Prodigy, Black Futures). They gathered a bunch of legendary British and American punk/ska/new wave artists and made together an album under the name of The Mutants. They went to Japan and did the same thing with members of Guitar Wolf (atomic garage „lock and lol” trio from Nagasaki. They provoked Eric Friedl from The Oblivians to start the Goner Records in 1993. After the first sight he wanted to publish their album. ) +  The 5.6.7.8’s (all-female rockabilly rock and roll trio. They’re famous from their appearance in Tarantino’s Kill Bill vol 1.) + Mika Bomb (London based 3/4 Japanese all girl pop punk band) + Jackie & The Cedirics (surf rock trio) + The Neatbeats (beat) + The Let’s Go’s (all-girl candy rock and roll trio) and more. Here is a song

Dead Beat Generation

The album is coming soon

They said: acid punk. I say: psychedelic rock. Influenced by kraut rock and Japanese pop. Similar to another Japanese band, Boris.

BO NINGEN – SLIDER

from the album III on Stolen Recordings (UK)

Their short story: 2006. Two Japaneses meet in London and form the Bo Ningen. Give only one show where the audience to force them to cease music. 2007. One of them meets another Japanese. Big happiness. They play music for 10 hours per day. Finally the drummer is coming towards them.

Japanese psychedelic rock band Kikagaku Moyo have started their own label called Guruguru Brain to contribute to Asian music scene. The  1st release is a compile of Japanese musicians who played Tokyo Psych Fest, for example: Fancy Numnum, Bombori, Korakora, or Old Man Bondage Machine, who has written their song about Steven Segall. It’s free to download

OOIOO is a band of Yoshimi P-We (drummer of noise punk, chaos fun band UFO or Die, founding member of avant-garde noise rock Boredoms). It was allegedly founded as a fake band for a magazine photo shoot in 1995. The joke has turned special cosmic tribal music, now in Japanese gamelan style

„Gamel” LP, CD on Thrill Jockey

Lust For Youth started as the Swedish Hannes Norrvide’s cold wave synth-pop project.  It has became a trio. Their music is like the eraly Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, New Order or Desireless (do you remember Voyage, voyage?). This “record deals with the rootless, sometimes almost inhuman, nature of traveling and touring. Hotel rooms and strangers’ beds, drugs and clubs, and the impossibility of living a regular life.”

„International” LP, CD on Sacred Bones. 3rd track is a remix.

English based Japanese psychedelic noise rock attack, or Zeni Geva light:

from the album III by Stolen Recordings

Their short story: 2006. Two Japaneses meet in London and form the Bo Ningen. Give only one show where the audience to force them to cease music. 2007. One of them meets another Japanese. Big happiness. They play music for 10 hours per day. Finally the drummer is coming towards them.

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Tender is a brand new Hollander vinyl only record label,  their musical spectrum ranges from soul to garage punk. The 5th release is the debut single of Chasing Rainbows. It’s a Santa Barbara (California)/Amsterdam based music collective with 5 core members. One of them is Henk Jonkers, a multi-instrumentalist, who is active in the Dutch scene in various alt/blues/punk/rock bands from the mid-80s, for example: Fatal Flowers, Molly Rotten, 13, Do The Undo, Hallo Venray, etc, as well as produced albums for Claw Boys Claw, zZz and more. Chasing Rainbows play 60s style psychedelic, „roots” influenced garage rock.

Matsuki Ayumu is a mad about cat Japanese musician. Playful orchestral J-Pop alone

Terraforming (Alternative) LP by Ample Play. Originally it was released in June 2013 in digital format. His brand new album Enterkey.co.jp is released in January only in digital.

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Psychedelic no wave disco with gothic and oriental moments by Tucan feat. jabbaboy, who is saxplayer of the Italian noise attack  Hiroshima Rock Around.

Cold Cold – digital album & cassette by Bloody Sound Fucktory (Italy) and Jus de Balles (Belgium)

By the way, Padre Pio non è tucano.

Eiko Ishibashi is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist session musician, producer, and singer-song writer. She has started her musical career as a drummer, performing in several bands. When she began to score music for films and work as a solo musician. Since then she has released two solo albums (the second, ‘Drifting Devil’ is featured Seiichi Yamamoto from Boredoms) and the album ‘Slip Beneath The Distant Tree‘ with Tatsuya Yoshida (drummer of Ruins and Zeni Geva).  Resurrection

from her third solo album: ‘Imitation Of Life‘ is produced by Jim O’Rourke

Ed Woods are a Japanese trash rock’n’roll band. Rock Shock In My Head

from their split 7″ with the surf’n’soul punk Los Champions.