| Yamantaka Eye | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tetsurō Yamatsuka |
| Born | 1964 (age 44–45) |
| Origin | Kobe, Japan |
| Genres | Noise Rock Experimental Heavy Metal grindcore |
| Years active | 1982–present |
Yamantaka Eye (山塚アイ Yamataka Ai), real name Tetsurō Yamatsuka (山塚徹郎 Yamatsuka Tetsurō), born 1964 in Kobe) is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist, best known as a member of Boredoms. He has changed his name three times, from Yamatsuka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, to Yamataka Eye, and sometimes calls himself eYe or EYヨ. He also DJs under the name DJ 光光光 or "DJ pica pica pica" ("pica" means "bright" or "shiny"), and has used other pseudonyms on occasion.
Contents |
Music
Boredoms
Eye is a founder of the influential rock music band, Boredoms, whose first major label release came out in the early '90s. The closest thing Boredoms have to a frontman, Eye offers a variety of vocal techniques: gurgles, screams, grunts and occasionally, relatively conventional singing. In the later days of Boredoms and in today's V∞redoms he plays electronics and open reel tapes.
Other
Yamantaka Eye is also a member of the bands Hanatarash, UFO or Die, Puzzle Punks, and Destroy 2. He is notorious for his vast, confusing discography and countless guest appearances. In 1993, he recorded an EP with Sonic Youth called TV Shit for Thurston Moore's label, Ecstatic Peace. He also collaborated with Yamamoto Seiichi & Yamazaki Maso in the project "(Triple) Yama's" which was titled for their shared namesake. He released two albums, Live! and Live!!, with Japanese turntablist/improviser Yoshihide Otomo, under the moniker "MC Hellshit & DJ Carhouse".
Other notable collaborations include his work with Bill Laswell's Praxis, his work with top sound experimenter Otomo Yoshihide, and with John Zorn's groups Painkiller and Naked City. Eye and Zorn also recorded the album Zohar as the "Mystic Fugu Orchestra." This latter compilation, which both commemorates and satirizes Jewish culture, also draws strength from Eye's earlier influence from the Oomoto religion in Japan, a sect claiming to possess visions of an emerging world order. Several generations of Eye's family belonged to Oomoto[citation needed], which was at times brutally suppressed by the Japanese government. Yamantaka participated in the Boredoms 77 Boadrum performance which occurred on July 7th, 2007 at 7:07 PM at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, New York, and the 88 Boadrum performance which occurred on August 8th, 2008 at 8:08 PM at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California.
Art
As well as his music, Eye is famous for his Dada influenced mixed-media style of art that utilises airbrush, marker pen and collage, amongst other materials. This work has adorned a number of records, including the majority of Boredoms releases and, perhaps more famously, Beck's Midnite Vultures. Similar to the Boredoms' musical direction, Eye started incorporating a much more psychedelic, calmer approach into his work, evident on the covers of many of the later Boredoms albums. Drawing as much from Japanese mythology as it does from his musical influence, such as early punk imagery, his work aims to complement the music as well as to provide another dimension to the sound.
When discussing Eye's unique art style, Stylus Magazine writer Mike Powell commented:
| “ | It’s worth talking about Eye’s art not simply because, like Paul McCartney, he makes it, but because it’s an extension of the same creative brain that propels the Boredoms. | ” |
- See also: Stylus Magazine feature about his art
Discography
Boredoms
- For a full list of Boredoms releases, see Boredoms discography.
- Osorezan no Stooges Kyo (1988)
- Soul Discharge (1989)
- Pop Tatari (1992)
- Chocolate Synthesizer (1994)
- Super æ (1998)
- Vision Creation Newsun (2000)
- Seadrum/House of Sun (2005)
Destroy 2
- We Are Voice and Rhythm Only (1996)
DJ Chaos X
- Live Mixxx (2006)
DJ Pica Pica Pica
- Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999 (1999)
Hanatarashi
- Hanazumari (1984)
- Take Back Your Penis!! (1984)
- Live Axtion 84.4.20 & 1.29 (1984)
- Noisexa (1984)
- Bombraining (1984)
- The Hit Parade 1 (1984)
- The Hit Parade 2 (1984)
- Hane Go Go (1984)
- Man Of Noise Noise Kyojin (1984)
- Live! 1984 3.24 (1984)
- 8448-412 (1984)
- Live Action 84.1.29 (1984)
- Live Act 16.Dec.1984 at Zabo Kyoto (1984)
- Merzbow & Hanatarashi (1985) (with Merzbow)
- Worst Selektion (1985)
- Worst Selektion (1985)
- Hanatarashi 1 (1985)
- Hanatarashi 2 (1987)
Hanatarash
- 3: William Bennet Has No Dick (1990)
- The Hanatarash and His Eye (1992)
- Live!! 1984 Dec. 16: Zabo-Kyoto (1993)
- Total Retardation (1995)
- 4: Aids-a-delic (1995)
- 5: We are 0:00 (1996)
The Lift Boys
- Anarchy Village b/w Anarchy Way (2005)
- Lift Boyz (2005)
MC Hellshit & DJ Carhouse
Puzzle Punks
- Pipeline - 24 Smash Hits by 24 Puzzle Punk Bands (1996)
- Budub (1996)
- Puzzoo (2006)
Tribal Circus
- Tribal Circus (2000) (with Hifana)
Yamataka Eye
- Re...Remix? (2008) (remix compilation)
Yamataka Eye & John Zorn
- Nani Nani (1995)
- Naninani II (2004)
- 50th Birthday Celebration Volume Ten (2005)
See also
External links
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