Bo Ningen are a Japanese four-piece
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...
and
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 ...
band,
consisting of Taigen Kawabe (bass/ vocals), Yuki Tsujii (guitar), Kohhei Matsuda (guitar) and Monchan Monna (drums). Though they come from Gumma, Tajimi, Nishinomiya, and Tokyo, they coalesced in London. They are signed to
Stolen Recordings and licensed to Sony Music Associated Records in Japan.
They have performed collaboratively with
Damo Suzuki
, better known as Damo Suzuki (ダモ鈴木), is a Japanese musician who has been living in Germany since the early 1970s and is best known as the former lead singer of the krautrock group Can.
Biography
As a teenager, Suzuki spent the late 196 ...
,
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
and
Savages.
Biography
The name ''Bo Ningen'' means "Stick Man" in Japanese.
Taigen (vocal and bass) and Kohhei (guitar) met at a gig in 2006 and formed the first Bo Ningen duo; they were later joined by Yuki and then by Monchan. The band booked into a studio on Hackney Road and in summer 2007, after continual 12 hour jams they played the first “true” Bo Ningen show at the Wilmington Arms. They then set up their own night 'Far East Electric Psychedelic' at Cross Kings in Kings Cross.
They have since played shows and festivals throughout the UK, Europe and Japan, notably the 2011 Venice Biennale (in collaboration with artists Tim Noble and
Sue Webster), which was re-created for
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
's Meltdown Festival at
Royal Festival Hall. They were also invited to perform at the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
's
Yohji Yamamoto
is a Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. Considered a master tailor alongside those such as Madeleine Vionnet, he is known for his avant-garde tailoring featuring Japanese design aesthetics.
Yamamoto has won notable awards f ...
Friday Late event.
According to an October 2015 interview with Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music, they confessed that they did not even really understand the label of acid rock applied to their style of music.
The tour planned by the band to coincide the release of their 2020 album, ''Sudden Fictions'', was later postponed to April 2021.
Discography
Singles
* "Henkan" / "Jinsei Ichido Kiri" (2011 Stolen Recordings)
[
* "Nichijyou" / "Henkan" clear vinyl (2014 Black Night Crash Records)
]
EPs
* ''Koroshitai Kimochi'' (2009 Stolen Recordings)[(limited-edition silk-screened 10", 200 copies) ]
* ''Live at St. Leonard's Church'' (2012 Stolen Recordings)[ (limited-edition silk-screened 10", 200 copies)
]
Albums
* ''Bo Ningen'' (2010 Stolen Recordings, Licensed to Knew Noise Recordings, Japan, Licensed to Black Night Crash Records in Australia)[
* ''Line the Wall'' (2012 Stolen Recordings, Licensed to Sony Music Associated Records in Japan, Licensed to Black Night Crash Records in Australia)][
* ''III'' (2014 Stolen Recordings)
* ''Sudden Fictions'' (2020 Alcopop! Records)]
Collaborations
* ''Words to the Blind'' (2014 Stolen Recordings/Pop Noire) – with Savages
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
British psychedelic rock music groups
Japanese rock music groups
Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists