Boredoms
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Boredoms |
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Boredoms (ボアダムス) (or V∞redoms) is an avant-garde rock band from Osaka, Japan. They were officially formed in 1986, although some date the band to bedroom tape experiments beginning in 1982. Their varied output is difficult to pigeonhole, but is usually referred to as noise rock or sometimes Japanoise, though their more recent records have been largely based around repetitive minimalism, ambient music and tribal drumming.
The band has a vast and sometimes confusing discography. Many band members have rotated through the group over the years, often using a number of various stage names. Singer Yamantaka Eye is the closest they have to a frontman; his style includes a range of baffling screams, babbling, electronic effects and very heavy post-production. Drummer/singer/trumpeter Yoshimi P-We has been featured on many Boredoms recordings as well.
Critic David Sprague describes Boredoms as resembling "a head-on collision between ... free-form Sun Ra's Arkestra and the scatological nihilism of early Butthole Surfers — fronted by the hollers and gibbers of a couple of guys who can't decide whether they'd rather be Beastie Boys or Residents. But even that doesn't really describe the sheer sense of otherness that pervades the Boredoms aesthetic."[1]
History
Formation and early years
Boredoms were formed in early 1986 by Yamatsuka Eye, who at the time acted as front man for the infamous and highly controversial noise/performance art act Hanatarash; locally notorious for their extremely dangerous live shows consisting entirely of on-stage destruction and complete disregard for the audience's safety. Some of the band's most scandalous live shows included Eye cutting a dead cat in half with a machete, Eye destroying part of a venue with a backhoe, and prior to a show the band got the attendees to fill out forms dismissing the band of responsibility for any possible injuries caused by the performance. The show stopped just as Eye was about to throw a lit molotov cocktail onto the stage, which was drenched in gasoline from a nearby barrel. The performance cost the venue ¥600,000 ($6,000) in repair costs[1]. The insane antics of Hanatarash would later be highly influential on the earliest incarnation of Boredoms, which was formed from the ashes of a band Eye started with Hanatarash drummer Ikuo Taketani, as well as guitarist Tabata Mara, bassist Hosoi, and vocalist Makki Sasarato, called "Acid Makki & Combi and Zombie". The band's sound was characterized by violent, noisy punk rock/no wave-influenced thrashings, and they recorded a single track, "U.S.A", for a compilation tape. Shortly after the release of their first song, Taketani was replaced on drums by Yoshikawa Toyohito, a friend of Eye's. The band officially changed their name to Boredoms after Hira replaced Hosoi on bass, and Sasarato left the band due to creative differences. The name purportedly comes from the Buzzcocks' song "Boredom".
With the band finally reaching a level of stability, Eye, and Mara record their first official EP, Anal by Anal, in the summer of 1986. In early 1987 Mara left the group to later join Zeni Geva, and was replaced by Yamamoto Seiichi as guitar player. In 1988 the band release their first full-length, Osozeran No Stooges Kyo ("The Stooges Craze in Osozeran"). Due to unhappiness over Yoshikawa's drumming Yoshimi P-We from Eye's Hanatarash-related project UFO or Die is asked to serve as drummer, becoming the first female member of the band, with Yoshikawa switching to general percussion. Shortly after the change Yoshikawa left the group being replaced by Hasegawa Chu and then by ATR. The band's sound from this period was marked by harsh, dissonant punk edited extensively by Eye in the studio, citing Sonic Youth and Funkadelic[2] as influences, among others. This style was seen by some as pointlessly abrasive without any underlying motive, making Boredoms according to some critics nihlistic absolute music[2]. Some people disputed these claims however, praising the band for their maniacal surreal humour, making them increasingly popular among the alternative rock auidiences of both Japan and the U.S.
Growing popularity
In 1988 and 1989, Eye found himself making friends with Sonic Youth, (he later contributed vocals on the TV Shit EP released in 1993 on Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label), and also worked extensively with John Zorn's polystylistic Naked City project, serving as guest vocalist. After the release of Boredoms' Soul Discharge album in the United States, they were able to parlay their growing popularity into long term record deals with Warner Bros. Records in Japan and its U.S. imprint Reprise. With the release of the band's critically acclaimed Pop Tatari, generally seen as one of the strangest albums ever released by a major label[3], Boredoms took to the road and toured with Sonic Youth in 1992, and also with Nirvana for eight consecutive shows in late October and early November of 1993, infamously bewildering American auidiences with their highly enegertic performances. During this period the band was asked by Steve Albini to record a track for a compilation he was recording. Shortly after Eye again collaborated with John Zorn on an EP under the name Mystic Fugu Orchestra, which was notably the first album released on Zorn's Tzadik Records.
The following year, at the height of their popularity in the United States, they were asked to perform on the main stage of the 1994 Lollapalooza tour in support of the Chocolate Synthesizer LP which had just been released in the United States. The album proved largely successful for such an experimental band and was later considered one of the best albums of the 90's by Alternative Press magazine[4]. Yoshikawa had later joined the band in the early months of 1994 for a second time to play on Pop Tatari, often sharing vocal duties with Eye, but left again in 1994 and was replaced on percussion by EDA, who had been introduced to the band by Pavement bassist Mark Ibold. The band was dropped from the Reprise roster, with Birdman distributing the band's "Super Roots" EPs during this period. By the time of 1998's Super Go!!!!! EP and full-length LP Super Ae, the band started to break sharply from their earlier atonal noise rock/japanoise sound by introducing many elements of sweeping electronica effects and thoroughly constructed psychedelic rock jams into their music. Described as "tumultuous space-sludge"[5], Super Ae has most often been compared to the defining elements of 70's krautrock[6] and, to some extent, the experimental instrumentation of modern post rock.[7] Soon after its initial release in Japan, Super Ae was met with a considerable amount of acclaim from the international music press, recognized as a modern day avant garde artifact and progressive "masterpiece"[8][9], some critics even identifying the album as affirmation that Boredoms are "the most out-there band in the world"[10]. Notably, Super Ae was considered one of the best albums of the '90s by Pitchfork Media[11].
