Yamantaka Eye
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| Yamantaka Eye | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Yamatsuka Tetsuo | |
| Born | 1964 | |
| Origin | Kobe, Japan | |
| Genre(s) | Noise Rock Experimental |
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| Years active | 1982–present | |
Yamantaka Eye (山塚アイ, real name Yamatsuka Tetsuo (山塚徹郎), 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 Yamataka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, and sometimes calls himself eYe or Ey∃. 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.
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[edit] Music
[edit] 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 turntables.
[edit] Other
Yamantaka Eye was also a member of the bands Hanatarash, UFO or Die, Puzzle Punks, and Destroy 2, though 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 one album, 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, 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, which was at times brutally suppressed by the Japanese government. It is believed that Eye and Zorn share a certain amount of grief rooted in memories of the Holocaust and the suppression of Oomoto, and that this grief heavily influenced their friendship and collaborations.
[edit] Art
His art usually utilizes multiple mediums including airbrush, marker pen and collage. In 1996, a full color collection of his artwork, entitled Nanoo, was published. Eye's artwork has adorned a number of records, including most albums by Boredoms and Beck's Midnite Vultures. His early artistic style was very abstract, almost dadaist. However, similar to the Boredom's musical direction, Eye incorporated a much more psychedelic style into his work. This is evident on the covers of many of the later Boredoms albums.
When discussing Eye's 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
[edit] Discography
[edit] Boredoms
- For a full list of Boredoms releases, see Boredoms discography.
- Osorezan no Stooges Kyo (The Stooges Craze in Osorezan*) (1988)
- Onanie Bomb Meets the Sexpistols (1988)
- Soul Discharge (1989)
- Pop Tatari (1992)
- Wow2 (1992)
- Chocolate Synthesizer (1994)
- Super Ae (1998)
- Vision Creation Newsun (2000)
[edit] Destroy 2
- We Are Voice and Rhythm Only (1996)
[edit] DJ Pica Pica Pica
- Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999 (1999)
[edit] Hanatarashi
- Hanatarashi 1 (1985)
- Hanatarashi 2 (1987)
[edit] 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)
[edit] MC Hellshit & DJ Carhouse
[edit] Puzzle Punks
- Pipeline - 24 Smash Hits by 24 Puzzle Punk Bands (1996)
- Budub (1996)
- Puzzoo (2006)
[edit] Yamataka Eye & John Zorn
- Nani Nani (1995)
- Naninani II (2004)
- 50th Birthday Celebration Volume Ten (2005)
