An Unofficial Keiji Haino Homepage -- Recent News -- 2005





An Unofficial Keiji Haino Homepage
Recent News -- 2005




October 30, 2005
Forthcoming Release:   The new Keiji Haino solo album, a joint release on aRCHIVE and Important records, is titled Reveal'd to none as yet - an expedience to utterly vanish consciousness while still alive. It should be available about mid December. The performance is from April 7, 2005 at the Super Deluxe in Tokyo. Disc 1 features Haino on air synth and vocals. Disc 2 features Haino on hurdy gurdy and vocals. More information is available in the forthcoming section of the discography. The website for aRCHIVE is http://www.archivecd.com. The website for Important Records is http://www.importantrecords.com. Expect the highest quality release from this joint venture of aRCHIVE and Important Records. Important Records is a unit that releases original music and also releases exclusively licensed vinyl reissues. Among many other things, they currently have the world-wide vinyl license for M. Gira's current band, The Angels of Light. The first two albums, New Mother and How I Loved You are already available on either white or black vinyl. To get a taste of the level of quality coming from aRCHIVE records, check out this review of aRCHIVE's first unofficial release, which featured Keiji Haino.

October 13, 2005
Live Dates:   Haino is scheduled to perform at the "Keiji Haino Festival" at The Stone in New York City from December 13 to December 17. Each of the five nights has two sets. Performances include solo, and collaborations with Zorn, Ikue Mori, Thurston Moore, Bill Laswell, Rashid Ali, Trevor Dunn and Tatsuya Yoshida. See the Live Dates section for more information.

September 19, 2005
Live Dates:   Haino is scheduled to play in Berlin on November 3 with Zeitkratzer at Volksbuehne Berlin. See live dates for more information.

August 31, 2005
Live Dates:   Haino is scheduled to play 3 shows in Italy on the 24th, 29th and 30th of September. The first is at the Venice Biennale, the second in Turin and the third in Reggio Emilia. See the Live Dates section of the site for more details and contact information.

August 25, 2005
New Release:   There is a new solo Haino percussion cd out on PSF. The title is Konokehai fujirareteru hajimarini. The catalog number is PSFD-8021. It is currently available from PSF at http://www.psfrecords.com/ .

Rhythm, duration and silence lie at the foundation of all of Haino’s music. After a clutch of documents of his hair-raising solo performances for both acoustic and electric percussion, this latest album presents Haino’s first recorded outing behind a regular drumkit. Haino has long desired to release a solo drum album, and he has been playing a regular kit occasionally live for several decades now.

Global Ancient Atmosphere (the alternative Japanese title means These signs, a sealed beginning) contains nine tracks that showcase an austere yet thrilling investigation of attack and decay on nothing less than the molecular level. As inimitable, and as life-affirming as ever.

Feel free to leave a review of the album in the reviews section of the website.

August 10, 2005
New Release:   The trio of Keiji Haino, Tatsuya Yoshida & Mitsuru Natsuno are releasing their second record, this one on PSF, under the name Sanhedolin. Here's the press release:

Sanhedolin are a ludicrously amped-up and heavy new power trio, featuring Keiji Haino, Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins) and Mitsuru Nasuno (Ruins). Haino brings aggressive anguish and all-consuming black fire, Yoshida and Nasuno supply a sack-full of convulsive time-shifting and complex kinetic acceleration.

Haino and Yoshida have been working together on and off for the past three or four years in a number of duo and trio contexts, including a tour of China and Taiwan. They have built up the kind of instinctual response and rapport that only comes with extended playing. A previous trio formation including Hisashi Sasaki (ex Ruins) seems to have bitten the dust, and in its place we have the newly named Sanhedolin.

Speed-deranged progressive metal of spectacular and ridiculous heights.


Feel free to leave a review of the album in the reviews section of the website.

July 28, 2005
Forthcoming Release:   There is a new percussion solo cd by Haino to be released on PSF on August 25, 2005. No title yet but the catalog number is PSFD-8021.

July 18, 2005
Forthcoming Release:   The trio of Keiji Haino, Tatsuya Yoshida & Mitsuru Natsuno are releasing their second record, this one on PSF. This trio has been touring the past couple years under the name Sanhedrin. Apparently, Haino didn't like the obvious Biblical association and has changed the name to Sun Head Ring. The release is planned for August, 2005. update: The name has again been changed to Sanhedolin. See the forthcoming section of the discography for more details.

June 13, 2005
Lyrics:   We have added translations of a few more songs from Fushitsusha's Live I (PSF-3/4) and Origin's Hesitation.

June 7, 2005
Article:   The next issue of The Wire will have Haino in its Invisible Jukebox feature, in which a musician is played songs without being told who performs them or what songs they are, and then is asked to identify them or comment on them, or share whatever thoughts come from listening to the music. Alan Cummings is the host/interviewer.

