Fushitsusha (不失者) is a Japanese rock band specialising in experimental and

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

genres. The band consists of electric guitarist and singer

Keiji Haino Keiji Haino ( ''Haino Keiji''; born May 3, 1952) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since th ...

, and a shifting cast of complementary musicians. The group released the majority of its material in the 1990s.

History

Haino formed Fushitsusha in 1978, although their first LP was not released until 1989. The band initially consisted of Haino on guitar and vocals, and Tamio Shiraishi on synthesizer. After the departure of Shiraishi, Ayuo joined briefly in 1979 before Fushitsusha became a trio with the addition of Jun Hamano (bass) and Shuhei Takashima (drums). The lineup soon changed, adding Yasushi Ozawa (bass) and Jun Kosugi (drums) throughout the 1990s. Their 1993 album ''

Allegorical Misunderstanding ''Allegorical Misunderstanding'' is a 1993 album by the band Fushitsusha. The album was produced by John Zorn and was the first studio album from the band. Critical reception In a review for AllMusic, John Dougan called the album "a reserved outi ...

'' was released on

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz ...

's record label, Avant, although most of their albums have come out on independent label PSF and on major label Tokuma. Fushitsusha recently returned to duo status, with Haino supplementing percussion with

tape loops Tape or Tapes may refer to: Material A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation): Adhesive tapes * Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive *Athletic tape, pressure-sensitiv ...

, though the band is believed to have been on hiatus since 2001. In February 2008, longtime bassist

Yasushi Ozawa (1958February 2, 2008) was a Japanese musician and sound engineer, best known as the bassist in Keiji Haino's rock group Fushitsusha. He was also a member of the free improvisation group Marginal Consort, and in the past he played with East Bion ...

died. In August 2015, bassist Chiyo Kamekawa was dismissed because he plays in another band MANNERS. Later, Yasumune Morishige joined as a bassist. In 2018, Mitsuru Nasuno joined as a bassist.

Music

The band's sound is influenced by German

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, a ...

bands of the 1970s and British

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis ...

of the 1960s and 1970s. They are generally considered part of the Japanese psychedelic music scene alongside bands like

Ghost A ghost is the soul (spirit), soul or spirit of a dead Human, person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visibl ...

and

Acid Mothers Temple Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., commonly shortened to Acid Mothers Temple or AMT, is a Japanese psychedelic rock band, the core of which formed in 1995. The band is led by guitarist Kawabata Makoto and early in their career feat ...

. Their music occasionally ventures to the more aggressive "

Japanoise , a portmanteau of "Japanese" and "noise", is the noise music scene of Japan. Nick Cain of ''The Wire'' identifies the "primacy of Japanese Noise artists like Merzbow, Hijokaidan and Incapacitants as one of the major developments in noise music ...

" end of the sonic spectrum, but usually remains haunting and contemplative.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Filmography

* ''1991.9.26'' – VHS (1992) (Reissued on DVD, 2006)

References

Official (Japanese)

Unofficial (English)
* Biography at Allmusic
Interview with Fushitsusha

Another Fushitsusha discography

Video of Fushitsusha
{{Authority control Space rock musical groups Japanese experimental rock groups Japanese psychedelic rock music groups Blast First artists Musical groups from Tokyo Tokuma Japan Communications artists P.S.F. Records artists Utech Records artists