Keiji Haino
 

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/14864315.jpg

Found out about him through Julian Cope's book, 'Japrocksampler'.
Anyway, he's a Japanese experimental musician born in 1952. He does solo work, but is also involved in quite a few bands. His main band is probably "Fushitsusha", who've been around since 1978 and continue to make music.
He has also collaborated with bands such as Boris and Faust.

Any more linkage?

Keiji Haino is a genius. Fushitsusha is glorious.

His best solo record is "わたしだけ？ (Watashi dake?)" in my opinion, and as far as Fushitsusha goes, "Untitled - PSF 3/4".

After a lot more listening... I'm not too keen on the guy. I mean, I want to like him, but his vocals sort of kill it. 'Watashi Dake?' was great the first time I heard it... sort of like a horror movie or Gyorgy Ligeti or something, I was in a way scared of what was going to happen next, but it was in a good way, ya dig? Second time... the effect sort of wore off somehow. And like I said, I kind of dislike his vocals in the long run; I like Fushitsusha's instrumentation, but when Keiji Haino comes in sounding like Kim Gordon being raped by a dinosaur... well... it's kind of annoying. Heard a couple of other solo albums, but they didn't really do anything for me.

Still, I might listen to some more of his stuff (moreso his collabs) just out of curiousity though.

Black Blues is one of his recent albums, and I have to say he's still got it. I downloaded both the soft/acoustic version and the violent/electric. I personally prefer the latter, but for those who wish to get into him... the soft version is a bit more accessible (and I use that word very lightly). In fact, it's fairly difficult to associate the word "accessible" with Keiji Haino...

Anyways, if your a fan of his then I strongly suggest you check it out

EDIT: Went ahead and downloaded Tenshi No Gijinka in the spur of the moment.

Really really like Watashi Dake

Fushitsusha is amazing. Just listening to 'Pathetique'.

saw this thread and put on THE TIME IS NIGH by Fu****susha - awesome stuff....

Yeah, this one really grew on me. There's an awesome sound of desperation in his voice.

"Even Now, I Still Think" is a really great extended drone/improvised track, too. Definitely not easy to get into him given the vastness of his catalog, though.

I got into him via his collab with Boris, 'Black: Implication Flooding', and while I agree that he's definitely not the most 'accessible' artist, I quite enjoy a lot of his albums. Watashi Dake is great, all of his collabs with Tatsuya Yoshia rock my world. 'I Said, This Is the Son of Nihilism' is awesome if you can handle a marathon listen -- track clocks in at just under an hour, and the first fifteen minutes or so are nothing but feedback, but it's an awesome album, all throughout.

I'd love to see him live some day, I hear he's pretty crazy on stage, on par with the likes of Masonna for just ridiculous stage antics.

Have you heard Allegorical Misunderstanding? It Fushitsusha's first album and mostly instrumental. Fucking great too. The vocalization that is on there adds something to the music.

****ing brilliant. Really hope English subs come out for that.

I'm really digging one of Haino's releases this year, Live at Jahrhunderthalle Bochum. It's a collab with Zeitkratzer (the guy responsible for the orchestral version of Metal Machine Music, he also does Stockhausen quite well). It's much better than their earlier collaboration, Electronics 3. Hope to hear more from these guys.

Zeitkratzer is an ensemble. Sorry for the nitpicking.
But yeah, great recording.

Ah I didn't know that. For some reason I thought it was a single guy, probably because of the prominent clarinet.

Does anyone know, where one could obtain the Haino documentary?
Was it even released?
Couldn't find any info, but there's a lot in Japanese, so who knows...

Never really heard him talk or otherwise interact with other people.
The interview is pretty awkwardly done as it is, but his pretentiousness and autistic mannerisms really make it weird. No that it makes me love him less. It's kinda entertaining as well.



Edit: Halfway in. The way her question about the sources for his mixes gets lost in translation or possibly in Haino's crazy mind is hilariously awkward.

I made it about halfway through that one night and forgot about it. Cool stuff, especially with his different approach to making music that he explains towards the beginning (with heavy emphasis on acoustics and space).

