Afrirampo
Encyclopedia
was a band from Osaka
, Japan
that was active from 2002 to 2010. The members were Oni (guitar, vocals) and Pikachu (drums, vocals).
Afrirampo's music often featured call and response
vocals, catchy distorted pop melodies, looping fret noise, droning feedback, guttural barks and impromptu squealing. Their early albums featured a sound that could be described as noise-punk, albeit with surprisingly melodic vocal parts, along with some longer, less melodic improvised jam pieces. Their later albums, especially Suuto Breakor and We Are Uchu No Ko, featured a much more expansive sound, sometimes with very long songs and quieter, more ethereal passages. The band's later albums featured noticeable elements of African music, with a tribal percussive sound and call-and-response vocals. This derived in part from a 2004 stay with pygmy tribes in Cameroon, Africa, documented on their 2006 album Baka Ga Kita
After playing in several bands throughout their teens, Oni with an instrumental trio called Hankoki and Pikachu with a psychedelic quartet of girls called Z, the pair started Afrirampo in the spring of 2002 at the ages of 18 and 19. The period of 2002-2005 saw Afrirampo’s visibility within the ranks of contemporary noise rock
increasing in a manner that Matthew Murphy of Pitchforkmedia.com described as "meteoric". This might be attributed to their powerful stage presence, and hyper-energized live performances which generated considerable interest within the alternative music press.
Afrirampo toured with Sonic Youth
and Lightning Bolt, collaborated with Acid Mothers Temple
and released several CDs on various labels. In 2005 they performed at All Tomorrow's Parties
, the avant-garde music festival curated by Vincent Gallo
, and joined performance artist Yoko Ono
on stage for her closing piece.
Early in June 2010, Afrirampo announced that they would be disbanding after their final show in Osaka on June 26. However, their homepage stated in Japanese that if the "Mother of Heaven" called upon them to play together again, they would play. In the English version, they stated "If our mother of monster say "PLAY!PLAY!together!!", then we will play," indicating that the door may be open for future reunions.
Since breaking up, Afrirampo have maintained their website, released a live CD/DVD entitled Never Ending Afrirampo, consisting of material from their last performance on June 26, 2010, and have appeared together in each other's solo shows. They also did a special "Bye-bye Matsuri" performance on July 26, 2010, a month after their supposed final show, in which members of the Osaka underground music scene appeared with them onstage. Footage of this show also appears on Never Ending Afrirampo.
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
that was active from 2002 to 2010. The members were Oni (guitar, vocals) and Pikachu (drums, vocals).
Afrirampo's music often featured call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
vocals, catchy distorted pop melodies, looping fret noise, droning feedback, guttural barks and impromptu squealing. Their early albums featured a sound that could be described as noise-punk, albeit with surprisingly melodic vocal parts, along with some longer, less melodic improvised jam pieces. Their later albums, especially Suuto Breakor and We Are Uchu No Ko, featured a much more expansive sound, sometimes with very long songs and quieter, more ethereal passages. The band's later albums featured noticeable elements of African music, with a tribal percussive sound and call-and-response vocals. This derived in part from a 2004 stay with pygmy tribes in Cameroon, Africa, documented on their 2006 album Baka Ga Kita
After playing in several bands throughout their teens, Oni with an instrumental trio called Hankoki and Pikachu with a psychedelic quartet of girls called Z, the pair started Afrirampo in the spring of 2002 at the ages of 18 and 19. The period of 2002-2005 saw Afrirampo’s visibility within the ranks of contemporary noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
increasing in a manner that Matthew Murphy of Pitchforkmedia.com described as "meteoric". This might be attributed to their powerful stage presence, and hyper-energized live performances which generated considerable interest within the alternative music press.
Afrirampo toured with Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
and Lightning Bolt, collaborated with Acid Mothers Temple
Acid Mothers Temple
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. is a Japanese psychedelic band, the core of which formed in 1995. The band is led by guitarist Kawabata Makoto and early in their career featured many musicians, but by 2004 the line-up had coalesced with only a few core members and frequent guest...
and released several CDs on various labels. In 2005 they performed at All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
, the avant-garde music festival curated by Vincent Gallo
Vincent Gallo
Vincent Gallo is an Italian-American film director and actor. Though he has had minor roles in mainstream films such as Goodfellas, he is most associated with independent movies, including Buffalo '66, which he wrote, directed, did the music for and starred in; The Brown Bunny, which he also...
, and joined performance artist Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
on stage for her closing piece.
Early in June 2010, Afrirampo announced that they would be disbanding after their final show in Osaka on June 26. However, their homepage stated in Japanese that if the "Mother of Heaven" called upon them to play together again, they would play. In the English version, they stated "If our mother of monster say "PLAY!PLAY!together!!", then we will play," indicating that the door may be open for future reunions.
Since breaking up, Afrirampo have maintained their website, released a live CD/DVD entitled Never Ending Afrirampo, consisting of material from their last performance on June 26, 2010, and have appeared together in each other's solo shows. They also did a special "Bye-bye Matsuri" performance on July 26, 2010, a month after their supposed final show, in which members of the Osaka underground music scene appeared with them onstage. Footage of this show also appears on Never Ending Afrirampo.
Discography
| Title | Release | Label |
|---|---|---|
| cava/kocchi e oide | Unknown | Enban |
| A | Unknown | Self-Released |
| Afrirampo | July, 2004 | GYUUNE CASSETTE |
| A' | December, 2004 | AMT |
| URUSA IN JAPAN | April 2005 | Ki/oon Records Ki/oon Records is a Japanese record label, a subsidiary of Sony Music Japan.-Artists:Their artists include L'Arc-en-Ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, FLOW, Home Made Kazoku, Puffy AmiYumi, Polysics, Pushim, chatmonchy, Denki Groove, The Babystars, DOES, Guitar Wolf, Miki Furukawa, Nico Touches the Walls, plingmin,... |
| Kore Ga Mayaku Da Kore Ga Mayaku Da Kore Ga Mayaku Da is an album by Afrirampo, released on John Zorn's Tzadik label. The title translates to "This is a poison."-Track listing:# "I Did Are" - 13:37# "O" - 2:35# "Kairaku Do Re Mi" - 1:22# "Want You" - 4:04# "I Am Bird" - 1:40... |
June, 2005 | Tzadik (record label) |
| We Are Acid Mothers Afrirampo! We Are Acid Mothers Afrirampo! -Personnel:Acid Mothers Afrirampo consists of Afrirampo members Oni and Pikachu and Acid Mothers Temple leader Kawabata Makoto and members Tsuyama Atsushi and Higashi Hiroshi.* Oni - voice, electric guitar, degital guitar, soprano recorder, drums... |
December, 2005 | AMT |
| Baka ga kita!!! | July, 2006 | Moonlight |
| Suuto Breakor Suuto Breakor Suuto Breakor is an album by Osaka-based band Afrirampo, released in 2007. The albums consists of a single 42-minute song, divided into 7 parts on the track listing.-Track listing:# スートブレイコー 1 # スートブレイコー 2 # スートブレイコー 3... |
September, 2007 | P-Vine |
| We Are Uchu No Ko | May, 2010 | Supponpon |
| Never Ending Afrirampo | March, 2011 | Ki-oon |