THE MAD CAPSULE MARKETS (originally known as
THE MAD CAPSULE MARKET'S) were a
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
ese band that formed in 1990 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style of music, which focused on the fusion of
electronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
with
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
.
In 1985, while in high school, vocalist and songwriter
Hiroshi KyonoHiroshi Kyono is the vocalist for The Mad Capsule Markets.- Early years :Kyono claims that in his earlier years he was an MTV junky, in high school he started listening to Japanese punk like Gauze, The Stalin, Inu, and Aburadako. Then he ventured out into overseas punk like Crass and Pop Group...
and guitarist
Minoru KojimaMinoru Kojima was the original guitarist for Japanese Punk group The Mad Capsule Markets. He started Mad in 1985 with vocalist Kyono, in an attempt to create "loud, punk music" after becoming "bored" with music played on television and radio...
formed the
punkPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band
BerrieBerrie was the original band name of The Mad Capsule Markets. The Markets first performance occurred during their senior year at a school festival. The Markets also released one Demo entitled POISON REVOLUTION...
. One year later the duo were joined by bassist
Takeshi Uedais the bassist, programmer, additional vocalist and song writer for The Mad Capsule Markets. He is often known for his unique way of bass guitar playing, and ever changing haircuts.-Musical career:...
and drummer "Seto", at which point the quartet began performing at concerts and entering
Battle of the BandsBattle of bands is a contest in which many bands, usually rock/guitar bands but often from a range of different styles, compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a...
competitions.
THE MAD CAPSULE MARKETS (originally known as
THE MAD CAPSULE MARKET'S) were a
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
ese band that formed in 1990 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style of music, which focused on the fusion of
electronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
with
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
.
Berrie (1985-1990)
In 1985, while in high school, vocalist and songwriter
Hiroshi KyonoHiroshi Kyono is the vocalist for The Mad Capsule Markets.- Early years :Kyono claims that in his earlier years he was an MTV junky, in high school he started listening to Japanese punk like Gauze, The Stalin, Inu, and Aburadako. Then he ventured out into overseas punk like Crass and Pop Group...
and guitarist
Minoru KojimaMinoru Kojima was the original guitarist for Japanese Punk group The Mad Capsule Markets. He started Mad in 1985 with vocalist Kyono, in an attempt to create "loud, punk music" after becoming "bored" with music played on television and radio...
formed the
punkPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band
BerrieBerrie was the original band name of The Mad Capsule Markets. The Markets first performance occurred during their senior year at a school festival. The Markets also released one Demo entitled POISON REVOLUTION...
. One year later the duo were joined by bassist
Takeshi Uedais the bassist, programmer, additional vocalist and song writer for The Mad Capsule Markets. He is often known for his unique way of bass guitar playing, and ever changing haircuts.-Musical career:...
and drummer "Seto", at which point the quartet began performing at concerts and entering
Battle of the BandsBattle of bands is a contest in which many bands, usually rock/guitar bands but often from a range of different styles, compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a...
competitions. The band recorded a three-song demo tape entitled
Poison Revolution, which they distributed themselves. Their popularity in the Japanese
underground musicUnderground music refers to a variety of music subgenres that usually develop a subcultural cult following despite their lack of mainstream appeal, visibility, or commercial promotion...
scene steadily grew and in 1990 this success earned them a place as the opening act for the
Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1983. For most of the band's existence, the members have been vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, and drummer Chad Smith...
. However, within months of the performance, drummer "Seto" left the band, and was replaced by
Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
resident
Motokatsu MiyagamiMotokatsu Miyagami is the drummer for The Mad Capsule Markets. Motokatsu replaced former Berrie drummer Seto on the band's first release, Government Wall. He is currently working on a side-project with members of GLAY and Thee Michelle Gun Elephant called Rally...
. In April 1990, Berrie changed its name to
The Mad Capsule Market's, purportedly a term for distributors of Betaphenethylamine, a fictional drug from the
cyberpunkCyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life". The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk", published in 1983...
novel
NeuromancerNeuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, notable for being the most famous early cyberpunk novel and winner of the science-fiction "triple crown"—the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's first novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
.
Early years (1990-1996)
In August 1990, the new band released their first single, "
Government WallGovernment Wall is the first non album single by The Mad Capsule Markets. This was the first single that had released under this name, and it was the second song that had been re-done from the Berrie demo. This song was later re-done for the SPEAK!!! album, which Support guitarist Ai Ishigaki...
", a re-recording of the Berrie song. In October, they released their debut album,
HumanityHumanity is the debut album from Japanese punk group The Mad Capsule Markets. They later re-released the album in 1996, and This was the only full album that guitarist Minoru Kojima played on...
, which also featured a number of Berrie songs and retained their punk sound. After the album's release, original guitarist Minoru Kojima left the band, and was replaced by former roadie
Ai IshigakiIshigaki Ai was the support guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets from 1990 to 1996. He got the job as support guitarist after being a roadie for MCM in the Berrie days...
