It Came From Japan #9: Bo Ningen

Two or three times recently, I seem to have taken my cue from Swiss Adam. And so it is again today. Last month, he posted this review of a Savages gig he attended in Manchester. Supporting that night were Bo Ningen, a noisy psychedelic Japanese band I had heard a lot about but wasn't overly fussed with the music I'd heard. Adam raved about them. I vowed to check them out a bit further and came across this:



Now it makes sense. What a phenomenal fucking racket! A 23 minute set consisting of just three songs? Guitars being swung around? A bloke in a dress?? Speaking of which, is it just me, or does lead vocalist Taigen Kawabe look more feminine than a lot of women I know? He even carries that dress off rather well, don't you think?

Clearly, Bo Ningen have to be caught live. It gives them much, much more room to go for it. That's metaphorical room, although the video clip above makes it look like they're playing in someone's living room. It's actually being filmed by a US radio station at the Icelandic Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik.  There's more energy in that tiny little space than in all the nuclear power plants across the world. Maybe Bo Ningen are going to save us all - a clean energy source and fucking bad-ass rock & roll. I'm sold.

Bo Ningen currently have three albums out, plus a collaboration with Savages (who are probably my favourite band right now), a 40-minute piece called 'Words To The Blind'. Your MP3 today is a single from Bo Ningen's most recent LP 'III', which also features the sensational Jehnny Beth of Savages.


Soundtrack:

• Nichijyou - Bo Ningen (ft. Jehnny Beth) (from 'III')

Go on then, you might as well have the video as well...