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Yamataka Eye | |
|---|---|
 Eye in 2004 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Tetsurō Yamatsuka (1964-02-13)13 February 1964 (age 62) |
| Origin | Kobe,Japan |
| Genres | Experimental rock,noise,electronic,danger music |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Member of | Boredoms |
| Formerly of | Hanatarash,Naked City, UFO or Die, Puzzle Punks, Noise Ramones,Destroy 2 |
Yamataka Eye (山塚アイ,Yamataka Ai) (bornTetsurō Yamatsuka (山塚徹郎,Yamatsuka Tetsurō), 13 February 1964) is aJapanesevocalist and visual artist, best known as a member ofBoredoms,Hanatarash andNaked City. He has changed his stage name three times, fromYamatsuka Eye, toYamantaka Eye, toYamataka Eye, and sometimes calls himselfeYe orEYヨ. He alsoDJs under the nameDJ 光光光 or "DJ pica pica pica" ("pica" means "bright" or "shiny"), and has used numerous otherpseudonyms.
Born inKobe, Eye is a founder of the influentialrock band,Boredoms, whose first major label release came out in the early '90s. They were signed to Warner Bros. (Chocolate Synthesizer era) by David Katznelson, then A&R VP of Warner Bros. The closest thing Boredoms have to a frontman, Eye offers a variety of vocal techniques: gurgles, screams, grunts and occasionally, relatively conventionalsinging.[1] In the later days of Boredoms and in today'sV∞redoms he plays electronics andopen reel tapes.[2]
Yamantaka Eye is also a member of the bandsHanatarash, UFO or Die, Puzzle Punks, Noise Ramones andDestroy 2. He is notorious for his vast, confusing discography and countless guest appearances. In 1993, he recorded an EP withSonic Youth calledTV Shit forThurston Moore's label,Ecstatic Peace. He also collaborated with Yamamoto Seiichi &Yamazaki Maso in the project "(Triple) Yama's" which was titled for their shared namesake. He released two albums,Live! andLive!!, with Japanese turntablist/improviserOtomo Yoshihide, under the moniker "MC Hellshit & DJ Carhouse". He formed a music and art group called Puzzle Punks, withShinro Ohtake.
Other notable collaborations include his work withBill Laswell'sPraxis and withJohn Zorn's groupsNaked City andPainkiller. Eye and Zorn also recorded the albumZohar as the "Mystic Fugu Orchestra." This latter compilation, which both commemorates and satirizesJewish culture, also draws strength from Eye's earlier influence from theOomoto religion in Japan, a sect claiming to possess visions of an emergingworld order. Several generations of Eye's family belonged to Oomoto[citation needed], which was at times brutally suppressed by theJapanese government. Yamantaka participated in theBoredoms77 Boadrum performance which occurred on July 7, 2007 at 7:07 PM at theEmpire-Fulton Ferry State Park inBrooklyn,New York, and the88 Boadrum performance which occurred on August 8, 2008 at 8:08 PM at theLa Brea Tar Pits inLos Angeles,California.
As well as his music, Eye is famous for his mixed-media style of art that utilisesairbrush,marker pen andcollage, amongst other materials. This work has adorned a number of records, including the majority of Boredoms releases. Similar to the Boredoms' musical direction, Eye started incorporating a much more psychedelic, calmer approach into his work, evident on the covers of many of the later Boredoms albums. Drawing as much from Japanese mythology as it does from his musical influence, such as early punk imagery, his work aims to complement the music as well as to provide another dimension to the sound. Eye also drew a comic strip in 1991, titledFrogleg Burning-X Comix Death.[3]
Eye worked on the covers of theBeck recordsSexx Laws,Midnite Vultures, andStray Blues - A Collection of B-Sides.[3]
When discussing Eye's unique art style,Stylus Magazine writer Mike Powell commented:[4]
It’s worth talking about Eye’s art not simply because, likePaul McCartney,he makes it, but because it’s an extension of the same creative brain that propels the Boredoms.
Eye has presented his work atMoMA/PS1 in New York, in theMusic is a Better Noise, and theVolume: Bed of Sound exhibitions.[5]