. The following year, The Mad Capsule Markets signed to major record label
Victor Entertainmentis a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan...
and recorded their second album,
P.O.PP.O.P is the second album by The Mad Capsule Markets and their major label debut. It was a faster, thrashier effort than their debut album Humanity, and featured new guitarist Ai Ishigaki. Many lyrics were edited out for content...
. A faster and harder album than their first, it was heavily censored, provoking outrage from the band members.
From 1992 onwards the band began to experiment with their punk sound, introducing various
samplingIn signal processing, sampling is the reduction of a continuous signal to a discrete signal. A common example is the conversion of a sound wave to a sequence of samples ....
machines and swinging from quiet and melodic to hard and aggressive styles. In 1992 they recorded the
EPAn extended play is a vinyl record, CD, or music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as an LP. Usually, a CD single has around 10–28 minutes of music, an EP has up to 36 minutes, and an album generally has 30–80 minutes. Mini-LPs generally contain 20–30...
Capsule SoupCapsule Soup is an EP by The Mad Capsule Markets. On this experimental release, the band started using samplers. "Bach Sleeps" is a cover version of Bach's Fugue for organ in G minor.-Track listing:#"BACH SLEEPS." – 1:59# – 3:01...
and their third album
SPEAK!!!SPEAK!!!! is the fourth album from The Mad Capsule Markets. The album was recorded in England. Two songs were featured from the original Berrie recording. The album displayed a more experimental and darker side to their music, evident in the closing song "Kachiku"...
. In 1993, their fourth album
MIX-ISMMIX-ISM is the fifth album from The Mad Capsule Markets. MIX-ISM earned The Mad Capsule Markets their first high rated album on the charts and featured the band taking on a more ska-based sound...
leaned more towards
ska punkSka punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. Ska punk achieved its greatest popularity in the United States in the late 1990s, although there has also been a following worldwide...
, and in 1994 their fifth album
P-A-R-KPARK is the sixth album from The Mad Capsule Markets. Released immediately after the release of the "EJECT→OUT" single, the band displayed a more mature, melodic sound but also kept faithful to the original punk sound of their previous material. This was the last non electronic punk album they...
demonstrated a slower and more melodic style. This was also the first album to be released overseas (in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, although almost two years after its Japanese release).
Recorded and produced in the USA, their 1996 album
4 Plugs4 Plugs is the seventh album by The Mad Capsule Markets. The album has been known as one of the band's more aggressive and heavier albums, as it was a departure from the original melodic Japanese rock and punk sound to a more metal and rap-based style, and the debut of Takeshi's experimentation of...
saw a musical shift towards
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
. Although the band retained its style of punk with electronic influences, the music was darker and heavier. Vocalist Kyono also altered his singing style and began
rappingRapping is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in hip hop music, but the phenomenon predates hip hop culture by centuries. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment...
in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
occasionally. This marked the beginning of the major stylistic change that would be demonstrated on subsequent recordings.
Later that year, the band released a self-titled
greatest hitsA greatest hits album is a compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular music artist or band...
compilation, containing re-recorded songs from their career up to that point. Following its release, guitarist Ai Ishigaki left the band and was replaced by "
TORUxxxTORUxxx is the present support guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets. before joining The Mad Capsule Markets, TORUxxx was a member of Japanese punk groups Star-Club and Londs Of Three and later joined mad in 1997 on the Digidogheadlock album after a long line of live backing guitars had come and...
".
Stylistic change and international recognition (1997-2005)
Perhaps boosted by the change in guitarist, The Mad Capsule Markets' sound became heavier still. In 1997 they released their second international album and eighth overall,
DigidogheadlockDigidogheadlock is the eighth album from The Mad Capsule Markets. The album explored the techno sound that would later be used on OSC DIS. TORUxxx stepped in on guitar for this album, however Takeshi recorded the guitar on the track "Asphalt Beach"...
. A strong progression from
4 Plugs,
electronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
came to the forefront and the music had a great deal in common with
industrial metalIndustrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal groups include Ministry, Godflesh, KMFDM, and Fear Factory...
.
In 1999 the band released their most internationally recognized album to date.
Osc-DisOSC-DIS is the ninth album from The Mad Capsule Markets. This album finally got them recognized overseas, with the single "Pulse". They also started using the Amen break...
(Oscillator in Distortion) was a more
poppyPop rock is a mix of pop music and rock music utilizing a catchy pop style with light lyrics, and guitar-based songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
or melodic take on the sound of
Digidogheadlock. It was released worldwide in 2001, driven by the hugely popular single "Pulse", which featured on the video game
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, often called THPS3 or Tony Hawk 3, is a video game in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2001 for the Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation. In 2002, it was published for the Nintendo 64, Xbox,...
. The song and the album became the group's most well-known outside of Japan. At this time the band also introduced their robotic "
mascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
s" the White Crusher and Black Cyborn.