Dunno, it reminds me more of a Tommy Wiseau interview.
Might be partly due to the allegedly bad translator though. The part at the end where he manages to answer none of the questions from the audience is just surreal.

I'll admit that I haven't seen a Wiseau interview (still haven't even finished a Haino one, either), but can picture what you mean by that.

On another note, the bits of the Red Bull interview with Stephen O'Malley when they're listening to his music has some top notch comedic value.

I was actually planning on watching it next.
But damn, is it long. Is he talking about playing with Haino in this one?

I watched it a month or two ago but I'm gonna go with no. I just brought it up because the RBMAs were relevant.

Long time no see!

That's a really great performance, very emotive. I like it just as much as the 30 minute version but for different reasons. I love the other ones' lengthy and layered delay approach and this one's really heartful and punchy take on it. Thanks for sharing.



Electro-Haino!

Anyone here seen Haino live? Looking at grindy, OH, rostasi, and maybe bob. or Janzsoon. I'm obviously gonna see him when he comes around in a month but I'm just curious.

Yes, saw him live with Brötzmann's Full Blast with him, Mars Williams and Peter Evans as special guests.
I don't think it's necessary to say it was beyond awesome.

I'll post in here every day if I have to.

Sanhedolin/Sanhedrin is some essential Haino material. Kicks some serious ass.

"I like to use the guitar as a weapon to express myself."

The Fushitsusha Black Box is really something else.

An interview where Haino and the interviewee actually understand each other! Those who don't speak Japanese will need to turn on the closed captions.

Anyone seen him perform? Catching him this summer which should be great.

Saw him play, awkwardly, in a Swedish family amusement park in broad daylight. Old aged pensioners where sitting eating baked potatoes in the audience, unsuspecting what to come, and young children where passing by in roller coasters looking like they didn't gave a **** about the ride, instead staring at the japanese weirdo being noisy. It was surreal, but of course great all the same. Think the arrangers might have been critisised afterwards.

So, did you catch him?

I've been looking for this as well. Any new knowabouts since 2014 when this was posted?
Remember watching a Nazoranai documentary some time back, which made me mad about them for a while. Guess it is available through Youtube or Vimeo.

:laughing: I've seen a couple of public free jazz shows that had really confused audiences.

Ja, I caught him with Peter Brotzmann in Los Angeles two nights in a row. Brotzmann was doing some dope saxwork but Haino just stole the show. First night, he played his crazy space exploring percussion at the beginning of the show and I was right up there for that part. It's crazy that so much energy and powerful noise can fit into such a small Japanese man. He played guitar and what I think was a shehnai on top of his vocals for the rest of the show. A drumset sat in the background and he basically played it with his amplifier until he had someone come out and adjust it. On the second night, he started off on the kit and that was pretty sick. There were a lot of really intricate improvisational moments that were almost proggy when Haino was tearing it up on guitar and Brotzmann shredding on his clarinet or sax. Crazy to see both sets of those firy fingers in action.


Night One


Night Two

Anyway this album is great

That’s the kind of **** that makes life worth living right there son

Have heard lots of praise towards the Haino/Brötzmann collabs, and of course I highly regard Brötzmann aswell as Haino, but I haven't yet found the time to dig in to their stuff. But I'd need to make it happen asap!
I find it more fascinating that these guys makes this kind of noise in such late years, rather than them being small. They're getting old!

Honestly, I think Haino will live for quite a long time. Brotzmann looked more his age but musically has become a lot more weightless. There was about 10 minutes of applause at the end of the first show and I thought that we were asking quite a bit from 2 old men. The next night had about 6 or 7 minutes of applause and it was a much better show imo.

When Haino's tearing it up with distortion on a hella loud amp, that is some crazy **** to behold I tell you. Obviously jump at any chance you have to see the guy.

Didn't realize Brötzmann actually is 12 years older than Haino. Damn, he's 77 years old! Wonder how for how long he'll manage to blow that horn. Haino though has some really cool apparence for being in his mid 60's. That haircut is badass.

I've been seeing Brötzmann almost every year for the past ten or so years and he sure got noticeably more and more frail during that time. Hope he'll still keep making the earth a more beautiful place for many more years to come.

*gaunt expression*