Schaft is a Japanese musical

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

whose main members are Maki Fujii (of minus(ー), formerly of

Soft Ballet Soft Ballet was a Japanese electronic group formed in 1987. The group consisted of three members, Maki Fujii, Ken Morioka, and Ryoichi Endo, though they employed extra support members for live shows. While Soft Ballet weren't necessarily chart t ...

) and

Hisashi Imai is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Buck-Tick since 1983. Following the October 2023 death of vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, Imai began sharing lead vocal duties in the band with fe ...

(of

Buck-Tick Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese rock band formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The classic lineup of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and drum ...

). Schaft can be thought of as being a supergroup in that for the release of their debut album

Switchblade A switchblade (also known as switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, gravity knife, flick blade, or spring knife) is a pocketknife with a sliding or pivoting blade contained in the handle which is extended ...

Maki and Imai formed the core of the group and a rotating roster of collaborators, who are well known within their genres, were brought in to work on various songs.

Raymond Watts Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

PIG The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

was Schaft's most recurring collaborator, having contributed to half the songs on their debut album and toured with the band. After a long hiatus, Schaft resumed activities in 2015.

History

Maki and Imai originally formed Schaft in 1991 to record and release the song "Nicht-Titel" (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for "Non-Title") on the album ''Dance 2 Noise 001'', a compilation album of various Japanese electronic and industrial acts. A live concert event was held on December 16 of the same year for the purpose of promoting the ''Dance 2 Noise 001'' compilation and Schaft made their live debut, playing "Nicht-Titel" and at least one other song (though the exact setlist is unknown). Schaft would remain dormant from then until 1994, when Imai's band

and Maki's band

toured together, giving the duo the opportunity to occasionally perform sets under the name Schaft.,Buck-Tick historical archive featuring information about Schaft in 1994
Buck-Tick Zone however the urge to reform Schaft must have come to the duo long before their live reunion, as only a month later they released their first full album of all new material. For their debut album,

, Imai and Maki enlisted the help of several collaborators including members of Coil,

Autechre Autechre ( ) are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all o ...

and

Meat Beat Manifesto Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers (the only ...

but the most prominent collaborator was

who contributed to about half the material on the album and eventually went on a short tour with the group. The short support tour ran for five dates around Japan, one of which was filmed and later released to home video as ''Switchblade – Visual Mix''. As can be seen in the video footage, these concerts would start with only Imai and Maki taking the stage, playing guitars and electronics respectively, with prerecorded vocals playing when necessary. Watts and drummer Motokatsu of

The Mad Capsule Markets The Mad Capsule Markets (originally known as The Mad Capsule Market's and Berrie) were a Japanese band that formed in 1985 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style, which melded various kinds of electronic ...

would join them on stage only a few songs into the setlist. A handful of the songs played live are alternate versions of what was released on ''Switchblade'' and were never made available outside of the live video. One exception to this would be a version of "Cold Light" which was used live and later found find a home of the Schaft remix EP, ''

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

''. Despite the project being popular in Japan, there were few further developments from Schaft after 1994. A promotional 12 inch ''Visual Cortex'' single was released in a limited run of 200 in 1995 consisting entirely of previously released material, after which point the band fell silent for several years. Years later in 1999, Schaft remixed one of Zilch's songs for their album Bastard Eyes and the duo of Imai and Maki made guest appearances on Zilch's "Cut Your Edge Tour 99" on three separate dates. However, while they were introduced to the audience as Schaft, they played alongside Zilch as guest musicians and did not play their own songs. In 2001 Imai and Watts joined with

Atsushi Sakurai was a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band Buck-Tick from 1985 until his death in 2023. Initially joining as their drummer in 1983, Sakurai fronted the band for 38 years and 2 ...

and

Sascha Konietzko Sascha Kegel Konietzko (born 21 June 1961), also known as Sascha K and Käpt'n K, is a German musician and record producer. He is the founder, frontman and "anchor" of the industrial band KMFDM. Konietzko jokingly purports himself to be the fat ...

to form the band Schwein, a somewhat spiritual successor to Schaft. Even further in the future, in 2006, the ''Hellsing'' OVA series used the Schaft song "Broken English" in a promotional trailer and, eventually went on to use the song within the show itself in OVA V. On October 3, 2015, Schaft announced their reunion, together with dates for the oncoming TOUR ULTRA –The Loud Engine–.Schaft Official Website
Schaft2016.com

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1994) * ''Ultra'' (2016) * ''Super Powerless'' (2001)

EPs

* ''

'' (1994) * ''Visual Cortex'' (1995), promo EP * ''Deeper and Down'' (2016) * ''Hellsing OVA 7'' (2009)

Videos

* ''Switchblade – Visual Mix'' (1994) * ''Archives 2016 Tour Ultra – The Loud Engine'' (2016)

Box-set

* ''Archives'' (2016) **CD1: Switchblade **CD2: Switchremix + Works **CD3: One Hour Overdrive **DVD: Switchblade -Visual Mix- **CD: Hellsing Ultimate Collector's Edition

Miscellaneous appearances

* Contribution of original track "Nicht-Titel" on the compilation ''Dance 2 Noise 001'' (1991) * Contribution of a remix on the Zilch album, '' Bastard Eyes'' (1999)

References

{{Authority control Japanese supergroups Japanese industrial music groups Musical groups established in 1991 Japanese industrial rock musical groups Japanese musical duos 1991 establishments in Japan