|
|
MELT-BANANA:
Yasuko Onuki (first name actually Yuko or Yako? I've seen both) vocals
Ichiro Agata guitar
Rika Hamamoto (on albums as Rika mm') bass
Oshima Watchma drums (since February 1998)
Kikuchi drums (a few live shows)
Youichiro Natsume drums (for Charlie)
Toshiaki Sudoh drums (prior to around December 1997)
There are plenty of descriptions of Melt-Banana elsewhere on this site (in the reviews and interviews), but I think there's an apt, but neglected, description that fits the music well. Melt-Banana is a percussive punk band. The bass is usually played so as to get a popping and churning sound. The guitar is all scratches, sirens, and palm-muting. The vocals are shrieks and rap-like staccato. And the drums, well, they're drums, dammit. So one gets a surprising lack of melody and an abundance of rhythm and meter, along with "sound shapes" the kind one finds in Varθse and Messiaen and other such composers that probably ought not to be called notes or chords. If one is used to music built around melodies and harmonies and chords and such playing off of each other, Melt-Banana will sound pretty strange indeed. But if one listens for all the little rhythmic interactions and all the interesting sounds, it can be really fun, and not so alienating.
The lyrics, so far as I can tell, are nonsense. (Albeit pretty interesting and neat-when-spoken nonsense). But I don't care for lyrics in general, so my opinion is of dubious merit. People often know Melt-Banana for their live shows. They are a very powerful and ferocious band in person and getting to see them at work is an enjoyable experience for just about anyone. I've seen them three times, on the Tooth Watches tour (Atlanta and Nashville) and the Teeny Shiny tour (Atlanta), and they were excellent each time. They have their own record label (A-ZAP Records) which has released only Melt-Banana albums so far. They are from Tokyo and they are friends and associates with K.K. Null, Mr. Bungle, Space Streakings, the Skin Graft family, Melvins, Jim O'Rourke, John Zorn, Steve Albini, and a bunch of other people into eccentric music.