OOIOO is a Japanese

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band. The four-piece ensemble was founded by

Yoshimi P-We Yoshimi (born on February 18, 1968) is a Japanese musician best known for her role as the longest consistent drummer in the Japanese rock band Boredoms. Alongside her drum playing skills with Boredoms, she performs the vocals for the all female ...

(also known as Yoshimio), the drummer and occasional trumpeter for

Boredoms Boredoms () (later known as V∞redoms) is a rock band from Osaka, Japan formed in 1986. The band's sound is often referred to as noise rock, or sometimes Japanoise (Japan’s noise music scene), though their more recent records have moved towar ...

. The band's origin lie in a photo shoot that Yoshimi was asked to do for a magazine. She invited a few of her friends to join her, and they created a fake band for the shoot, which they later decided to make real. The band quickly gained attention by being the opening act for

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

in 1997 on their Japan tour. According to

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 ...

's Kieran McCarthy "It's next to impossible to describe their sound, because — by design — it rarely follows consistent patterns". Some of their music has been described as having "a majestic ebb and flow that suggests natural wonders" or a "witchy, tribal side". Either way, at any one time it may incorporate

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

and punchy drums, dancey polyrhythms atonal composition or psychedelia.

Discography

Albums

*'' OOIOO'' (1997) *''

Feather Float ''Feather Float '' is the second album the Japanese band OOIOO, a side-project of Boredoms member Yoshimi P-We. Track listing Personnel Sourced from AllMusic. OOIOO * Yoshimi P-We - vocals, guitar, Casio, Juno, piano, Jew's harp, scratchi ...

'' (1999) *'' Gold and Green'' (2000) *''

Kila Kila Kila ''Kila Kila Kila'' is the fourth studio album from the Japanese Rock music, rock band OOIOO, originally released in 2003 in Japan. It was later released in America on February 17, 2004, the band's first album released on Thrill Jockey.Taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

'' (2006) *''

Armonico Hewa ''Armonico Hewa'' is the sixth studio album by Japanese experimental rock band OOIOO. It was released on August 5, 2009 by the labels Commmons and Shock City. "Armonico Hewa" is a combination of the Spanish word "armonico" and the Swahili wor ...

'' (2009) *''Gamel'' (2013) *''Nijimusi'' (2019)

EPs

*''

OOEYヨOO -EYヨ REMIX ''Eye Remix'' (stylised as ''OOEYヨOO -EYヨ REMIX'') is EP of remixes by the Japanese band OOIOO by Boredoms member Yamantaka Eye (aka EYヨ). Originally handed out while touring in the US for the Taiga album, the EP contains two remixes by E ...

'' (Eye Remix EP) (2007)

Compilations

*''Shock City Shockers 2'' (2001) **compilation of remixes including mixes by

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 ...

, Kan Takagi,

Nobukazu Takemura Nobukazu Takemura (竹村延和 ''Takemura Nobukazu'') is a Japanese musician and artist. Born in Hirakata, Osaka in August 1968, he became interested in music at a young age by listening to the radio, and began to make music at home with a tap ...

, and Kiyoshi Izumi; also includes "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly", a cover of the

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

Flora Purim Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. She has recorded and performed with nu ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

song *''COCOCOOOIOO: The Best of Shock City 1997–2001'' (2004) **highlights from their first three albums, with a remixed track from the ''Shock City Shockers 2'' compilation

Personnel

Current members

* YOSHIMIO -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, guitar * KayaN - guitars, vocals, keyboards * AyA - bass * MISHINA - drums

Former members

* Ai —

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Kyoko — vocals, guitar (died July 19, 2015) *Maki — bass, keyboards *Yoshico — drums (Her real name is Yuka Yoshimura. She is currently a member of CATSUOMATICDEATH, METALCHICKS, and a former member of

DMBQ DMBQ is a Japanese rock band from Tokyo, whose name stands for Dynamite Masters Blues Quartet. They are influenced by British and American rock music of the early 1970s, especially bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Deep Purple, and Led ...

)

Guest musicians

Sean Lennon is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The G ...

Seiichi Yamamoto is a Japanese musician. While perhaps most famous for his role as guitarist for the noise rock band Boredoms, he has released multitudes of records both as a solo artist and with several other musicians and bands, in addition to composing the so ...

Yuka Honda Yuka Honda is a Japanese-American musician who resides in New York City. She is a multi-instrumentalist (mainly piano, synthesizer, sampler and other keyboards), composer, record producer, and co-founder of the band Cibo Matto. Throughout her c ...

Julia Cafritz Julia Cafritz (born May 5, 1965) is an American musician and guitarist who was a member of Pussy Galore (band), Pussy Galore and Free Kitten. She is regarded as a cult figure from the New York City noise music scene of the 1990s. Early life Ca ...

References

External links

*
Thrill Jockey information page
*
OOIOO
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ooioo Japanese rock music groups Japanese post-rock groups Japanese alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1995 All-female bands Thrill Jockey artists Japanese women in electronic music 1995 establishments in Japan