Current activities
In 1999, the band released Vision Creation Newsun in Japan. This album saw an evolution in their sound, combining the evolving space rock themes explored in their "Super Roots" EPs and preceding opus Super æ with "a much more earthly, primal, primitively worshipful inspiration"[12]. It features psychedelic soundscaping and "cosmic synths"[13], complex tribal drumming, "cathartic celebrations of noise"[14] and Eye's unique power electronic/turntabalistic stylings. The album is often considered the band's greatest achievement thus far, and has been described as blending the "manic, high-speed, cut-up form punk rock" of their earlier albums with a new sound that's "just as intense and exhilarating, but more beautiful and more expansive".[15] The album's 13 minute opening track was later covered by Fischerspooner for their album Odyssey. After this release the band's members pursued individual projects. Eye oversaw a series of remixes of the Boredoms catalogue by guest DJs, and also contributed one album himself. Yoshimi P-We continued working with her experimental rock group OOIOO.
In late 2004, Boredoms released their first album as a group in 4 years; Seadrum/House of Sun, which consists of just two extended 20 minute tracks, with the tribal drumming now generally aquainted with modern day Boredoms and elements of drone music, trance music and techno. It wasn't celebrated to the extent of their aforementioned albums yet still garnered mostly positive reviews, culminating with an exemplary score of 73% on Metacritic[16]. Along with changing the groups name to V∞redoms, the group's line-up changed considerably, stripping down to a four person ensemble with Yamatsuka Eye on vocals, Yoshimi P-We, ATR and Youjiro playing drums and percussion. Despite the changes, the group's music still revolves around the tribal drumming patterns heard on the Vision Creation Newsun LP. However, they have only toured sporadically since the changes.
In 2007, the group released Super Roots 9, the first addition to the Super Roots series since 1999 and their first major album since 2004's Seadrum/House of Sun. It was recorded during a Christmas 2005 concert, making it the Boredoms' first official live release. All "Super Roots" releases have been reissued on Vice Records, with the exclusion of Super Roots 2, which is a limited edition 3" CD that does not merit a reissue. Super Roots 4 was never issued due to some sort of conflict with a record label rather than the popularly cited superstition about the number in Japanese culture.
In April of 2007, the group, in their incarnation as V∞redoms, played 3 dates with Sonic Youth in Japan.[17] Also under the same moniker, the band has recently experimented with unusual recording techniques such as recording percussion under water and using newly developed contact microphones to record the sounds made by the human body whilst dancing[18]. They plan on cutting down and releasing an album using these experiments.
On 7 July, 2007, Boredoms performed 77BOADRUM in Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York City[19]. The "77" denotes not only the date (7 7 2007) but the number of drummers in the ensemble, and the length of the performance (77 minutes).
Discography
Boredoms have released a large amount of material, the following lists only their studio albums.
| Cover | Year | Name | Title | Label(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osorezan no Stooges Kyo The Stooges Craze in Osorezan* | 1988 | Boredoms | Osorezan no Stooges Kyo (The Stooges Craze in Osorezan*) | Mega Scum Groove Inc. |
| Soul Discharge 99' | 1989 | Boredoms | Soul Discharge | Selfish, Shimmy-Disc |
|
1992 | Boredoms | Pop Tatari | WEA, Very Friendly |
|
1993 | Boredoms | Super Roots | WEA |
| Wow2 | 1993 | Boredoms | Wow2 | Avant |
|
1994 | Boredoms | Chocolate Synthesizer | WEA, Reprise, Very Friendly |
| Super Roots 5 | 1995 | Boredoms | Super Roots 5 | WEA |
| Super Roots 6 | 1996 | Boredoms | Super Roots 6 | WEA, Reprise |
|
1998 | Boredoms | Super æ | WEA, Birdman |
| Super Roots 7 | 1998 | Boredoms | Super Roots 7 | WEA |
| Vision Creation Newsun | 2000 | Boredoms | Vision Creation Newsun | WEA, Birdman |
|
2000 | DJ UNKLE | Rebore Vol. 1 | A.K.A., Warner Japan, WEA |
|
2000 | Boredoms | Soul Discharge: 1999 | Avant |
|
2001 | Eye | Rebore Vol. 0 | Warner Music Japan |
| Rebore Vol. 2 | 2000 | DJ Ken Ishii | Rebore Vol. 2 | A.K.A., Warner Japan, WEA |
| Rebore Vol. 3 | 2001 | DJ Krush | Rebore Vol. 3 | Warner Japan |
| Seadrum/House of Sun | 2004 | Boredoms | Seadrum/House of Sun | Warner Music Japan |
Related groups
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References
- ^ Sprague, David. "Boredoms". Trouser Press. Retrieved October 10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Burma, Mike. "Boredoms". Browbeat Magazine.
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