Biography
Of all the acts operating within Japan's vibrant noise-music scene, the Boredoms stood out for their sheer exuberance. Their wildly intense sonic assault never qualified as easy listening, yet a playful undercurrent of wit allowed them to reach a modest yet unexpectedly broad following among alternative-rock listeners. A representative Boredoms recording might incorporate heavily distorted guitars, piercing synth lines, assorted found-object noisemakers, or tape-manipulation techniques, while conventional song forms were abandoned in favor of sudden, neck-snapping shifts in trajectory. With Sonic Youth and Nirvana among the Boredoms' admirers, the ensemble secured major-label contracts in the early '90s in both Japan and the U.S. and appeared on the Lollapalooza main stage. Although their American arrangement ultimately dissolved, the group maintained a steady recording pace in Japan and evolved toward a hypnotic, psychedelia-inflected experimental rock sound that drew from the '70s Krautrock tradition.
The Boredoms coalesced in Osaka, Japan, at the start of 1986 under vocalist Yamatsuka Eye, who subsequently performed as Yamantaka Eye, Yamataka Eye, and occasionally eYe. Eye had previously belonged to the noise-rock outfit the Hanatarash, as had drummer Taketani; the remaining charter members were guitarist Tabata Mara and bassist Hosoi. The original configuration proved short-lived. Taketani was dismissed and replaced by Yoshikawa Toyohito, Hosoi gave way to Hira (also credited as Hilah), and Mara departed to join Zeni Geva, making room for Yamamoto Seiichi (credited as Yama-Motor). In this lineup the band cut its debut three-song EP, Anal by Anal, in 1986; the first full-length, Osozeran No Stooges Kyo ("The Stooges Craze in Osozeran"), arrived in 1988. Both releases later appeared together on Onanie Bomb Meets the Sex Pistols. Yoshimi Yokota (credited as Yoshimi P-WE) joined as drummer and the group's first female member in 1988; Yoshikawa moved to percussion before exiting the following year and was succeeded first by Hasegawa Chu and then by ATR. After Eye's tenure with John Zorn's avant-garde Naked City ensemble, the Boredoms issued their second album, Soul Discharge, in the U.S. via Shimmy Disc in 1990; while some dismissed the music as gratuitously abrasive, its frenzied energy earned the group cult status in underground circles. The resulting attention led to major-label agreements with Warner Japan and Reprise in the U.S., whose initial release was 1993's Pop Tatari, featuring Yoshikawa's return as co-lead vocalist and synthesizer player. The follow-up Chocolate Synthesizer reached the U.S. in 1995 (a year after its Japanese appearance), and the band promoted it with a run of main-stage slots on that year's Lollapalooza tour.
Lollapalooza represented the height of the Boredoms' American profile, which subsequently waned. Yoshikawa departed once more, and the group took an extended period before delivering another LP, focusing instead on side projects and a sequence of EPs titled Super Roots, many of which appeared only in Japan. Reprise ultimately released them from their contract, after which the independent Birdman label began handling select titles for domestic distribution. Reinforced by a third drummer/percussionist, EDA, the year 1998 brought the EP Super Go!!!!! and the album Super Ae, signaling the band's deepening engagement with psychedelic and Krautrock textures. That same year the ensemble recorded a split single with 77, the performing alias of their manager's infant son. In 2000 the first installments of a remix series called Rebore appeared, with volumes featuring U.N.K.L.E., Ken Ishii, DJ Krush, and Eye himself. Eye's growing electronica inclinations surfaced on the next proper full-length, the atmospheric Vision Creation Newsun, issued in the U.S. on Birdman in 2001. Following its release the band fell silent for an extended stretch, prompting breakup rumors. A reduced lineup resurfaced for a handful of performances as the Voordoms in 2003, lending credence to the speculation. In 2005, however, the Boredoms reemerged with the U.S. release of Seadrum/House of Sun.
The Boredoms coalesced in Osaka, Japan, at the start of 1986 under vocalist Yamatsuka Eye, who subsequently performed as Yamantaka Eye, Yamataka Eye, and occasionally eYe. Eye had previously belonged to the noise-rock outfit the Hanatarash, as had drummer Taketani; the remaining charter members were guitarist Tabata Mara and bassist Hosoi. The original configuration proved short-lived. Taketani was dismissed and replaced by Yoshikawa Toyohito, Hosoi gave way to Hira (also credited as Hilah), and Mara departed to join Zeni Geva, making room for Yamamoto Seiichi (credited as Yama-Motor). In this lineup the band cut its debut three-song EP, Anal by Anal, in 1986; the first full-length, Osozeran No Stooges Kyo ("The Stooges Craze in Osozeran"), arrived in 1988. Both releases later appeared together on Onanie Bomb Meets the Sex Pistols. Yoshimi Yokota (credited as Yoshimi P-WE) joined as drummer and the group's first female member in 1988; Yoshikawa moved to percussion before exiting the following year and was succeeded first by Hasegawa Chu and then by ATR. After Eye's tenure with John Zorn's avant-garde Naked City ensemble, the Boredoms issued their second album, Soul Discharge, in the U.S. via Shimmy Disc in 1990; while some dismissed the music as gratuitously abrasive, its frenzied energy earned the group cult status in underground circles. The resulting attention led to major-label agreements with Warner Japan and Reprise in the U.S., whose initial release was 1993's Pop Tatari, featuring Yoshikawa's return as co-lead vocalist and synthesizer player. The follow-up Chocolate Synthesizer reached the U.S. in 1995 (a year after its Japanese appearance), and the band promoted it with a run of main-stage slots on that year's Lollapalooza tour.
Lollapalooza represented the height of the Boredoms' American profile, which subsequently waned. Yoshikawa departed once more, and the group took an extended period before delivering another LP, focusing instead on side projects and a sequence of EPs titled Super Roots, many of which appeared only in Japan. Reprise ultimately released them from their contract, after which the independent Birdman label began handling select titles for domestic distribution. Reinforced by a third drummer/percussionist, EDA, the year 1998 brought the EP Super Go!!!!! and the album Super Ae, signaling the band's deepening engagement with psychedelic and Krautrock textures. That same year the ensemble recorded a split single with 77, the performing alias of their manager's infant son. In 2000 the first installments of a remix series called Rebore appeared, with volumes featuring U.N.K.L.E., Ken Ishii, DJ Krush, and Eye himself. Eye's growing electronica inclinations surfaced on the next proper full-length, the atmospheric Vision Creation Newsun, issued in the U.S. on Birdman in 2001. Following its release the band fell silent for an extended stretch, prompting breakup rumors. A reduced lineup resurfaced for a handful of performances as the Voordoms in 2003, lending credence to the speculation. In 2005, however, the Boredoms reemerged with the U.S. release of Seadrum/House of Sun.
Albums
