are a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

group formed in 1981. Initially a solo project of Toshiji Mikawa, Fumio Kosakai joined upon the project's relocation to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. The duo's stated aim is to produce "pure" noise, uninfluenced by musical ideas or even human intention, using primarily

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...

, vocals, and various

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

. Kosakai calls this sound "hard noise", as a nod to the jazz subgenre

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

History

In 1981, Toshiji Mikawa formed Incapacitants in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

as a solo project from his other creative endeavours with improv noise group

Hijokaidan is a Japanese noise and free improvisation group with a revolving lineup that has ranged from two members to as many as fourteen in its early days. The group is the project of guitarist , its one constant member, who is head and owner of the Os ...

. As a solo project, Mikawa collaborated with Japanese vocalist and visual artist

Yamantaka Eye (born , 13 February 1964) is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist, best known as a member of Boredoms and Naked City. He has changed his stage name three times, from Yamatsuka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, to Yamataka Eye, and sometimes calls hims ...

, among others. After relocating to Tokyo, Kosakai, of Japanese noise band C.C.C.C., joined Incapacitants to form the current duo. Kosakai would later join Mikawa and become a regular member of Hijokaidan. Incapacitants, alongside Hijokaidan,

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

, C.C.C.C.,

Solmania is a Japanese noise music project, founded in 1984 by . He was later joined by (ex Outo), who first appears on ''Trembling Tongues'' (1995). Ohno is known for making his own experimental electric guitars out of spare parts and using them in ...

Hanatarash Hanatarashi (), meaning "sniveler" or "snot-nosed" in Japanese, was a noise band created by later Boredoms frontman Yamantaka Eye and featured Zeni Geva guitarist Mitsuru Tabata. The outfit was formed in Osaka, Japan in 1984 after Eye and Tabata ...

the Gerogerigegege () is a Japanese experimental music project, founded in 1985 by . Though they are often categorized with Japanese harsh noise acts such as Merzbow and Masonna, The Gerogerigegege has also released albums of more straightforward punk rock (' ...

, and

Masonna , better known by his stage name Masonna, is a Japanese noise musician. He was born on November 16, 1966, in Miyazu, Kyoto, Japan. was started in 1987 in Osaka as Maso Yamazaki's noise project. The name is a combination of the Japanese words ...

, are counted among the more well-known Japanese noise bands formed in the 1980s. In November 1999, Incapacitants performed their first international concert at Music Unlimited Festival '99 in

Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the eighth largest city in Austria. Geography Wels is in the H ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Many of the group's track titles reference their professions, but because of Mikawa and Kosakai's day jobs as bank employee and government office worker, respectively, the duo have not been able to tour abroad often. The group also recorded sessions with Vivian Slaughter of

Gallhammer Gallhammer () were a Japanese extreme metal group that drew on blackened crust, black metal, doom metal and crust punk. They formed in Tokyo in 2003 and released three studio albums. The current group lineup is Vivian Slaughter (vocals, bass g ...

."Hard of Hearing", ''Terrorizer'' no. 171, June 2008, p. 57.

Discography

* ''Eternal Paralysis'' (1981) * ''Peony Crackers'' (1983) * ''Project Pallo '85'' (1985) * ''Repo'' (1989) * ''Feedback of N.M.S.'' (1990) * ''Fabrication'' (1991) * ''Quietus'' (1993) * ''Extreme Gospel Nights'' (1993) * ''Stupid Is Stupid'' (1993) * ''No Progress'' (1994) * ''Ad Nauseam'' (1994) * ''As Loud As Possible'' (1995) * ''D.D.D.D. (Destroy Devastating and Disgusting Derivatives)'' (1995) * ''El Shanbara Therminosis'' (1995) * ''Operorue'' (1995) * ''Ministry of Foolishness'' (1995) * ''The Tongue'' (1996) * ''Asset Without Liability'' (1996) * ''Cosmic Incapacitants'' (1996) * ''New Movements in CMPD'' (1996) * ''I, Residuum'' (1997) * ''Default Standard'' (1999) * ''Unauthorized Fatal Operation 990130'' (1999) * ''Live Incapacitants'' (2000) * ''Sec End'' (2004) * ''73'' (2007) * ''Burning Orange'' (2008) * ''Lon Guy'' (2009) * ''Tight'' (2009) * ''Mon, Ma? Mon!!!'' (2012) * ''Zashikiwarashi Effect'' (2012) * ''Eat! Meat!! Manifesto!!!'' (2012) * ''Survival of the Laziest'' (2017) * ''Breath of Insect'' (2017) * ''Zouvneree'' (2018) * ''As Anti as Possible'' (2019) * ''Ostracized Enigmatic Conqueror'' (2019) * ''Onomatopée Suicida'' (2020) * ''Incapacitants'' (2020) * ''Oxen Man's Uneasiness'' (2023)

References

External links

* Japanese musical duos Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups from Osaka Noise musical groups {{Japan-band-stub