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Melt-Banana: Bonzai!

They're weird, but then again so is the writer.
30 september 1999, Vera, Groningen (NL)

Tekst: Ariën Rasmijn

Publicatiedatum: 30 september 1999

Melt-Banana kicked my ass last night. These four kids from Tokyo dish out a hypercharged brand of noise that's in a class all its own. No hooks, few melodies, clashing tones, shouting instead of singing. You'd almost mistake it for the type of music you and your pretentious friends brag about but never play in private.
But this gig was fun, devoid of any trace of pretension despite of all of its weirdness. Melt-Banana is just about freaking out and having fun onstage, and that without compromising content.
The result: a fresh, compact barrage of amazing noise and texture. And by compact I mean short. Many songs lasted no longer that 5 seconds; 'Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat-thank you!', which got a lot of people wondering what the fuck was going on. This was something genuinely different alright!
The exuberance of their music is typically Japanese, but the way Yasuko and guitarist Agata confront the audience isn't. She was extremely personable, and deadpan funny too, while he pointed his guitar to the crowd as if it were some type of raygun, sound-effects and all. This guy can create any sound he wishes playing slide on his ax. Cuts and scratches from a turntable, low flying airplanes, crashing cars, alien toys, the pit of Hell. All with a flair and precision that makes Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello look like some chump who happens to have active pick-ups on his guitar. If I start raving about the drummer and the bassplayer this piece would get a bit long. Believe me, they're a tight pair. This band is special. Go see them if you can.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/live/melt-banana/melt-banana-bonzai/341/
Meer Melt-Banana op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/melt-banana