Date: May, 2011
Venue: Death By Audio (NY)

Text by Jim Hoey

What should be known about this guitar drums duo is that they are former/current members of Afrirampo and Acid Mothers Temple, 2 hard hitting punk/psychedelic rock bands from Japan. Also to be know is that they are in the middle of a one month tour of the US, and if you find yourself on the east coast or somewhere between NYC and southern California, you might be close enough to road trip over to one of their gigs soon.

Check out the live videos below, some of the highlights from the tour. What you’ll see is the older Kawabato on guitar wailing and speeding out, but its Pikachu from Afrirampo that steals the show banging tribal drums in the middle of the rock set and singing while drumming through delay and loop effects. Half improvised, half timed, they are electric live, and might have picked up some tips from Lightning Bolt or Swing Kids, or any number of punk bands along the way. They are for sure, the only ones doing music exactly this way right now.

Check the end of this one to see Pika in the rafters…..

Go 30 seconds into this video to catch the performance as it starts off really…

Watch intense drumming here, after 25 seconds……

At Death By Audio in New York, immediately following the Pikachu-Makoto set, Alien Whale, featuring members of Talibam! (keys) and USA is a Monster (guitar), took over in the back room and continued the night, with similar psychedelic rock improvisations. I haven’t found any video of them yet online, but some audio can be heard:

http://www.neckandtongue.com/alienwhale.html (click on the audio file with the title Live at Zebulon 8/11/09)

And Guardian Alien, with a sick electronic key instrument from off the grid:

Check here for Afrirampo’s last official video: