Atsuhiro Ito was born in 1965. He launched his career as a visual artist in the late '80s, and in '98 began presenting sound performances at art exhibitions and so on. Ito made use of fluorescent lighting (which is also an element of his art installations) in the creation of an original musical device called the optron. He continues to refine the instrument while approaching sound and music from a contemporary-art-based perspective.
Merzbow (メルツバウ) is an experimental music project created in Tokyo in 1979 under the direction of musician Masami Akita (秋田昌美). Since 1979, Akita has formed two record labels and has contributed releases to numerous independent record labels. As well as being a prolific artist, he has also written a number of books and has been the editor of several magazines in Japan. He has written about a variety of subjects, mostly about art, avant-garde music and post-modern culture. His more renowned works have been on the topics of BDSM and fetish culture.
Menstruation Sisters (Lisa & Naomi Tocatly, Oren Ambarchi and Nick Kamiussis) are more of a natural phenomenon than a musical group. Owing more to the sound of ice melting and eggs hatching than strummed guitars and pounded drums, the Sisters keep one ear on the ground and the other towards the atmosphere. Rather than working within the lines of modern rhythm and structure, they revert towards a primal direction, cutting off the fat and oozing forth only the most natural and unfettered sounds.
KK NULL (real name : KAZUYUKI KISHINO) was born in Tokyo, Japan. Composer, guitarist, singer, mastermind of ZENI GEVA and electronic wizard. One of the top names in Japanese noise music and in a larger context, one of the great cult artists in experimental music since the early 80's. In 1981 KK NULL studied at Butoh dancer, Min Tanaka's "Mai-Juku" workshop and started his career by performing guitar improvisations in the clubs in Tokyo.
Morten J. Olsen - drums & SuperCollider3
Anders Hana - guitar & keyboard. MoHa! play somewhat loud music influenced by incredibly varied sources. Some say the duo deal in sonic splatter, in a brew of improvisation, noise, computer music and probably some more. Others say it is reminiscent of the conversation your mate has at you on the weekend in a club when he’s had too much to drink and is telling you how great everything is at 100mph. Only instead of your mate it is actually R2D2, which leads you to believe maybe that someone did put something in your drink.
There is more than one artist with this name: 1) www.myspace.com/disclosureuk
Two brothers from the UK making sweet two-step beats. Debut single out on Moshi-Moshi Records in september. 2) On their previous tour, Disclosure arrived in Newport News, Va, 4 1/2 hours from home to learn that their show had been cancelled. Here, most bands would have called it a day, but instead they frantically called friends to search for shows via myspace. They ended up playing for free and headlining a show in Richmond, Va. This is just one of many stories that showcase Disclosure's dedication.
Whitehouse is an English power electronics band formed in 1980. They are known for their controversial lyrics and images (which are often interpreted as misogynistic, sexually deviant, and extremely violent). The band's members have been the subject of censorship in the past. Their name is in mock tribute to the British moral campaigner Mary Whitehouse; it is also a reference to a British pornographic magazine of the same name.
Wet Hair is Shawn Reed and Ryan Garbes, the two remaining members of Raccoo-oo-oon that stayed in Iowa City after the bands end. Reed also runs Night-People Records, which Garbes often contributes to. Wet Hair began as a solo outing for Reed in late 2007 during the final months of Raccoo-oo-oon, and after the release of a 12" EP and the Irifi Cassette Garbes was added on organ and live drums. Wet Hair has evolved over time shifting the bands sound steadily towards a more refined pop sensibility.
Hype Williams, comprised of Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland, is named after the film maker responsible for Belly. Starring rappers Nas and DMX, it was a hyper-stylised, Nihilist mess and this London duo borrow its finer traits, its strut and loathing. From beneath a medicated haze they lace twanging Americana with seams of swaggering dread. They are Bobby Peru made music. The band's sound consists of very lo-fi, homegrown recordings incorporating hip-hop and '80s references—and the persona going along the band is equally as bricolaged as the tracks.
San Francisco's Deerhoof mixes sugary melodies and an experimental spirit into sweetly challenging and utterly distinctive music. The group began as the brainchild of guitarist Rob Fisk and drummer/keyboardist Greg Saunier in 1994; early releases, such as 1995's 7"s The Return of the Wood M'Lady and For Those of Us On Foot, had a more traditionally harsh, no wave-inspired sound, though they also included the quirky tendencies that dominated their later efforts.