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ROVO is centered on the duo of guitarist Yamamoto Seiichi
(also of THE BOREDOMS) and electric violinist Katsui Yuji (BONDAGE
FRUIT, DEMI SEMI QUAVER), joined by bass, keyboards and electronics,
turntables, two drummers and an array of traditional percussion, gongs,
and wind instruments.
On record, and onstage during their mind-blowing live performance,
ROVO brings these ingredients together to create a rich sonic stew
comprising elements of Kraut-rock, indie space-rock, dub, trance,
techno, and jam-oriented psychedelic drum-circle freak-out. ROVO makes
head music your ass can relate to. And vice-versa.
Though still little-known outside of Japan, ROVO has been among the
earliest pioneers to explore the fertile territory lying >between<
rock, techno and trance, and—along with American bands like Live
Human, Him, or ICU—in seeking to destroy the boundaries between
DJs and bands, digital and acoustic music. This mission comes across
in the band’s own label for their music: "Man-Driven Trance."
Imago was originally released by Sony Japan, and its live polyrhythmic,
two-drummer attack and calculated buildup to frenzied climaxes made
the album one of the most hypnotic and persuasive Japanese releases
of the year. Even so, the album has remained almost entirely unavailable
outside of Japan. College radio stalwarts KUSF in San Francisco managed
to get hold of a copy in 1999, where it went on to become the station’s
second most-played record of that year. New label INCIDENTAL MUSIC
was launched expressly for the purpose of finally bringing Imago to
the U.S., Canada and Europe, beginning with a U.S. release this coming
May, 2001.
Shortly following the May release, ROVO will visit the U.S. for their
first brief tour of the states this July 14th-22nd, making stops in
San Francisco, L.A., Chicago and New York—where ROVO will be
recorded live at Tonic, July 20th and 21st, by legendary avant-garde
impresario (don’t tell anyone I called him that…) JOHN ZORN,
for a live release on Zorn’s own TZADIK label later in the year.
Sample tracks from ROVO’s Imago will be available on the web
soon through EPITONIC.COM, along with streaming video footage of their
hypnotic live performance. |
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