(also spelled Korekyojin) is a Japanese

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...

. Founded in 1998, the band is a project by members of several bands within the Japanese progressive rock/

zeuhl Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the cou ...

scene and has released albums on two US labels,

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

Tzadik Records Tzadik Records is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a n ...

and

Skin Graft Records Skin Graft Records (officially capitalized SKiN GRAFT Records) is an independent record label specializing in no wave and noise rock, originally based in Chicago, Illinois. The label is largely responsible for spawning "now wave" genre, an upda ...

as well as on the Japanese label Magaibutsu. In Japanese, the band's name means "this giant" and is a pun on the band names

This Heat This Heat were an English experimental rock band, formed in early 1976 in Camberwell, London by multi-instrumentalists Charles Bullen (guitar, clarinet, viola, vocals, tapes), Charles Hayward (drums, keyboards, vocals, tapes) and Gareth Willi ...

and

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...

.Korekyojinn
at the webpage of the Magaibutsu record label

Members

Drummer

Tatsuya Yoshida (born 9 January 1961 in Kitakami, Iwate) is a Japanese musician; drummer and composer who is the only consistent member of the renowned progressive rock duo Ruins, as well as of Koenji Hyakkei. He is also a member of the progressive rock trios ...

, owner of the Magaibutsu label, has founded the band

Ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

and has been active in several other bands and collaborations, e.g. Kōenjihyakkei and

Daimonji , more commonly known as , is a festival in Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the Obon festival on August 16, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased fam ...

. Bassist Mitsuro Nasuno was a member of the

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

bands

Ground Zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the ground ...

and

Altered States ''Altered States'' is a 1980 American science fiction body horror film directed by Ken Russell and based on the novel of the same name by playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky. The film was adapted from Chayefsky's 1978 novel and is his f ...

and has been a member of Daimonji; guitarist Natsuki Kido has been a member of the

band Bondage Fruit.

Music

Korekyojinn plays instrumental music composed by Yoshida Tatsuya. The band web page describes it as "''Progressive Jazz Rock Polyrhythmique''" – "''where progressive rock and contemporary jazz collide into a breathtaking, futuristic, hard rock funk''".

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewers have awarded the first album ''Korekyojin'' (1999) with 3.5/5 and the third album ''Isotope'' (2005) with 4/5 stars, while Sean Westergaard states in his unrated Allmusic review of ''Tundra'' (2011): "''Tundra'' is a great album by a great band".

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

's Dominique Leone reviewed the second album ''Arabesque'' (2004) with a rating of 8/10. The German progressive rock review website Babyblaue Seiten rated ''Korekyojin'' and ''Arabesque'' with 11/15 and ''Isotope'' with 13/15.Babyblaue Prog-Reviews: Korekyojin
/ref>

Discography

* 1999: ''Korekyojin'' (Tzadik) * 2004: ''Arabesque'' (Magaibutsu) * 2005: ''Isotope'' (Tzadik) * 2006: ''Jackson'' (Magaibutsu) * 2009: ''Swan Dive'' (Magaibutsu) * 2011: ''Doldrums'' (with Tsuboy Akihisa) (Magaibutsu) * 2011: ''Tundra'' (Magaibutsu/Skin Graft)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Japanese progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1998 Tzadik Records artists Jazz fusion ensembles 1998 establishments in Japan