, also known as Kōenjihyakkei, is a Japanese

Zeuhl Zeuhl (pronounced zœl meaning "Celestial") is a music genre that is a hybrid of jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassical music, established in 1969 by the French band Magma. The term comes from Kobaïan, the fictional language created by ...

band led by Tatsuya Yoshida (from the Japanese 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 is "his tribute to the '

' music" of French

prog-rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the ...

band

Magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

. The band released their first (self-titled) album in 1994 with Aki Kubota from Bondage Fruit on vocals and keyboard. Though rhythmically not as complex as

, Kōenji Hyakkei still evokes a feeling of unfamiliarity due to non-standard modes and chanting in a nonsensical language.

History

According to the official website of the band, maintained by Tatsuya Yoshida, the band was formed in 1991 with Tatsuya Yoshida (drums), Aki Kubota (vocals), Akio Izumi (guitar, ex-Aburadako), Chie Kitahara (keyboards, ex-Phaidia) and Kazuyoshi Kimoto (bass, ex-Ruins). The name Koenji Hyakkei derives from a district where the members lived in Tokyo (Koenji, Suginami-ku, Tokyo) except Kazuyoshi Kimoto. Also as the album cover art of the first album indicates, Hyakkei was borrowed from "Fugaku Hyakkei" (One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji) by novelist

Osamu Dazai , known by his pen name , was a Japanese novelist and author. A number of his most popular works, such as ''The Setting Sun'' (斜陽, ''Shayō'') and '' No Longer Human'' (人間失格, ''Ningen Shikkaku''), are considered modern classics. Hi ...

crossed with well-known series of Hokusai's ukiyoe wood prints, " Fugaku Sanjurokkei" (Thirty-Six Views of Mt Fuji). The album cover is a rendition of "Totomi sanchu" from the series. Kōenji Hyakkei's first album in 13 years, ''Dhorimviskha'', was released on June 27, 2018.

Band members

Yoshida has been the only consistent member of the band, with Sakamoto Kengo playing bass from their second album onward. As the band has added new members, the band's sound changes, shifting from folk-influenced

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

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

with the inclusion of Komori Keiko on reeds (usually

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...

) on their album ''

Angherr Shisspa ''Angherr Shisspa'' is the fourth studio album by the Zeuhl band Koenjihyakkei. Track listing All tracks by Yoshida Tatsuya except where noted # "Tziidall Raszhisst" – 7:14 # "Rattims Friezz" (Sakamoto, Yoshida) – 7:01 # "Grahbem Jorgazz" ...

'' (2005).

Language

It is not clear what language is used for Kōenji Hyakkei lyrics. For the most part, lyrics are reminiscent of Christian Vander's

Kobaïan Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by self-taught drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. The style of progr ...

language (a notable exception is the song "Zoltan" from their 1994 self-titled album '' Hundred Sights of Koenji'', a

Kyrie ', a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of ('' Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, , "Lord, have mercy" derives from a Biblical phrase. Greek , ...

).Pop Matters, Koenjihyakkei: Hundred Sights of Koenji
/ref> There are few words shorter than four letters, and almost no instances of words repeated in more than one phrase. In addition, spelling conventions and pronunciation vary between albums and songs.

Discography

* 1994: '' Hundred Sights of Koenji'' () (remastered and reissued in 2008) * 1997: ''

Viva Koenji! ''弐(II)'', also known as ''Viva Koenji!'' and ''2 (ni)'' is the second studio album by the band Kōenji Hyakkei. Track listing # "Grembo Zavia" – (10:14) # "Graddinoba Revoss" – (4:28) # "Sllina Vezom" – (5:28) # "Quidom" &nd ...

'' () * 2001: ''

Nivraym ''Nivraym'' is the third studio album by the Zeuhl band Koenjihyakkei, released in Japan on the Magaibutsu Limited label in 2001. The album was later released in the US in 2009 by the American record label Skin Graft Records Skin Graft Recor ...

'' (remastered and reissued in 2009) * 2005: ''

'' * 2018: ''Dhorimviskha''

Videography

* 2002: ''Live at Star Pine's Cafe'' (DVD) * 2006: ''Live at Doors'' (DVD) * 2008: ''070531'' (DVD) * 2010: ''Live at Koenji High'' (DVD)

References

External links

*
Kōenjihyakkei discography, album releases & credits
at

Discogs.com Discogs ( ; short for "discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''The N ...

Koenjihyakkei albums to be listened
as stream at Spotify.com
Kōenji Hyakkei @ Skin Graft Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenji Hyakkei Musical groups from Tokyo Japanese progressive rock groups Zeuhl