Keiji Haino

Keiji Haino
Born (1952-05-03) May 3, 1952
Origin Chiba, Japan
Genres Rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism, drone music, experimental
Years active 1970s–present
Associated acts Fushitsusha

Keiji Haino (灰野 敬二 Haino Keiji) born May 3, 1952 in Chiba, Japan, and currently residing in Tokyo, is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since the 1970s and continues to record regularly and in new styles.

History

Haino's initial artistic outlet was theatre, inspired by the radical writings of Antonin Artaud. An epiphanic moment came when he heard The Doors' "When The Music's Over" and changed course towards music. After brief stints in a number of blues and experimental outfits, he formed improvised rock band Lost Aaraaf in 1970. In the mid 1970s, having left Lost Aaraaf, he collaborated with psychedelic multi-instrumentalist Magical Power Mako.

His musical output throughout the late 1970s is scarcely documented, until the formation of his rock duo Fushitsusha in 1978 (although their first LP did not surface until 1989). This outfit initially consisted of Haino on guitar and vocals, and Tamio Shiraishi on synthesizer. With the departure of Shiraishi and the addition of Jun Hamano (bass) and Shuhei Takashima (drums), Fushitsusha operated as a trio. The lineup soon changed, with Yasushi Ozawa (bass) and Jun Kosugi (drums) performing throughout the 1990s, but returned to a duo with Haino supplementing percussion with tape-loops.

Haino formed Aihiyo in 1998, principally playing a diverse range of covers (including The Rolling Stones, The Ronettes, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience), transforming the original material into Haino's unique form of garage psychedelia.

NHK, Japan's national broadcaster, banned him from broadcast from 1973 to 2013.[1]

Other groups Haino has formed include Vajra (with underground folk singer Kan Mikami and drummer Toshiaki Ishizuka), Knead (with the avant-prog outfit Ruins), Sanhedolin (with Yoshida Tatsuya of Ruins and Mitsuru Nasuno of Korekyojinn, Altered States and Ground Zero) and a solo project called Nijiumu. He has also collaborated with many artists, including Faust, Boris, Derek Bailey, Joey Baron, Peter Brötzmann, Lee Konitz, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Charles Gayle, Earl Kuck, Bill Laswell, Musica Transonic, Stephen O'Malley, Makigami Koichi, Ayuo, Merzbow, Oren Ambarchi, Jim O'Rourke, John Zorn, Yamantaka Eye, John Duncan, Fred Frith and Charles Hayward.

Style

His main instruments of choice have been guitar and vocals, with many other instruments and approaches incorporated into his career's work. Haino is known for intensely cathartic sound explorations, and despite the fact that much of his work contains varied instrumentation and accompaniment, he retains a distinctive style.

Haino cites a broad range of influences, including troubadour music, Marlene Dietrich, Iannis Xenakis, Blue Cheer, Syd Barrett, and Charlie Parker. At a young age, he had an epiphany through his introduction to The Doors. His recent foray into DJing at Tokyo nightclubs has reportedly reflected his eclectic taste. He has had a long love affair with early blues music, particularly the works of Blind Lemon Jefferson, and is heavily inspired by the Japanese musical concept of "Ma", the silent spaces in music (see Taiko for more information). In a 2012 interview with Time Out Tokyo, he described his approach as "defying the notion that you can't create something from nothing."[2] He also has a keen interest in Butoh dancing and collecting ethnic instruments.

Haino's distinctive style extends to his lifestyle: he has sported the same long hair, black clothes and sunglasses throughout his career, and is a strict vegetarian who has refrained from alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs for his entire life.[2]

Discography

Solo albums

Year Album name Album details
1981 Watashi dake?
1990 Nijiumu
1994 Beginning and End, Interwoven
1994 I Said, This Is the Son of Nihilism
1995 Tenshi No Gijinka
1995 The 21st Century Hard-y-Guide-y Man
1997 So, Black Is Myself
1997 Keeping on Breathing
1998 The 21st Century Hard-y-Guide-y Man: Even Now, Still I Think
2001 Abandon All Words at a Stroke, So That Prayer Can Come Spilling Out
2002 To Start With, Let's Remove the Colour!!
2003 Light Darkness Melting Into One This Vibration
2004 Black Blues (acoustic and electric versions)
2005 Tangled Up in the Universe, My Pain
2005 Global Ancient Atmosphere
2006 やらないが　できないことに　なってゆく
2008 The 21st Century Hard-y-Guide-y Man: こいつから失せたいためのはかりごと
2011 Un autre chemin vers l'Ultime

Vajra

Aihiyo

Black stage

Purple Trap

Knead

Sanhedolin

Lost Aaraaff

Nijiumu

References

  1. ↑ Keffer, David. "An Unofficial Keiji Haino Homepage Recent News : May 4, 2013". An Unofficial Keiji Haino Homepage. Poison Pie Publishing Group. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Hadfield, James. "Keiji Haino: the interview". Time Out Tokyo. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
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