Thu 12/1 @ 8PM
The Japanese have always been fond of exploring the outer fringes of “popular” music. Bands like the Ruins, Melt-Banana and Boredoms and pure noise artists like Masonna and Merzbow took listeners in the freewheeling ’90s underground scene to an even fringier place.
Acid Mothers Temple, formed in 1995 by guitarist Makoto Kawabata, delved into psychedelic music, prog rock, noise and drone. In 20 years, it’s been through a lot of members and done a lot of shape-shifting, almost like a noisier Parliament-Funkadelic.
But Kawabata was already exploring noise music’s outer limits for 20 years before that and has added projects and collaborations to his repertoire since to push his music in different directions. Currently Kawabata is on tour with gong/percussion player and experimental sound artist Tatsuya Nakatani who has released more than 60 albums himself that traverse various forms of jazz, rock and noise. According to their joint bio they will be “upending any preconceptions and getting their hands dirty in the fertile trenches of real music-making…. an explosive fulfillment of the kinetic potential simmering in these two fearless explorers of sound’s outer reaches and tireless veterans of the road.”
So it won’t be your regular evening of pop when the duo headlines a show at Mahall’s. The show also features Cincinnati-based drone/ambient artist Andrew Elaban and northeast Ohio electro-acoustic experimental noise queens Kristen Ban Drake, Amanda Howland, and Pauline Lombardo. Cleveland/Cologne DJ Marc Lansley will be spinning vinyl in the breaks so ears will be challenged throughout the evening. Admission is $12,