May 17, 2005
New Release:   Here is the promotional information on the release of the PSF & Alchemy 20th Anniversary Concert:

In 2004, Tokyo’s PSF and Osaka’s Alchemy labels, twin pillars of the Japanese noise, punk, psychedelic, whatever underground celebrated two decades of against-all-odds paradigm deformation, world domination, and unrepentant synapse mangling. To commemorate the occasion, two joint concerts were held at The Doors and Super Deluxe in Tokyo, bringing together luminaries from both labels in a celebration of freedom spirit and independent thinking. Some of the most exciting music from these concerts arose out of audacious and inspired one-off collaborations. Thus, thoughtful free guitarist Kazuo Imai joins pro-wrestling noisicians Incapacitants in the volume tag-team to end them all; Kan Mikami and Jojo Hiroshige get together to compare buzz-cuts and one-man against the universe philosophical approaches; and Junko (of Hijokaidan) researches upper register oxygen levels with alto terrorist Masayoshi Urabe; and trembling late night atmospherics are deep-mined to sensual and sensitive effect by Go Hirano and Maher & Majikick stalwart Takashi Ueno. A true testament to the multi-faceted beauty and creative power of the Japanese underground.

The disc also contains a track from a duo by Haino & Munehiro Narita of Highrise. The release is PSFD-160.

May 10, 2005
Art Exhibit:   There will be an Art Exhibition that included pieces by Keiji Haino running from Monday May 23 through Thursday May 38 at Shinju Garo, 3-13-3 Mejiro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo. Haino's art has appeared on the covers of several albums on PSF, Tokuma and Incus Records that have featured Haino performing in a free-improv mode with Barre Philips, Peter Brötzmann, and Derek Bailey. Hours are from 11am to 7pm (Thursday till 4pm). info: 03-3950-0775


April 9, 2005
Forthcoming Release:   PSF Records will release a retrospective of the PSF & Alchemy 20th Anniversary Concert, which was held on September 29, 2004 at the Super Deluxe, in Tokyo. Performing at the event were Keiji Haino & Munehiro Narita (High Rise) duo, Kan Mikami & Jojo Hiroshige duo, Incapacitants & Kazuo Imai, and Marble Sheep. The catalog number is PSFD-160 and the projected release date is April 25, 2005.

March 31, 2005
Live Dates:   Haino will have at least two dates in the UK in May, 2005: May 20 in Gateshead and May 23 in Glasgow. More information is located on the live dates page.

March 24, 2005
Broadcast:  Onkyodo is a live bi-weekly radio show featuring underground music from Japan. It is broadcast on Resonance 104.4FM in London and it is simultaneously webcast on http://www.resonancefm.com. The 90 minute show is presented by Clive Bell, Biba Kopf & Alan Cummings (http://www.thewire.co.uk). The show airs every other Tuesday starting from 8:30 to 10:00 PM GMT (3:30 to 5:00 PM EST). The show is rebroadcast nine days later (the second following Thursday) 8:00 to 9:30 AM GMT (3:00 to 4:30 AM EST). The most recent show aired on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 and featured among other things track 1 from Haino's new digital theremin album. The next show is Tuesday, April 5, 2005. One can sign up for an emailed playlist, sent after each broadcast.

March 22, 2005
Visuals:  Added some photos from October 17, 2004, February 4, 2005, February 19, 2005, and March 21, 2005 to the visuals section. The 03/21/05 show features Haino in duo with Optrum, who plays a fluorescent lightbulb.

New Releases:   Here is the promotional information on the Haino solo digital theremin album, now available.

Another step into previously unexplored territory for Haino--his first ever all-electronic album.

Uchu ni karami tsuiteiru waga itami (the title means roughly ‘Tangled up in the universe, my pain’) sees Haino using a bewildering range of electronic instruments. However, these are not the vintage synthesizers and analogue modules so beloved of some other Japanese electronic units. Rather Haino has chosen instruments whose user interface is close to magical: theremin-like devices such as the air-synth and air-FX, both of which are controlled by hand movements in three dimensions. Recent live shows have seen him hovering and jerking wildly over these devices, like some demented conjuror trying to levitate a table.

The results are as purely Haino as everything else he lays his hands to. Sub-atomic particles and dark matter collide endlessly in the black and coiling chaos space of some just-appeared proto-galaxy.


Feel free to leave a review of either album in the reviews section of the website.

March 15, 2005
New Releases:   Both of the new releases on PSF, Tokyo Flashback Volume 5 and the Haino solo digital theremin album, are now available at PSF Records. Other vendors should have them soon. Feel free to leave a review of either album in the reviews section of the website.

Forthcoming Release:   Haino will have a short piece on a compilation 4CD set titled Not Alone and released by the labels Durtro/Jnana and edited by David Tibet of Current 93. All profits go to Doctors Without Borders working with AIDS patients in West Africa. There is a page on the Jnana website describing the release located at http://www.jnanarecords.com/newsf.html. (Then follow the Médicins Sans Frontières link at the top.) The projected release date for this project is May 31, 2005.

