Kūchū Camp, Long Season (both described by The Japan Times as “undisputed landmarks in the Japanese rock canon”), Uchū Nippon Setagaya and 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare are groundbreaking in the sense that no one, before or after, has sounded anything like them. Formed in 1987 as a straightforward dub band before finally transforming into titans of experimental dream pop and neo-psychedelia, Fishmans were helmed by Shinji Sato (vocals), Kin-Ichi Motegi (drums) and Yuzuru Kashiwabara (bass).įew discographies so satisfyingly narrate the story of a band as Fishmans’, a fact mostly true due to the dizzying heights reached by their final four records. Quite simply, there has never been another band like Fishmans. Though it’s almost a decade since Boredoms’ furthest reaches of influence, they’ve benefited from the new global fandom of the age of digital media they’re among the most imitated and well-known of Japanese musicians. Albums like Super æ (1998) and Vision Creation Newsun (1999) only built into the myth, and their influence can be heard in the work of a host of different bands from noise and experimental rock acts like Lightning Bolt, Pink & Brown, Battles and Black Midi to psychedelic pop outfit Animal Collective. However, frontman Yamataka Eye’s constant flirtation with lunacy and mostly-recurrent drummer Yoshimi P-We’s naïve, improvised approach to drumming opened the eyes of many outside Japan, especially in the US, to Japanoise.īoredoms infiltrated the American underground, not only becoming involved with giants Sonic Youth, Nirvana and the Flaming Lips ( Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was named after Yoshimi P-We and featured her contributions) but earning a reputation as revered, mythical performers. It isn’t so much that they weren’t good – indeed, Boredoms have always been rather consistently incredible – but that they were hardly pop radio-worthy. Looking back on those performances, it’s still baffling that they enjoyed such popularity. It’s hard to believe that they are the same band who toured with Sonic Youth and Nirvana in the late ’90s and even played the main stage of Lollapalooza in 1994. Wade as “maniacally extreme cacophony,” Boredoms’ albums and live shows can only be described as “spiritual happenings” or “cultural events.” Hailing from Osaka, over the past 30 years they’ve produced albums of aggressive noise, fast punk, noise rock, krautrock, psychedelic rock, post rock, turntablism and minimalism (to name a few).īoredoms’ current live shows have been known to revolve around extreme abstract performance art, ridiculous numbers of drummers (on two occasions, 77 and 88) and entrancing spirituality.
![how did nujabes die how did nujabes die](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0VIm_CjYBc/UYTYH7C6fxI/AAAAAAAAA5M/eRhY6kJ7KOw/s1600/Robert+Wadlow+(6).jpg)
This list will, in no order of preference, condense that number down to seven favorites whom I think are most contemporarily relevant and represent the breadth of Japanese musicians’ influence over a different styles and genres.ĭescribed by Bonnie C.
![how did nujabes die how did nujabes die](https://townsquare.media/site/625/files/2010/03/nujabes200.jpg)
There is rather obviously a daunting catalogue of artists that fulfill this criteria, a list that could no doubt fill several volumes (briefly consider the vast divergences of style between Yoko Ono and Merzbow, Hikaru Utada and Toru Takemitsu, Boris and Cornelius). And yet, there are countless numbers of Japanese musicians, popular and not, who have irreversibly altered the trajectory of an untold number of genres worldwide. To be influential is to be more than just popular.
![how did nujabes die how did nujabes die](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/576960d5579fb3601c08f130/1478775840630-5UG1B1SVEDP91OXXGNNS/DILLA_2.jpg)
In fact, the last 20 years has seen an unprecedented rise in the consumption of Japanese music, revolutionised by streaming services and collaborative online platforms such as Reddit and RateYourMusic (RYM).
![how did nujabes die how did nujabes die](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oMNN5NQqh0o/hqdefault.jpg)
From Japan’s enviable post-war underground scene to this century’s unstoppable rise of J-pop, Japanese artists have spearheaded movements that have unleashed revolutionary shockwaves across the globe, and today their influence has never been so broad or so obvious.ĭiscovery of Japanese musicians’ work has come a long way since the days of John Zorn’s New Japan label and those infamous labyrinthian J-pop blogs of the early days of the internet. Japanese music has, whether the rest of the world knows it or not, long had a tremendous influence on worldwide musical trends.