The Mad Capsule Markets' tenth album,
010, was released in 2001 and demonstrated all the styles that they had explored previously, with a stronger emphasis on electronica. This produced a record which sounded more diverse than those before it. In 2002 the band also released a live album entitled
020120020120 is a live album from The Mad Capsule Markets. It was recorded live on January 20, 2002 at Zepp Tokyo. The music is basically material from the Osc-Dis and the 010 albums, but it did include a faster version of Kami-Uta as an encore track and for the intro tape, the show opens with Crass'...
, after the date of the performance.
In 2004 the band produced their most recent studio album,
CiSTm K0nFLiqTCiSTm K0nFLiqT... is The Mad Capsule Markets' eleventh & latest album, released on March 31, 2004 . The UK version included 2 bonus live tracks, a video for W.O.R.L.D and an alternative cover...
(pronounced "System Conflict"). The album was a return to the heaviness of
Digidogheadlock, but this heaviness was filtered through the electronic experimentation of the previous two albums, maintaining a strong link with
digital hardcoreDigital hardcore is a music genre fusing elements of hardcore punk and various forms of electronic music. It developed in Germany during the early 1990s.-Characteristics:...
. The
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
release of
CiSTm K0nFLiqT in 2005 saw the band's popularity there grow, with rock magazine
Kerrang!Kerrang! is a rock music magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media in the United Kingdom. The magazine's name is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar.-History:...
inviting them to play numerous concerts. Hugely popular
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
ese
mixed martial artsMixed martial arts is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts traditions and non-traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground...
fighter
Takanori Gomi, is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He currently competes for Sengoku. Gomi is a former Shooto Welterweight Champion and was the final holder of the lightweight title from defunct promotion Pride Fighting Championship. He is also a four-time All Japan Combat Wrestling champion...
uses the track "Scary" for his entrance theme.
In 2005, The Mad Capsule Markets broke from longtime record label
Victor/Invitationis a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan...
and signed to Sony Music Japan. They released two greatest hits compilations of songs spanning their entire career, these were entitled
1990-19961990-1996 is the second compilation album by Japanese rock band The Mad Capsule Markets. Rather than rerecording the old songs such as on the previous compilation album The Mad Capsule Markets, this album has collected remastered songs from HUMANITY through 4 Plugs, some with 'xxxx' noises or added...
and
1997-20041997-2004 is third compilation album by The Mad Capsule Markets. This album features a collection of hits from Digidogheadlock to CiSTm K0nFLiqT.... Songs were re-mastered by Takeshi Ueda for the release. Changes include extended intros to Asphalt-Beach and Bit Crusherrrr and an added scream to...
.
On the fifth of April the band announced that they were taking an 'extended break' from making music under the Mad Capsule Markets' name and instead work on separate projects. They posted this on the official Japanese site:
"Thank you so much for big support for us. This time, after our discuss with 3 guys from the band, we decide to take an entended break as the band. We can't decide when we can re-start again as the band, at this point. Each from the band plans to work as indivisual artist/projects, please keep supporting us from now on. thank you."
Band members
Current members
- Hiroshi Kyono
Hiroshi Kyono is the vocalist for The Mad Capsule Markets.- Early years :Kyono claims that in his earlier years he was an MTV junky, in high school he started listening to Japanese punk like Gauze, The Stalin, Inu, and Aburadako. Then he ventured out into overseas punk like Crass and Pop Group...
– vocalsSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist...
- Takeshi Ueda
is the bassist, programmer, additional vocalist and song writer for The Mad Capsule Markets. He is often known for his unique way of bass guitar playing, and ever changing haircuts.-Musical career:...
– bassThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
, programmingProgramming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s...
, backing vocals
- Motokatsu Miyagami
Motokatsu Miyagami is the drummer for The Mad Capsule Markets. Motokatsu replaced former Berrie drummer Seto on the band's first release, Government Wall. He is currently working on a side-project with members of GLAY and Thee Michelle Gun Elephant called Rally...
– drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...
/percussionA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...
- TORUxxx
TORUxxx is the present support guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets. before joining The Mad Capsule Markets, TORUxxx was a member of Japanese punk groups Star-Club and Londs Of Three and later joined mad in 1997 on the Digidogheadlock album after a long line of live backing guitars had come and...
– touring guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker. The signal that comes from the guitar is sometimes electronically altered with guitar effects such as...
, backing vocals
Former members
- Minoru Kojima
Minoru Kojima was the original guitarist for Japanese Punk group The Mad Capsule Markets. He started Mad in 1985 with vocalist Kyono, in an attempt to create "loud, punk music" after becoming "bored" with music played on television and radio...
aka "Shin" – guitar (1990)
- Ai Ishigaki
Ishigaki Ai was the support guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets from 1990 to 1996. He got the job as support guitarist after being a roadie for MCM in the Berrie days...
– guitar (1990-1996)
- Takashi Fujita
Doom is a Japanese thrash metal band by former Zadkiel members Takashi and Koh. formed in Tokyo, Japan in 1985, the first line up included Takashi "Taka" Fujita , Koh "Pirarucu" Morota and Jyo-ichi "Joe" Hirokawa . The group released their first EP Go Mad Yourself! in 1985, and the debut album No...
– guitar (briefly after Ishigaki left)
External links