Forthcoming Release:   Rumors exist that the Homeogryllus japonicus Orchestra concert from August 28, 2004 at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo will be released sometime in the relatively near future. This show featured Keiji Haino and Mamoru Fujieda playing (separately) with crickets.

March 5, 2005
Live Dates:   Haino will be appearing at a festival at the Sage Centre in Gateshead (UK) in May. The Tentative line-up includes:
  • Friday 20th May - Keiji Haino: 'secret of music', a special 4 hour solo set using more than 40 instruments
  • Saturday 21st May - My Cat Is An Alien, Takehisa Kosugi, Luc Ferrari + Erik M + more acts TBC
  • Sunday 22nd May - Nmperign, Shuji Inaba, Kyoaku No Intention [Munehiro Narita/ Shoji Hano]+ more acts TBC
This may be the first time Haino will have staged his secret of music one-man orchestra outside Japan.

March 2, 2005
Interview:  There is a relatively recent interview online at http://www.bigempire.com/sake/keiji_haino.html.

March 1, 2005
Visuals:  Added some flyers and photos to the visuals section.

Live Dates:  Added more live dates. All shows through April in Japan.



February 19, 2005
Website:  An Unofficial Keiji Haino Website has moved, hopefully for the last time. Poison Pie Publishing House has agreed to host the site at http://poisonpie.com/sounds/haino/index.html.

Forthcoming Release:  The compilation on PSF Records, Tokyo Flashback Volume 5 has been postponed until February 22, 2005. This includes one track with Haino as DJ. More news in the forthcoming releases section of the discography.

Forthcoming Release:  The new Haino solo studio album on PSF Records, (title currently unknown) has been postponed until March, 2005. The work will feature a digital theremin solo. More news in the forthcoming releases section of the discography. I suspect that this digital theremin is actually the air synth that Haino has been playing at some live shows. There are some photographs of Haino playing these air synths from May 15, 2004 in the visuals section of this site.

January 30, 2005
Visuals:  Added some flyers and photos to the visuals section.

January 22, 2005
News:   In April of 2004, Swordfish Records released a Haino solo live recording, titled Next Let's Try Changing the Shape on compact disc. The release was described as a thematic continuation of the last release on PSF, which was inaccurate since, at the time, Haino's previous release on PSF was Hikari yami uchitokeaishi kono hibiki (PSFD-8017, December 2003) and was an album of songs featuring guitar and vocals. What they meant was that Next Let's Try Changing the Shape was a continuation of Haino's next previous album, First let's remove the color (PSFD-8014, November 5, 2002), which is much more an abstract piece, like Next Let's Try Changing the Shape. Comparisons aside, the music on the Next Let's Try Changing the Shape cd is fantastic.

At the time, there were rumors that the compact disc release would be followed in a few months by a limited edition (of 500) double lp of the same material. Whenever that double lp was released, it did not get wide distribution. However, yesterday Swordfish Records announced that the double lp is now available. It can be ordered directly from Swordfish Records (email swordfishrecords@btconnect.com. For US residents, www.forcedexposure.com should have the record by February 1, 2005.

Next Let's Try Changing the Shape was listed among the top 50 recordings of 2004 in a recent issue of the UK music magazine, The Wire. (It was in my personal top 7 of 2004.)

January 20, 2005
News:   The trio featuring Keiji Haino, Tatsuya Yoshida (RUINS), and Mitsuro Natsuno have started performing live under the name Sanhedrin. They released a live record in 2004 as Haino/Yoshida/Natsuno. See the collaboration section of the discography for details.

On October 7 & 9, Haino traveled to Graz, Austria to perform a live soundtrack to the American artist, Jamie Cameron's film, JO. Apparently, no recorded soundtrack exists. The artist and musician agreed that the film would only be shown with a live soundtrack unless there is a record company that is interested in releasing a dvd, in which case they will create a recorded soundtrack.

January 18, 2005
Live Performance:   In August of 2004, the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo hosted a performance/exhibit titled Homeogryllus japonicus Orchestra featuring Keiji Haino and Mamoru Fujieda playing with crickets. There is some information on the the exhibit posted on the web at http://greatyearsoundings.jp/homomemo.html. The front page of the site is at http://greatyearsoundings.jp/index2.html. It includes an mp3 (2:14), although it is not clear who is accompanying the crickets on this track.

January 1, 2005
Website:   The news for 2004 has been archived here.

Forthcoming Releases:   The only carry-over news from 2004 is that we are still awaiting the release of
  • Tokyo Flashback Volume 5 - PSF Records - January 25, 2005. Haino will have a track on it.
  • Haino solo record on PSF to be released on February 25, 2005
  • a new Haino solo live album on Turtles' Dream originally scheduled to be released in Autumn, 2004 has been postponed indefinitely.






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