is a Japanese rock band, formed in 1978. They originally began in 1971 under the name , and are considered to be one of the pioneers of Japan's

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

scene. The group ended activities in 1996, but original member Reck reformed Friction in 2006 as a duo with drummer

Tatsuya Nakamura is a Japanese musician, drummer and actor. After performing with several prominent punk rock bands, Nakamura rose to fame as drummer of Blankey Jet City from 1987 to 2000. In 1996, he founded his solo project Losalios, where he performs every i ...

. In September 2007, '' Rolling Stone Japan'' rated their debut album ''Atsureki'' at #21 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".

History

Originally formed in 1971 as an avant-garde music group by bassist Reck, saxophonist Chico Hige, and drummer Sakuro Watanabe in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. They changed the band's name to 3/3 in the mid 70s, and Reck and Chico later moved to the United States, where they would form the band

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were an influential American no wave band, based in New York City, who formed part of the city's no wave movement. Background Lydia Lunch met saxophonist James Chance at CBGB and moved into his two-room apartmen ...

with

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

and

James Chance James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953), is an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer. A key figure in no wave, Chance has been playing a combination of improvisational jazz-like music and pu ...

, and later became the original founding members of James Chance and the Contortions before returning to Japan. Renaming 3/3 to form Friction, they recruited guitarist Tsunematsu Masatoshi, who had studied art at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music. They released a live album and single in 1979, and their first studio album, ''Atsureki'' (軋轢, meaning 'friction' in Japanese) in 1980, produced by

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto i ...

. Tsunematsu left the band in December 1980 to become an artist, and from then on Friction has had numerous guest instrumentalists for lives and studio releases, all revolving around frontman Reck. The live video titled ''Dumb Numb'' was directed by Sogo Ishii. Friction went on hiatus in 1999 when Reck started producing for other musicians. In 2006, the group was reformed as a duo featuring Reck and drummer

Discography

*''Atsureki'' (1980) *''Skin Deep'' (1982) *''Live at "Ex Mattatoio" in Roma'' (1985) *''Replicant Walk'' (1988) *''Dumb Numb CD'' (1990) *''Zone Tripper'' (1995) *''Remixxx+One'' (1996) *''Live 1980'' (1996) *''Best'' (2007) *''Friction 1978-2008'' (2008) *''Deepers'' (2009) *''2013 - Live Friction'' (2010)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control

Friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of ...

Japanese punk rock groups Tzadik Records artists Enemy Records artists